Jayson Bukuya of the Sharks is tackled by Todd Lowrie of the Storm. Photo / Getty Images
Storm 14
Sharks 8
Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith has capped a memorable week by leading his NRL side to a hard-fought 14-8 victory over the Sharks at AAMI Park.
After earning man-of-the-match honours in Queensland's State of Origin victory over NSW on Wednesday, the celebrations continued for Smith, who
was playing his 200th match for the Storm.
However the party for a long time looked like it could be a fizzer.
Melbourne winger Sisa Waqa, who was a late replacement for Anthony Quinn, got his side home with a try in the 73rd minute.
Five-eighth Gareth Widdop kicked the ball into the in-goal but it rebounded off a Sharks player and he was able to regather and then get a pass away to Waqa to break the deadlock.
The home side didn't cross the tryline until the 47th minute of a match that could be described as entertaining, if ugly, with both teams scoreless at the halftime break.
The lowly Sharks competed well and their defence was mostly top notch but they let themselves down with a lack of finishing prowess.
The Storm, in their last game beaten by Canberra, also lacked their usual finesse, perhaps Origin taking its toll on their four representatives.
Melbourne's newest Origin player, centre Dane Nielsen, claimed the game's first try.
Widdop again had a hand. This time he kicked high into the in-goal and Sharks winger Stewart Mills spilled the ball as he and Waqa leapt high, with Nielsen diving on it.
The Sharks hit back seven minutes later with speedy fullback Isaac Gordon running on to an inside ball by NSW skipper Paul Gallen and escaping the clutches of Billy Slater.
Both teams then traded penalties, with the game locked up at 8-8 until Waqa's effort.
Cronulla's battle was all the braver after they lost two props to injury in the first half.
Luke Douglas, who hasn't missed a match since making his debut in 2006, limped off with a knee injury nine minutes in while his replacement Josh Cordoba appeared to suffer a hamstring problem and also didn't return.
Sharks centre Ben Pomeroy was also placed on report for a lifting tackle on Nielsen in the 24th minute
MELBOURNE 14 (D Nielsen S Waqa tries C Smith 3 goals) bt CRONULLA 8 (I Gordon try S Porter 2 goals) at AAMI Park. Referee: Steve Lyons, Phil Haines. Crowd: 9,733.
- AAP
