Two wins in a row, holding the opposition to a single try. There was a bit to like this week.
Wests Tigers – 6 (Twal 23' try; Wakeham 1/1 goal)
Melbourne – 28 (Warbrick 4', 31', 54', 65', Wishart 37', Bradley 73' tries; Meaney 2/6 goals)
All Brick, four brick, Will Warbrick all the time. 🧱
From the preview:
Let’s be real – if Melbourne are serious about playing finals football this year, they can’t afford to slip up in games like this, even during peak #wrongpriorities season. It would be nice if a similar performance to last week is the output in Campbelltown, but if the defensive effort is the same that should be enough to take home the two competition points.
So it was. Melbourne looked in the first half that they were going to flatter the Tigers and stoop to their below average level, but did enough in attack to win the game going away from the home team. Only Nick Meaney’s off night with the boot saving the Tigers from a larger beat-down.1
All hail the Brick
The story of the game from a Melbourne perspective is the continued improvement of Will Warbrick. The mature-aged rookie was made to bide his time in Queensland Cup in 2022, scoring 10 tries from 14 appearances for the Sunshine Coast Falcons. There were times last year where Melbourne probably should have given him a taste of NRL action, especially before they signed David Nofoaluma on loan from the Tigers. The coaching staff were patient with their project player, with his transition from Olympic rugby sevens to rugby league being done in a methodical manner. That Warbrick has played every game this season shows that the work done in 2022 is paying dividends this year, with the winger’s four tries in this match taking him to 11 for the season. It’s evident that there’s been some quality effort put into Warbrick, with his catching skills exceptionally high,2 with his defensive decision making and positioning improving from earlier in the season.
First half shenanigans
This game won’t be on any end of season “best of” collection.3 Despite Melbourne’s personnel changes from last week, which then included Alec MacDonald not playing,4 the Storm started like they finished last week against Cronulla. Jahrome Hughes has shown a great tendency to move the ball right in the last month or so and after a misfire a tackle earlier in the set in which Reimis Smith was just brought down. Hughes went back there again straight away, with Smith this time getting the ball to Warbrick to breeze past Junior Tupou to score out wide. It’s a simple play from Melbourne, with Hughes sending Nelson Asofa-Solomona through as a decoy, but executed perfectly against a defensive system unable to handle it.
For the next 20 minutes though, Melbourne strangely decided to go into a grinding mode of play. There was some solid work on show, but nothing flashy or daring from Melbourne with the ball, and the defence was mostly solid and able to handle what little Wests were doing with the ball. The only time that the home team looked dangerous was whenever John Bateman had the ball with a little space.5
The grinding phase was abruptly brought to an end when the referee6 and the Bunker confirmed that a try to Alex Twal was more in the interests of rugby league for the evening than enforcing the rules of the game.7
After the sideshow, Melbourne decided that being down 6–4 when going back to the sheds at halftime wouldn’t be such a good idea. The Tigers started to target Melbourne’s right edge where NAS was defending inside Hughes, and well they took it personally. Warbrick’s second try was a typical Melbourne try with Hughes putting up the high kick on tackle five and landing it right on the try line for the winger to catch his opponent clutching at thin air. With the lead restored, the game’s moment of zen happened in the 35th minute when Bateman was clocked with an epic falcon.8 From the ensuring turnover, Melbourne went close on the left edge through George Jennings, but it would be Tyran Wishart scoring his first NRL try for Melbourne to take a 14–6 lead to the break. Wishart deserved his try with his little touches at hooker sparking Melbourne after coming on for Bronson Garlick. That it came off a deflected grubber with Wishart out-competing the Tigers defenders will likely please his old man Rod.9
Laying bricks and eggs
After the Tigers must have slapped each others backs at the interval, the home team seemed to allow Melbourne to eventually get to work, while they relaxed in the barn. Wests would huff and puff, but Melbourne’s house was made with bricks.10
It did take Melbourne over 10 minutes to click into gear higher than scramble in the second half. There was some disturbing defending in the middle of the field against the younger Wests brigade,11 as well as a silly challenge from Josh King.12 If only NAS had landed more than an open palm to the neck of Bateman in their little scuffle in the 48th minute to spice things up.13
Warbrick’s third try would come through another slick passing move from Melbourne to the right edge. Setting up at the left post, Jonah Pezet, Hughes and Meaney would all get involved to overwhelm the Tigers defence. Precision and perfection from the Melbourne playmakers the key difference between the teams.
Warbrick should have had his fourth try a few minutes later after a deft kick from Hughes down a short side. Warbrick had beaten the Tigers defenders, but just bobbled the ball trying to get it down to score. It was a close run thing, but red lights the right call. A better team than Wests probably would have targetted Melbourne’s left edge where Pezet, Seve and Jennings were stationed, definitely something to look out for should those three be together this season.
That fourth try would come soon enough though, with this one being Warbrick’s best for the night. Melbourne were cruising as the Tigers kept making errors with the ball, and it was another slick passing move to the right that exposed the Wests defence. Hughes and Smith were again the providers, with Warbrick’s athletic dive into the corner making for a great winger’s finish.
