Melbourne Storm's mid-season resurgence continued with a commanding 42-20 victory over Canberra Raiders, featuring a hat-trick from winger Will Warbrick. The win moves the Storm further away from their club-record seven-game losing streak earlier this year, while the Raiders' finals hopes suffered a major blow with their 10th defeat of the season.
First-half try fest
Both teams scored four tries in an explosive first half, leaving the score locked at 20-20 at halftime. The Raiders started strongly, racing to a 16-0 lead after 16 minutes through tries from Savelio Tamale, Owen Pattie, and Xavier Savage. Savage's try came after intercepting a pass from Melbourne's Jack Howarth 10 metres from the tryline, sprinting away untouched.
The momentum shifted when hooker Harry Grant entered the match from the bench, having played for Queensland in the State of Origin on Wednesday. Grant's dummy-half runs sparked the Storm, who scored three tries in six minutes, including one to Cameron Munster in his 250th NRL match.
Raiders centre Matthew Timoko powered through weak defence to put Canberra back ahead, but Warbrick's brute strength levelled the scores in the 39th minute with his second try. Despite having plenty of possession, the Raiders missed a staggering 39 tackles in the first half.
Second half arm wrestle
The second half was a tighter contest, with Warbrick breaking the deadlock in the 59th minute. The Warriors-bound flyer leapt high to take a Jahrome Hughes bomb for his third try. A converted try from Moses Leo extended the Storm's lead to 10 points, and despite 10 minutes remaining, the home side never looked like losing.
Melbourne sealed the victory with two further tries, including Munster's final conversion, which he kicked with his boot lace untied. The win was the Storm's fifth in six games, moving them to 11th on the ladder with 16 points, while the Raiders sit second-last.
