Grant, Munster thrive as Storm blast Broncos

Melbourne Storm’s all-or-nothing line-up put down its most impressive performance of the campaign, scoring their fourth win in a row on Friday night.

The Storm’s 60-12 win over the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium has kept their top-four hopes in their own hands heading into the last two rounds but injuries again hit Melbourne with winger Xavier Coates (concussion) and utility Tyran Wishart (ankle) going off in the second half.

Melbourne’s Cameron Munster celebrates scoring one of the Storm’s tries in their romp over Brisbane.Credit:Getty Images

The record losing margin could cost the Broncos a home elimination final or worse depending on how they and the ninth-placed Canberra Raiders fair in their remaining games.

At the start of August, the Storm looked in trouble with four starting players out injured for the season and a record four-game losing streak on the board. But the decision to shuffle Cameron Munster to full-back and bring Brandon Smith into the starting forward pack has reinvigorated the side, as the Broncos witnessed.

Hooker Harry Grant was best on field with a try and two try assists against the Broncos but went off late following a knock to his knee, while Munster was again untouchable and forwards Jesse Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona dominated the physical contest.

The Storm struck first with a flowing move to the right edge where Asofa-Solomona attacked the defensive line and held up his defenders before feeding back to Young Tonumaipea, who forced his way over the line despite the attention of two defenders.

But just as the Storm looked in command, Asofa-Solomona made an unforced error throwing a blind flick pass and missed the mark, with Coates attempting to keep it in place but only managing to throw the ball to Broncos star Kurt Capewell, who had no one around him and sprinted to the line to score.

Storm centre Justin Olam helped jolt his side back into the contest with a body-shaking tackle on Broncos forward Jordan Riki.

Before the game, Grant was pictured in conversation with mentor and Storm legend Cameron Smith and he emulated the long-time Melbourne skipper with a try assist to prop Tui Kamikamica, who powered over for the try and a 12-6 lead after 20 minutes.

Another Broncos error led to the Storm attacking the try line again and Olam was caught at the line but threw the ball back towards loan winger David Nofoaluma, who dove over to give his new club an 18-6 lead.

Grant was the provider again with a grubber kick behind the Broncos’ defence, which was slow to react as Munster sprinted through the pack to grab the ball first and score the try to lead 24-6 at half-time.

Grant was at it again just minutes into the second half, bursting into a gap to extend the lead to 30-6. Coates’ night was ended just before the hour mark when he was ankle-tapped just before colliding with Broncos winger Corey Oates, which led to him taking an accidental shot to the head and being sent for a head injury assessment.

Whether he can play in next week’s final-round clash with Sydney Roosters will depend on how he recovers this week. Utility back Wishart went off after a shot to the ankle.

Olam scored a solo try on 55 minutes and had his brace soon after when Kenny Bromwich fed him with an off-load to set him up to score.

Oates scored late for Brisbane but a sublime solo run from Jahrome Hughes, a try from Asofa-Solomona and a breakaway run from Nofoaluma topped off the night.

Whether Melbourne can win the title or not remains to be seen but Friday showed they will throw everything they have at the upcoming finals.

Doubt them if you dare.

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