Melbourne thrash Warriors in 42-14 AAMI Park demolition | NRL

Melbourne produced a first-half masterclass to thump the Warriors 42-14 at a packed AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon, extending their unbeaten run against the Kiwi outfit to 17 straight games.

A six-try blitz inside the opening 30 minutes stunned the visitors, with the Storm laying on 36 unanswered points before the break. Winger Xavier Coates was at the heart of the carnage, finishing with two tries, two assists, and 134 run metres in a devastating individual display.

The result keeps Melbourne’s AAMI Park fortress intact, with Craig Bellamy’s men now having won 14 of their last 16 at the venue. However, the night was soured slightly by a shoulder injury to halfback Jahrome Hughes, who was rested after halftime as a precaution.

“He’s 50/50 for the Dolphins clash,” Fox League’s Jake Duke reported.

For the Warriors, a forgettable opening half was compounded by a potentially serious pectoral injury to co-captain James Fisher-Harris, who left the field in just the 11th minute. By the time he returned to the bench, the scoreline had already begun to blow out.

“There was some improvement in the second half, but we’re nowhere near happy,” Warriors forward Mitchell Barnett said post-match.

The Warriors’ discipline also unravelled, with Jackson Ford sent to the sin bin midway through the first half for a professional foul — three tries followed in his absence.

Melbourne’s dominance was laid bare in the halftime stats: the Storm ran for nearly 1,000 metres, made 22 tackle breaks, and offloaded 11 times in a relentless attacking onslaught.

Tries to Josh King, Shawn Blore, Trent Loiero, Harry Grant and Grant Anderson rounded out the first-half demolition, with Ryan Papenhuyzen finishing with seven goals from eight attempts.

Bellamy gave early marks to several starters, including Hughes, Coates and Harry Grant, with his side easing off after the break. The Warriors showed more intent in the second stanza, scoring through Leka Halasima, Rocco Berry, and Luke Metcalf, but the damage was long done.

While the Storm remain one of the premiership’s benchmark sides as $2.60 NRL betting favourites, the Warriors will be sweating on scan results for Fisher-Harris, whose loss would be a massive blow ahead of next week’s home clash with the Broncos.

Melbourne will now shift focus to a blockbuster meeting with the Dolphins, where they are currently at $1.21 with the top online bookmakers to secure back-to-back wins.

• 

  Fast Payouts

Sports news