By Roy Ward
Maybe less Harry Grant means more tries for the Melbourne Storm after a decision to start the Origin hooker on the bench paid off in a big way in their win over Canberra Raiders at AAMI Park on Sunday.
The Storm have been away for almost two months as the Women’s World Cup took over the stadium they’ve made their home, but they made it a home-coming to remember with a 48-2 victory that keeps them in a good position to claim fourth spot with three rounds to go.
The Storm started with some surprises, with Grant on the bench and utility Bronson Garlick starting in an attempt to give Grant a little rest after a hectic season.
It ended up working a treat as he came on 20 minutes in and, combined with forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona, turning the game in his team’s favour as they scored eight of their nine tries.
The big win also boosted their points differential – they started the day 29 points behind fourth-placed Cronulla Sharks but ended it ahead of the Sharks by a win and 23 points on differential.
Storm centre Young Tonumaipea became the first Victorian-raised player to play 50 games for the club and he had a team-high 183 run metres and scored the final try to top off his day.
Melbourne Storm’s Harry Grant gets a pass away during the win over the Canberra Raiders at AAMI Park on Sunday.Credit: Getty Images
With star full-back Ryan Papenhuyzen continuing to expand his minutes in the Queensland Cup following a comeback from a fractured knee cap, the Storm’s prospects look ever better, although Penrith and Brisbane still sit in the top two positions.
The question will be who would make way for Papenhuyzen, with Nick Meaney thriving at full-back and bench utilities Tom Eisenhuth, Tepai Moeroa and Garlick all making strong contributions.
A penalty goal two minutes in put the Raiders in front, and they threatened a couple of times early but the Storm took the lead on 12 minutes via a driving run from captain Christian Welch.
Grant’s rest lasted 20 minutes as he and Asofa-Solomona both entered the game and swung the contest in favour of their side.
Eliesa Katoa scores for the Storm.Credit: Getty Images
Asofa-Solomona soon had his side on the board after drawing in four defenders close to the line and off-loading to Grant, who quickly fed the ball wide to Jahrome Hughes whose diving pass found centre Marion Seve unmarked to score in the corner.
Just after the half-hour, Hughes was again the creator with a sharp pass to second-rower Eliesa Katoa, who found Smith who barged through a gap and scored despite desperation efforts from the Raiders, making it 16-2.
Katoa added another try just before half-time to put the home side up 20-2 and that margin only grew in the second half as Trent Loiero, Grant, Cameron Munster and Nick Meaney scored tries.
Raiders veteran Jordan Rapana was sin-binned with nine minutes to go for a professional foul on Hughes, while centre Matthew Timoko was also sin-binned with three minutes to go and placed on report for a high tackle topping off a frustrating day for the visitors.
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