The likelihood of a Storm vs Panthers Grand Final is looking more inevitable than ever after the Melbourne machine steamrolled the Sharks at AAMI Park on Saturday.
Melbourne didn’t have a bad player as the NRL’s ultimate team converted a 14-10 half-time lead into a 37-10 thumping to advance to a grand final qualifier.
For the Sharks, they will return to Sydney next week to take on the loser of Saturday night’s Cowboys vs Knights clash and even if they bounce back to win that game, their “reward” is to head west to face Penrith.
1. Harry snares hat-trick as machine clicks into gear
The Storm’s collective oomph is greater than the sum of its parts.
Sure they have some bona fide stars in Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant but this Melbourne team is different to the star-studded line-ups that dominated in the Big Three era when Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk were supported by a much stronger support cast.
The 2024 version of Craig Bellamy’s wins factory is all about each individual playing their role to ensure the team puts itself in the best opportunity to win.
And that has been the case in 20 of the 24 matches this season when they have put their top team on the park.
Grant had a field day against the Sharks in tormenting Cronulla’s beleaguered defensive line, notching his first career hat-trick, with Munster chiming in superbly to complement Hughes’ playmaking brilliance.
With the premiers through to week three after vanquishing the Roosters, the expected Grand Final showdown appears to be a near certainty – it’s hard to see any of the other six finals sides, even on their best day, upsetting the two head-and-shoulders titans of the 2024 competition.
Cameron Munster is tackled. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
“Against the wind in the second half, they did a hell of a job, dominated possession and with that, field position. Then the points came,” Bellamy said.
He admitted he kept an eye on Penrith’s Friday night victory over the Roosters but claimed he “wasn’t watching it closely”. Do you reckon Ivan Cleary would believe that?
“I was doing a few other things and just checking the score and whatever. But it looked like Penrith had a great start to the game and that sort of put the Roosters on the back foot a bit. With Nathan Cleary coming back, that’s obviously a huge plus for them. Everyone knows they’re the team to beat.
“Winning three premierships in a row, that’s not easy to do.”
The Grand Final is more than three weeks away but Bellamy is already kicking off the mind games with their likely adversaries.
2. Sharks slip up in crucial moments
NRL finals fixtures are won by the team that wins the big moments.
And in that regard, the Sharks fell short.
Whether it was Will Kennedy botching the opening kick-off, Nicho Hynes shanking a touch-finder after a penalty or Toby Rudolf dropping the ball after breaking the Storm defence wide open up the middle, Cronulla repeatedly shot themselves in the foot.
And despite putting up a gallant performance to take the fight to the Storm, they were always playing from behind.
They looked like they had momentum on their side after scoring just before the break but while the Storm came back out of the sheds full of fire, the Sharks were toothless and they tired badly in the final half hour as the home side gave them zero respite.
“The start straight off the bat was a shock and then I thought we did pretty well there to get back into the contest,” Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.
“The frustrating part is the boys really wanted to do it but details came apart.
“The little details involved, that costs us a lot of energy, turning the ball over at the end of their set and then they get another set and then you’re stuck there again (1:20) and then even if you defend it, you’ve got to come off your own line.
“We’ve got to put the details back into our game and under pressure when the team’s controlling that, that’s where we’ll get better out there.
“Respect’s earned. It’s not a gift. No one gives it to you. We have to earn it on this stage.”
Fitzgibbon said centre Jesse Ramien was a good chance of returning from his ankle injury next week but the hip problem suffered by Sione Katoa against the Storm was a concern.
3. First half was close, second one not so much
The Sharks couldn’t have started worse with Kennedy spilling the kick-off from Ryan Papenhuyzen and Cameron Munster scoring off the next set when the defence only had eyes for Nelson Asofa-Solomona on a crash play close to the line.
They regrouped to hit back in the 13th minute when Siosifa Talakai, recalled to start at centre for Ramien, used his strength to stand in a tackle before offloading for Sione Katoa to cross out wide.
Nick Meaney unfurled a right-hand flick for Will Warbrick to touch down as the Storm stretched out to a 14-4 advantage.
A 10-point deficit can quickly become a blow-out for visiting teams at AAMI Park but the Sharks hung tough to stay in the contest and responded on the stroke of half-time when Braydon Trindall attracted four defenders before flicking inside for Briton Nikora to reduce the gap to four at the break.
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Harry Grant went close to scoring early in the second half but was denied by Nikora’s boot as he tried to get the ball down but he was over in the 52nd minute when Josh King barged into a backpedalling defensive line before offloading like a king.
Jahrome Hughes was too smart for the Sharks, lobbing a high kick over Ronaldo Mulitalo for Warbrick to pounce for his second and a 14-point buffer with as many minutes remaining.
Grant crossed the stripe twice in the closing stages to rub further salt into the Sharks’ wounds to seal direct entry to the Preliminary Final.
4. Blore becomes an onomatopoeia
Shawn Blore’s surname was coincidentally the sound he made as the air in his lungs was belted out of his body by the force of a Siosifa Talakai bell-ringer.
The Storm passed the ball a couple of times so their back-rower could target Cronulla’s outside backs.
Blore only had eyes for Hynes in the defensive line but was blindsided by Talakai in what will be a surefire candidate for the tackle of the year.
Despite being rocked back by the G-force of 2-3 concrete trucks, Blore was able to get back to his feet and not require a complete torso reconstruction.
5. Hunt lucky to get caution for silly shove
Sharks prop Royce Hunt should have been penalised in possession just short of the try line early in the second half but for a strange call from referee Gerard Sutton.
Hunt was agitated by Harry Grant slowing him down in the ruck and as he got to his feet, he palmed the Storm skipper backwards onto his backside.
Grant was not taking a dive, he was swatted away by his much larger opponent and Hunt should have been pinged for a dopey penalty.
But for some reason Sutton stopped play, scooted in and cautioned Hunt and allowed him to then play-the-ball.
A dangerous precedent was set there.
The Kick: Sharks are officially finals flakes
After losing their past three playoffs under Craig Fitzgibbon, the Sharks’ reputation of being finals flakes has dominated the talk in the lead-up to this game.
And it will be an ongoing narrative next week in the lead-up to their clash with the Cowboys or Knights and continue to dog them until they can prove otherwise.
For many years before they broke through for their 2016 premiership, this club carried a reputation for fading in the September heat.
In fact, since the Grand Final glory of eight years ago, their only playoff win was a 21-20 triumph over a young Panthers side in 2018.
They were first-round exits the year before and the next two seasons, lost both finals in 2022 and were straight out the back door last year as well.
This loss to Melbourne gives them a 1-9 record in their past 10 playoff appearances. Yikes.