Trending
“It’s disappointing because I’ve got higher expectations than what we showed today … ultimately we lost the physical battle there,” Manly coach Anthony Seibold said. “I thought they’d won that middle part of the field. So yeah, that’s where that beat us.”
Two moments of magic from mercurial Cameron Munster helped propel the visitors to an 18-10 half-time lead.
Melbourne’s Xavier Coates is tackled by Manly’s Jake Trbojevic.Credit: Getty Images
First Munster threw a classic short ball in the 12th minute for prop Stefano Utoikamanu to crash over from close range for the opening try.
Two minutes later, Munster did it all himself, dummying and stepping into a gap and then stretching out to score one-handed.
When winger Anderson crossed after a floating pass from Hughes, the Storm had scored three tries in five minutes to lead 18-2.
But just when it appeared a blowout was on the cards, Manly rallied and a parochial home crowd of 17,346 found their voice.
Centre Tolutau Koula scored in the 31st minute after a period of sustained pressure, then centre Reuben Garrick kicked a penalty goal after half-time to reduce the deficit to 18-10.
Ten minutes after the interval, however, Hughes fired a cut-out pass to Anderson, who darted back inside to score his second try of the day.
Fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen converted from close to the sideline to leave Manly 24-10 in arrears, and the floodgates burst open.
Loading
Two minutes later, Papenhuyzen flashed over to finish off a spectacular team try that also featured Hughes and Munster.
The procession continued in the 54th minute when the Storm created a right-edge overlap and Anderson dived over for his hat-trick.
Fans started streaming to the exits after the Storm ran in further tries through Bronson Garlick (58th minute) and Jack Howarth (62nd minute).
Another try from Koula and tries from winger Jason Saab and centre Clayton Faulalo improved the scoreline for Manly, but it was too little, far too late.
With outside backs Nick Meaney and Will Warbrick unavailable because of injuries, Melbourne promoted former New Zealand rugby sevens representative Moses Leo for his NRL debut.
Leo marked the occasion by conceding a penalty for high contact with his first tackle.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
“It’s disappointing because I’ve got higher expectations than what we showed today … ultimately we lost the physical battle there,” Manly coach Anthony Seibold said. “I thought they’d won that middle part of the field. So yeah, that’s where that beat us.”
Two moments of magic from mercurial Cameron Munster helped propel the visitors to an 18-10 half-time lead.
Melbourne’s Xavier Coates is tackled by Manly’s Jake Trbojevic.Credit: Getty Images
First Munster threw a classic short ball in the 12th minute for prop Stefano Utoikamanu to crash over from close range for the opening try.
Two minutes later, Munster did it all himself, dummying and stepping into a gap and then stretching out to score one-handed.
When winger Anderson crossed after a floating pass from Hughes, the Storm had scored three tries in five minutes to lead 18-2.
But just when it appeared a blowout was on the cards, Manly rallied and a parochial home crowd of 17,346 found their voice.
Centre Tolutau Koula scored in the 31st minute after a period of sustained pressure, then centre Reuben Garrick kicked a penalty goal after half-time to reduce the deficit to 18-10.
Ten minutes after the interval, however, Hughes fired a cut-out pass to Anderson, who darted back inside to score his second try of the day.
Fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen converted from close to the sideline to leave Manly 24-10 in arrears, and the floodgates burst open.
Loading
Two minutes later, Papenhuyzen flashed over to finish off a spectacular team try that also featured Hughes and Munster.
The procession continued in the 54th minute when the Storm created a right-edge overlap and Anderson dived over for his hat-trick.
Fans started streaming to the exits after the Storm ran in further tries through Bronson Garlick (58th minute) and Jack Howarth (62nd minute).
Another try from Koula and tries from winger Jason Saab and centre Clayton Faulalo improved the scoreline for Manly, but it was too little, far too late.
With outside backs Nick Meaney and Will Warbrick unavailable because of injuries, Melbourne promoted former New Zealand rugby sevens representative Moses Leo for his NRL debut.
Leo marked the occasion by conceding a penalty for high contact with his first tackle.
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution
The Us Media 2025
