NRL finals 2024 LIVE updates: Sharks chasing big deficit as ...

The Storm have dominated the second half to beat the Sharks and seal yet another home preliminary final in two weeks time.

The Storm will either play Manly, Sydney Roosters or Canterbury Bulldogs but, either way, today’s win has been a resounding one and it didn’t look like it would go this way at half-time.

The Sharks will have a semi-final in Sydney next week against either North Queensland or Newcastle.

Harry Grant finished with a hat-trick after slipping over for his third try in the final minutes, Ryan Papenhuyzen finished it off with a 35m drop goal.

Why? Because he could.

Cameron Munster celebrates a try.Credit: Getty Images

That’s all I have for you tonight everyone. Thanks so much for joining us and please keep visiting our sport pages for more NRL finals coverage tonight and in the days to come.

Have a lovely evening and bye for now.

AAMI Park: Hold up, Nathan. Jahrome Hughes might have something to say about being the best halfback in the game.

Less than 24 hours after Nathan Cleary produced a superstar return for the Panthers, Hughes was at his lethal best as the Melbourne Storm blew away Cronulla 37-10.

Jahrome Hughes (right) celebrates a Storm try with teammates.Credit: Getty Images

The Storm are 80 minutes away from another grand final. And Hughes was excellent as he called the shots and appeared to get better the longer the game went in front of a week-one AAMI Park record crowd of 26,326 fans.

The impressive attendance was boosted by the fact there was no AFL match in town.

How many of them might be tempted to return in future years while Hughes is in the prime of his career.

Hughes will win the Dally M Medal – and deserves to be right in the conversation with Cleary when it comes to the premier No.7 in rugby league right now.

Click here to read the story.

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon says he is disappointed in his side’s inability to stop the Storm in the second half.

Fitzgibbon still has faith his side can bounce back in next week’s semi-final but they have to get the fine details of their defence right.

Royce Hunt of the Sharks is tackled.Credit: Getty Images

“We were close enough at half-time that I thought we might make a contest of it,” Fitzgibbon said.

“Then we come straight out and, off the bat, give a penalty on the fifth tackle and I’m not sure we got back off our try line again.”

The Storm have dominated the second half to beat the Sharks and seal yet another home preliminary final in two weeks time.

The Storm will either play Manly, Sydney Roosters or Canterbury Bulldogs but, either way, today’s win has been a resounding one and it didn’t look like it would go this way at half-time.

The Sharks will have a semi-final in Sydney next week against either North Queensland or Newcastle.

Harry Grant finished with a hat-trick after slipping over for his third try in the final minutes, Ryan Papenhuyzen finished it off with a 35m drop goal.

Why? Because he could.

Cameron Munster celebrates a try.Credit: Getty Images

Storm winger Xavier Coates is only just back from a hamstring injury and they haven’t taken any risks now the game is safe.

Coates has run off to plenty of congratulations from his teammates.

He will get two more weeks to get his hamstrings even stronger.

Eliesa Katoa has played a blinder in this second half winning back possessions and tackling fiercely, now he has pulled in a high ball and thrown a lovely inside pass to Grant who scored yet again close to the posts.

The Storm are on their way to a home preliminary final.

Eliesa Katoa of the Storm.Credit: Getty Images

Even Craig Bellamy, briefly, cheered for that try before returning to his game face.

Storm 30, Sharks 10 with seven minutes to go.

The Sharks have been stuck in their defensive end in the second half and now they are trying to get something going as we reach the last 10 minutes of the match.

They have a heap of work to do and the clock keeps ticking down.

Storm 24, Sharks 10 with nine minutes to go.