Melbourne Storm v Cronulla Sharks NRL Preliminary final: Start time, scores, minute-by-minute commentary from AAMI Park

Melbourne allowed Cronulla to enjoy parity for only a few minutes and again it was Stefano Utoikamanu and Jahrome Hughes doing some fine work. The Sharks were considered premiership hopes pre-season, but more than halfway into the season and they sit outside the top eight. Back in Round 11, Cronulla upset the Storm 31-26, but having lost three of their past four games, they’ll need to turn things around sharply if they’re going to defeat the Storm in Melbourne. Mulitalo was big on the lip in that Sharks win and he clearly got the Storm players offside who were up in his face with every Sharks defensive breakdown.

• It’s official, Melbourne are through to grand final once again with a victory against Cronulla.
• Nick Meaney slots the ball easily and Melbourne hold an eight-point lead.
• Cronulla’s defence continued to sustain some of Melbourne’s finest attacking plays and again stood up in the 29th minute of the first half when Munster dummied and busted a tackle, broke through the line only to be dragged down by a diving tackle from Blaike Brailey who grabbed Munster by the shorts.
• And with Cronulla doing their best to hang in there at with five minutes to go, it was Harry Grant who provided the knockout blow for the hosts.

Melbourne Storm burst past gallant Cronulla to qualify for NRL Grand Final

And fellow Storm stars Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Ryan Papenhuyzen all produced their own magical moments to help lift the Storm into yet another grand final. The first time you open Google Translate, you’ll be asked to choose your primary language and the language you translate most often. Cronulla’s defence continued to sustain some of Melbourne’s finest attacking plays and again stood up in the 29th minute of the first half when Munster dummied and busted a tackle, broke through the line only to be dragged down by a diving tackle from Blaike Brailey who grabbed Munster by the shorts. 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. The Storm were exceptionally slick in attack in the opening 20 minutes and looked on for a third try that was denied by outstanding defence from Brayden Trindall and KL Iro to defuse a cross-field bomb that Warbrick and Meaney had combined to set up for a try.

NRL Teams: Round 8

Xavier Coates scores, and that all but seals another grand final appearance for the Storm. It’s official, Melbourne are through 1xbet login 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.

He copped a hit from Teig Wilton in the lead up to Melbourne’s first try, and was on the receiving end of a high shot from Braydon Trindall in the second half. Playing with a heavily protected left arm and defending on the wing at different stages, Hughes had his fingerprints all over Melbourne’s win. Cronulla have defied their critics all season, and spent large parts of the match doing their best to repel a Storm side who always looked the better team. And with Cronulla doing their best to hang in there at with five minutes to go, it was Harry Grant who provided the knockout blow for the hosts.

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.

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.