The Newcastle Knights stunned the Melbourne Storm 38-6 on Saturday in a National Rugby League match between two clubs who have endured a week of off-the-field headlines.
Melbourne went on to Marathon Stadium with the death of football manager Michael Moore still firmly on their minds and were blown away in
a seven-try-to-one defeat.
For the Knights, victory came after reports that coach Warren Ryan's job was in jeopardy because of a player revolt.
Ryan predicted that the result would put an end to the speculation.
"Tomorrow's headline should be 'Storm in a teacup'," he said.
"It won't pop up again. It was made out to be bigger than it was. It wasn't worth a mention."
Winger Adam MacDougall, filling in at fullback for the injured Robbie O'Davis and who was rumoured to have exchanged words with Ryan after last weekend's loss to the Northern Eagles, scored two tries during a man-of-the-match performance. Kiwis Richard Swain and Stephen Kearney worked hard for the Storm, topping the tackle count with more than 30 tackles each, but Melbourne had no answer to the Knights' speed and agility.
Many in the Storm had hoped for a win they could dedicate to the memory of Moore, who died after diving off an Auckland wharf in what police described as skylarking after Melbourne's 14-6 loss to the Warriors last weekend.
But skipper Robbie Kearns gave an indication of the mood in the club when he said before the match: "To be honest I'm not feeling really optimistic. We really haven't thought about football much this week."
The Sharks made it two out of two when they won a similarly one-sided match against the Sydney Roosters by 28-2.
Fullback David Peachey was at his brilliant best, scoring two of the Sharks' five tries in a match that ended in driving rain.
The season's first sending-off saw the Roosters' Brendan Hurst dismissed for a high tackle.
At Wollongong, St George Illawarra recorded their first win of the season, but struggled to subdue wooden-spoon favourites North Queensland 12-6 in an uninspiring contest.
On Friday night, the Brisbane Broncos overcame a 12-3 penalty count and the sinbinning of substitute back Ben Walker to beat Parramatta 18-10 and leave the Eels winless after two rounds.
Broncos second-rower Brad Thorn scored with two minutes remaining to seal victory in a match played in 30 degrees-plus heat at Parramatta Stadium. - NZPA
Rugby League: Knights blitz mourning Melbourne
The Newcastle Knights stunned the Melbourne Storm 38-6 on Saturday in a National Rugby League match between two clubs who have endured a week of off-the-field headlines.
Melbourne went on to Marathon Stadium with the death of football manager Michael Moore still firmly on their minds and were blown away in
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