Melbourne Storm v Cronulla Sharks report
That got Cronulla back in the game at 16-10, but another penalty allowed Melbourne to go out to an eight-point lead before Coates’ match-sealing try. Melbourne will now face the winner of Brisbane and four-time defending premiers Penrith in Sunday’s other preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium. Melbourne have given themselves a shot at grand final redemption, with the club’s new big four booking 1xbet login a spot in the NRL decider with a win over Cronulla. Now Craig Bellamy’s men will face the winner of Sunday’s clash between the Broncos and the Panthers in the grand final on October 5. “At the end of the day, it’s hard to get into a grand final, and it’s extra hard to win one. They know how to win grand finals, as we’ve seen in the last few years,” he said.
Storm 18, Sharks 10 with 14 minutes to go Nick Meaney slots the ball easily and Melbourne hold an eight-point lead. It’s an easy kick from in front, following a stupid decision from Trindall. Storm 18, Sharks 10 with nine minutes to go Storm 22, Sharks 10 with four minutes to go It started with Harry Grant running the ball from dummy-half, catching cronulla off guard.
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The Sharks needed to be the next team to score and were presented a try on a platter when Faalogo hesitated under a Hynes bomb and allowed Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall to score an easy try to trim the deficit to four at half time. The Sharks wasted their captain’s challenge just nine minutes after a Sione Katoa loose carry. The Sharks were admittedly grittier defensively than they have been in recent times, but they still conceded 30 for a fourth time in five matches, and offered little from an attacking standpoint. With the game finely balanced in the second half, Katoa produced two incredible catches under high balls to set up tries for centre Nick Meaney and halfback Jahrome Hughes. Limited-time offer. FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play.
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The Storm came out from the sheds at half-time to defend a 28-game winning streak when leading at half-time in a final under Craig Bellamy and, for at least the first 18 minutes of the second half, were not assured of a 29th. “Like this thing of ‘you’ve had a failed season if you don’t win the grand final’, that’s a load of crap. The game appeared to be out of reach for the Sharks once Hynes blew a golden attacking opportunity by dropping a slightly wayward fourth tackle pass just ten metres out, and when the Storm won a Captain’s Challenge in attack three minutes later, the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. The Sharks hit back for their second try of the game in the following set when Billy Burns broke the line and made space for Katoa to reach out for the line on the right wing after surviving an unsuccessful tackle from Xavier Coates that brought him to ground. Reigning Dally M medallist Jahrome Hughes, managing a broken arm with screws, plates and electromagnetic technology to speed up the healing process, certainly showed what the Storm were missing during his absence earlier in the finals series as their key playmaker with a game-high eight tackle busts. Storm fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen extended the lead to six early in the second half with a penalty from straight in front, but failed on a tougher second penalty goal attempt that would have extended the lead to eight in a low-scoring game.
And Grant led from the front, forever testing the Sharks line and even setting up the final try. Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. You can translate text, handwriting, photos, and speech in over 200 languages with the Google Translate app.
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- Warbrick was ruled to have made the last touch and so Cronulla had an immediate chance to bounce back but the last tackle dribble kick from Trindall on the counter was cleaned up by Papenhuyzen, who was instrumental at the back as usual.
- Playing with a heavily protected left arm and defending on the wing at different stages, Hughes had his fingerprints all over Melbourne’s win.
- That got Cronulla back in the game at 16-10, but another penalty allowed Melbourne to go out to an eight-point lead before Coates’ match-sealing try.
Xavier Coates scores, and that all but seals another grand final appearance for the Storm. It’s official, Melbourne are through to grand final once again with a victory against Cronulla. It’s been a public holiday in Melbourne today for the AFL grand final tomorrow, so fans won’t be rushing to leave the stadium, unless they’ve had a big afternoon. Every time the Storm looked like kicking away early in the game, the Sharks did well to hang in the fight.
The master coach said this season, like last, can already be considered a successful one, even if the Storm don’t win the title next weekend. Storm coach Craig Bellamy said his team had been given a leg up over next week’s grand final opponent, who will have two fewer days to prepare after playing on Sunday afternoon. It is coach Craig Bellamy’s 11th grand final in 23 years. It will be their seventh grand final since 2012.
A try for Xavier Coates in the 74th minute all but sealed victory for Melbourne, despite an 80th minute try from KL Iro who went across for Cronulla as the full-time siren sounded. You won’t see the Storm celebrate too wildly as they know they have a big week to come, and they still need one more win to again take the premiership. It is frightening to think what they could be when they do string a full 80 minutes together. Melbourne await the winner of Brisbane and Penrith, but will have the benefit of a couple of extra days’ recovery. You can only hope the match review committee do not bother spotting him for a potential hip-drop tackle that left Ronnie Mulitalo hobbling out of a tackle.
