It was like the Melbourne Storm of old as it ambushed Wests Tigers for a losing streak snapping 44-16 win in coach Craig Bellamy’s first game back in front of the adoring AAMI Park faithful on Sunday since he was diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder.
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The Storm signalled their ruthless intentions from the outset as they ran in four tries in the opening 12 minutes to blow the Tigers off the park and put an end to their seven-game losing streak.
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The breakthrough win has come at a significant cost for Storm with scintillating fullback and the team’s leading try scorer Sua Faalogo suffering a suspected facial fracture.
Faalogo was caught in friendly fire from teammate Jahrome Hughes, who clashed heads in a desperate bid to stop a Taylan May try in the first half, and will likely miss Storm’s Magic Round clash with Parramatta Eels at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers, meanwhile, had been one of the best feel-good stories to start 2026 but the past two results have put somewhat of a dampener on what they achieved, with Marshall determined to turn it around.
“It just creates a bit of a negative smell around what we’re doing with those two scorelines, especially given defensively before the last two weeks we were pretty high up in the competition,” coach Benji Marshall said post-game.
“Our standards are better than that.”
An aerial assault from Storm winger Will Warbrick electrified the home side. Warbrick twice climbed on the back of Tigers winger Luke Laulilii to score in spectacular fashion.
Staring at a heavy 32-4 deficit midway though the second half, the Tigers produced back to back tries through Laulilii and May, before return-to-form Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster settled any nerves for the home side with his second try.
May, who ran for 179 metres and produced nine tackle breaks, was superb with two tries for the Tigers, but it was not enough to get the visitors home in the face of their significant injury toll.
The last thing the Tigers could afford to do was give Storm, who entered the game low on confidence on a seven-game losing run, momentum early through undisciplined acts. That is exactly what Tigers forward Tristan Hope did, needlessly putting pressure on the face of Storm centre Jack Howarth at the base of a tackle and giving the home side a leg up.
Relief for Bellamy after victory | 08:05
From the ensuing set, former Tiger Stefano Utoikamanu pulled up centimetres short of the line, but the Storm went left and speedy fullback Faalogo needed no second invitation, kick-starting a 12-minute Storm purple patch.
Hughes produced a delightful kick to a soaring Warbrick, who produced an AFL-style grab over Laulilii to touch down. A third try in eight minutes was the Storm at their exciting best, a 60-metre play that gained momentum through a Munster offload, which went through five sets of hands before Munster finished off the try.
The dozy Tigers didn’t read the memo about Harry Grant enjoying a scamper from dummy half. Grant ran through a gaping hole to put Hughes in and it was Storm by 20 just 12 minutes in and the scoreline threatening to resemble the 64-0 win they enjoyed over the Tigers last season.
Through playmakers Madden, Hope and Jarome Luai, the Tigers found a way back into the contest.
After Tigers forward Alex Twal was put on report for an elbow to the throat of Trent Loiero, May breathed life into the visitors with a spectacular individual try, creating something out of nothing after Laililii squeezed a pass out on the fifth tackle.
May collected the ball with his fingertips and bulldozed through four defenders to score. It was a double whammy for Storm, who had the profilic Faalogo off with a suspected facial fracture, after Hughes collided with him in an attempt to tackle May.
Just before the break, Grant made another dart from dummy half to score, giving Storm a commanding 26-4 lead at half time. Warbrick’s aerial assault continued when he soared over Laulilii again to give Storm a 28-point lead midway through the second half.
Just when you thought how much Storm, the Tigers came roaring back through tries to Laulilii and May, but it was too little too late as Munster and Ativalu Lisati scored settling tries for Storm.
Storm snap losing streak against Tigers | 02:33
BENJI’S STRONG MESSAGE ON TIGERS LOSS
No excuses.
That was the message from Tigers coach Benji Marshall after his side fell to a second-straight defeat.
Sure, they were missing three quarters of their spine with Jahream Bula, Adam Doueihi and Apisai Koroisau unavailable but that meant nothing to Marshall, who has built a strong culture at the club this season.
“We hold ourselves to a higher standard than that, no matter who is out,” Marshall said.
“A lot of teams have got players out at the moment. We’ve got to be better than what we were. We’ve got to look in the mirror with what we’re doing as coaches.”
STORM TARGET CLEAR TIGERS WEAKNESS
Will Warbrick had a day against the Tigers, scoring two tries as the Storm had plenty of success going to their acrobatic winger in the air.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy conceded post-game it was all part of the “plan”.
“We thought we had a bit of an advantage advantage in height with our wingers and we sort of planned to put a few kicks there away, but especially with Will, he’s been so good at that for so long, and it was pretty valuable the couple of tries he got there today,” Bellamy said.
FEARS FOR FULLBACK
The win may have come at a cost, with fullback Sua Fa’alago failing to return. There are fears he has suffered a fractured cheekbone, and Bellamy said that would be the “worst-case scenario”.
“Sometimes they’re fractured and they move out of place. Other times it’s just like a hairline, so hopefully it’s just that,” added Bellamy.
“He’s fine in there at the moment, he seems OK, so he’ll go and have a scan and then, you know, we’ll know for sure from there.”
JUDICIARY WATCH
– Alex Twal was placed on report for an elbow on Trent Loiero while in possession in the 20th minute. He has one unrelated tripping charge in the past 12 months.
– Latu Fainu was placed on report late in the 1st half for an elbow on the ground. He has no previous charges.
– Kai Pearce-Paul was placed on report for a chicken wing style tackle on Will Warbrick in the second half. He has no charges in the past 12 months.
– Shawn Blore was placed on report for a crusher tackle just after the 60th minute. He was last charged in 2021.
STAT ATTACK (via Fox Lab)
– Storm losing streak ends at seven games – they have won 15 of their last 16 day games, 12 by 20 points or more.
– Nine straight wins for Storm over the Tigers – have outscored them 148-44 in the past three meetings.
– First consecutive losses for Tigers this season – Conceded 127 points in their first seven games, 96 points in their past two.
– Tigers missed 52 tackles – their highest count of the season.
Fox Lab POTM – Harry Grant may have found form just in time for the State of Origin series. He scored a try, had a hand in three others, ran 8 times for 73 metres with two linebreaks and five tackle busts and made 43 tackles.
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