Storm superstar Sua Fa’alogo has produced one of the best halves of footy in recent memory, with his 12-minute hat-trick lifting the Storm to a 46-20 win over a gritty Dragons side.
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MATCH CENTRE: Dragons vs Storm teams, scores updates
With the game in the balance at 20-18 inside the final 20 minutes, Fa’alogo put an emphatic stamp on the game, beating Mat Feagai one-on-one close to the line to score in the 63rd minute.
It gave Melbourne the lead again in a back-and-forth gam and one they wouldn’t relinquish.
The Storm fullback scored again minutes later, showing off a brilliant turn-of-foot to sprint through a small gap and run 40 metres to the line.
Fa’alogo would cap his hat-trick with three minutes to go with another individual effort, turning on a dime and changing position back towards the posts where the space was.
Fa’alogo, who replaced the departed Ryan Papenhuyzen, has arguably been the game’s best player across the first two rounds.
He has five tries in two games after scoring a double in Round 1.
Against the Dragons, he had 119 metres, ten tackle busts, three tries, three line breaks and two line break assists.
Yet another stunning individual try, this time from centre Moses Leo, put the icing on the cake in the 80th minute and meant Melbourne would run out 26-point winners with the Dragons feeling the pinch late.
Unfairly, the margin isn’t an indicator of how well the Dragons played.
They led with 17 minutes to play and were giving the all-conquering Storm all they could handle.
What was most impressive about their performance was the fact they were able to bounce back after falling in an early 12-0 hole, scoring three unasnwered tries to lead 14-12 at half time.
Recruit Dan Atkinson was the Dragons’ best, setting up two tries
BIG HITS
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
They were unlucky to lose a golden point thriller in Las Vegas, and the Dragons again showed that they are going to be a massive problem for the top teams.
Shane Flanagan’s men got off to a slow start but piled on three tries in a row to hit the lead, with new recruit Daniel Atkinson putting on a lovely move and firing a cracking pass to set up Valentine Holmes for one of them.
The halves then combined to set up Holmes who exploded into a gap in the second half as the big crowd in Wollongong started to dream off a famous win after they also knocked off the Storm last season.
The left edge also had some nice moments, while Hamish Stewart was a beast off the bench and continues to show signs that he will be a future rep star, but they came up with some poor plays in the final quarter as the Storm ran away with it.
Their physicality on the edges and their craftiness in the spine will keep them in every game this season, with the Dragons a big chance of knocking off the Eels next week to get their season going.
REVENGE TIME
The Storm head into next week’s showdown with a 2-0 record while Brisbane are winless and already facing intense scrutiny from journos north of the border.
Halfback Adam Reynolds (ribs) is in doubt for the grand final rematch, with all eyes on Reece Walsh after his heroics at Accor Stadium.
The Storm will be sweating on centre Moses Leo after he was placed on report for a shoulder charge on Clint Gutherson that forced the Dragons veteran off with 20 minutes to go, while back-rower Shawn Blore looks set to be sidelined after he hurt his foot in reserve grade.
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