With a 22–6 lead, the final 15 minutes were a bit of an extended junk time. Kane Bradley would get on the field for the final 22 minutes, taking his career Storm stats to 32 minutes played in two games, eight runs for 74 metres and eight tackles. Adding to that was a try to complement the one he scored on his NRL debut off a forward pass for the Cowboys against Melbourne in 2021. This time there was again a little doubt with Jennings taking an air swing in trying to grab a Pezet grubber kick in the in-goal area, but he missed and Bradley was able to beat Nofoaluma to the loose ball.
Coach quotes
If Bellsa wanted “completions and discipline” in the second half Melbourne delivered 84% completions and 14 missed tackles, up from 80% and 20 missed tackles in the first half:
It wasn't a polished win, but it was a win and we'll take that any day of the week. It was a stop-start game and a lot of the combinations were pretty new, but I was happy with the way our guys played, especially defended. They put a lot of pressure on us in the second half, but somehow we managed to get through that without conceding any points.
On Will Warbrick:
[he] is having one hell of a year. Not only is he scoring tries, it’s his work down the other end of the field. He’s a big strong kid, still with a lot of improvement in him to be honest. He was great for us tonight.
There was also a nice little whack for #wrongpriorities being in the middle of the season, but Bellyache isn’t the revolutionary that movement needs.
Was it worth it?
Away games in the middle of this time of year have a high probability of being a trap game, so it was nice of Melbourne to get the job down with only a little bit of fuss. That it was won with Warbrick scoring four was a nice present for those who have wanted him to get the chances he deserved last year.
Playing at Campbelltown Sports Stadium was also the bonus expected when the fixture sent Melbourne there instead of the Lilyfield Rectangle. Unfortunately for the home team only 8,517 fans showed up, because reasons.
6.5/10
Storm Machine Player of the Year
Warbrick would have got four points had he scored that elusive fifth try, instead he would join the cloud of eight other Storm players who have scored four tries in a NRL match for the club.
Getting the ball out to Warbrick was Hughes, with the halfback showing his experience to make sure Melbourne got the win. It was the kind of performance we’ve come to expect from Hughes, which he needs to put in without his Queensland offsider.
Josh King’s effort (136m and 38 tackles) get him a point this week, mostly from his ability to find the right holes to run into that ends up putting Melbourne on the front foot in attack. He does the little things well, and now that he’s getting a small rest in the second half, he’s a better player for it.
An honourable mention and a big welcome back to George Jennings who in his first NRL game in over a year topped the Storm running metres stats with 198 from 19 runs, including 65 post contact metres. Also want to pay credit to Tyran Wishart for both his first try and his effort areas. His role as the bench utility has been mostly taken by Bronson Garlick this season, but he showed that he can play the role well when required.
Round 16 points:
3 – Will Warbrick
2 – Jahrome Hughes
1 – Tui Kamikamica
1 – Josh King
Leaderboard
18 – Harry Grant
15 – Cameron Munster
13 – Nick Meaney
9 – Christian Welch
8 – Jahrome Hughes
6 – Trent Loiero, Will Warbrick
5 – Josh King
4 – Eliesa Katoa, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Tui Kamikamica
2 – Xavier Coates, Alec MacDonald, Jonah Pezet
1 – Reimis Smith, Justin Olam
Next up
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles – AAMI Park, Saturday 24 June, 7:35pm
Manly again, this time on our patch. The Origin boys will hopefully be back, as will Christian Welch and probably Justin Olam. Selection will look like a bit of a revolving door for some, so it will be an interesting teams list Tuesday.
Melbourne will be supporting the Starlight Foundation too, so hopefully Storm fans can pack into AAMI Park, show some Pride and give to a good cause.
Preview post later in the week.14
Meaney had been kicking at 90% since missing the Manly game in round 7.
A lesser commentator would talk about his New Zealand experience playing Australian football, but let’s not fall for that trap.
Not helped at all by Andrew Voss, Michael Ennis and James Hooper in commentary. Voss needs someone to balance out his brand of crazy in the commentary box, Ennis needs a third voice to drown him out, and Hooper shoudn’t be allowed anywhere near a rugby league broadcast.
Leaving a bench of Wishart, Sims, Pene and Bradley.
The gift of Trent Loiero squaring up and flattening Bateman in the 18th minute brought me much joy.
Would love to know why the referees department don’t give Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski more matches with the whistle. He does a better job than half of his colleagues.
There’s a knock-on in the contest for the high ball from the Tigers, but there might have been a riot at Leumeah if they overturned that.
That Fox League replayed the Twal try approximately 104 times, but only gave us a mini box sized replay for this is the biggest shame of the match.
Again a crueler correspondent would probably include a picture from the 1999 NRL Grand Final here, but we’re being better than that this week.
I’ll stop now.
Tallyn Da Silva looks like a player who should be pushing to move to a better team in a few seasons.
It should have been a penalty against the Tigers, but #Kleined.
Again, the way that Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski handled that… why doesn’t he get the main gig more often.
When I stop watching the Ashes (Australia women start Thursday 22 June).