Hawke's Bay-born Tohu Harris provided the shot needed ahead of this Saturday night's historic NRL game in Napier when he sparked Storm to a big win in Melbourne on Friday night.
The former Hastings Boys' High School rugby player, in his 67th game for the Storm since his NRL debutwith the club in 2013, combined with two of the game's superstars to score the first of Melbourne's 10 tries in a 52-10 win over Penrith Panthers.
The try came when he took the pass from scrumhalf Cooper Cronk and spun through the tackles of three defenders to cross the line and end a move started with a grubber kick from man of the night, hooker, captain and former World Player of the Year Cameron Smith, in his 300th game for the Storm. It was a dramatic way for Melbourne to bounce back from the decline of four losses in a row, but it was a different story for St George Illawarra Dragons, also headed for Napier for the two sides' round 20 match at McLean Park.
The Dragons had their sixth loss in a row when beaten 24-8 on Saturday night by defending NRL Telstra Premiership champions the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The weekend's results left the Storm in fifth place in the 26-round race for places in the top eight playoffs but only by a superior points differential among four teams each with 22 points. The Dragons were in ninth place although just two points in arrears.
