Storm survive Cowboys surge to equal club record for consecutive wins

Melbourne Storm continued their rampaging run atop the NRL ladder with their 15th win in a row, but the Cowboys made them battle to the final seconds to post a 20-16 victory.

If Craig Bellamy’s team needed any reminding that the intensity in the run in to the finals will go up considerably, this was a game that rammed home the message and will have dispelled any notions of complacency.

One of the downsides of being a superb football team is that supporters, critics, casual fans and even the always savvy bookmaking community can become somewhat blase about your excellence, which meant they went into this match in Townsville as unbackable favourites.

But the Cowboys had not read the script and made a huge contribution to a thrilling game characterised in the first half by disallowed tries and more than one controversial decision.

Storm welcomed back Josh Addo Carr into the starting line-up and star full back Ryan Papenhuyzen returning from a lengthy absence on the bench, and it was the former who got his side off to a flying start.

The wide man was on the end of a sweeping move down the left and accelerated into space to score. When Nicho Hynes, who had been an architect in the build-up, converted it seemed as though this was a game that would follow the template Storm supporters have become familiar.

Ryan Papenhuyzen gets back into the action for Melbourne.Credit:Getty

The Cowboys thought they had got back on level terms within 10 minutes after a flowing move ended with debutant Kane Bradley going over in the corner. However, officials in the bunker ruled out the score for obstruction – a decision which left Cowboys fans fuming.

The Storm were themselves on the receiving end of a similar call just a couple of minutes later when centre Justin Olam bullocked his way through only for the bunker to rule the try out for the same reason.

However, the same player made amends soon after, fastening on to an Addo-Carr kick to stretch the lead to 10 points.

But the Cowboys dug deep, piled on the pressure and got their reward in the very last few seconds of the half when Coen Hess muscled his way over the line.

The hosts drew level when Kyle Feldt ended a slick passing move to score wide on the right, and when Scott Drinkwater slotted over it put the Queenslanders were in front for the first time all night.

An upset looked to be on the cards as the Cowboys clung on to their lead, but with 17 minutes left Dean Ieremia hacked Jarome Hughes kick forward and Reimis Smith broke into space to put Melbourne back in front.

The game was still in the balance with ten minutes to go when Olam and Addo Carr linked again, the latter scoring to register his 100th try. It looked done and dusted until Kane Bradley popped up again in the 76th minute to reduce the lead to four points and ensure a nervous finale for the league leaders.

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