Storm hold off epic Bulldogs comeback in thriller... but star in trouble ...

The Storm have hung on to win a thriller 16-14 in Melbourne against a brave Bulldogs outfit in a match that featured a hat-trick and two sin bins.

Canterbury winger Josh Addo-Carr scored three tries in 14 minutes in the second half to give his side the lead, but the hosts found a way back at the death.

Jahrome Hughes danced his way through some tired defenders and on the next play Shawn Blore crashed over to score the winner and just his second NRL try.

Nick Meaney slotted the 76th minute conversion to put Melbourne ahead and they hung on to make it 13 straight wins at home.

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Ryan Papenhuyzen scored the opener and it happened way too easily, with the Storm fullback barging through four Bulldogs defenders to plant the ball down in the third minute.

It went up as no try but against the theme of this season the Bunker ruled there was no obstruction and the try was awarded.

The Storm then scored one of the wildest tries of the season when Reimis Smith crossed in the 23rd minute.

Xavier Coates reeled in a bomb and then stood while being turned towards the touch line he held himself up in the tackle for what felt like an eternity before the winger somehow put a grubber in and Smith raced through to score in the 23rd minute.

“That is one of the greatest tries we’ve seen in our game’s history,” James Graham said on Fox League.

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The Bulldogs went 109 metres in two tackles in the 48th minute with Addo-Carr racing 60 metres to finish off a sensational team try.

But Dogs forward Sam Hughes was then binned for “forceful contact to the head” after hitting Storm prop Christian Welch with an elbow at the bottom of the ruck in the 53rd minute.

Papenhuyzen was in everything before he got binned for a professional foul in the 56th minute after taking out Stephen Crichton off the ball in a try-scoring situation.

Just moments later and the visitors put it through the hands for Addo-Carr to score his second out wide. Matt Burton hadn’t converted a left sideline conversion all season and he missed again, spurning the chance to take a 12-10 lead.

But Addo-Carr completed his 14-minute hat-trick after again finishing in the corner as the Bulldogs took the lead for the first time in the 62nd minute.

The Storm haven’t lost at home after leading at halftime since 2019 and at the death they found a way to get the job done once again.

“It was a lot of back and forth footy… they’re a tight squad the Doggies, they’re really tough, they’re relentless with their footy,” Melbourne captain Harry Grant said.

“I think we were lucky to get away with it there.”

Papenhuyzen was also put on report in the first half for a hip-drop tackle on Addo-Carr in the first half that was picked up by the Bunker.

Here are three talking points out of the match from NCA Newswire’s Lance Jenkinson.

COATES STUNNER

The freakish skills of Storm winger Xavier Coates were on show again.

Coates showed his strength to extricate himself from a Kiraz tackle, who was trying to force him into touch, somehow managing to grubber a kick in for Storm centre Reimis Smith to slide in to score.

It was Smith’s first try against his former team and it put the Storm up 10-0 after 23 minutes.

Coates then had the Storm fans to their feet again when he detonated a Bulldogs bomb and went on a threatening 50-metre run.

As if to show his two-way capabilities, Coates almost split Bulldogs winger Connor Tracey in half with bone rattling tackle on two occasions, the second ensuring the ball spilled free with the Dogs in a threatening position.

DOGS DOMINANCE

The Bulldogs were back within striking distance, down 10-6, when Xerri showed his turn of foot to accelerate away from Storm’s Nick Meaney and set Addo-Carr off on a 60 metre run for a try, which came on the back of some superb Kiraz recovery play at the back.

Dogs forward Sam Hughes had a brain fade, landing a forearm with force on Storm’s Christian Welch and getting 10 minutes in the bin as a result.

It would soon be 12-on-12 when Papenhuyzen illegally pushed Stephen Crichton and the Bulldogs liked those numbers with Addo-Carr scoring on the next play to tie it up.

The Bulldogs dominance continued and when Burton produced a Harbour Bridge pass to Addo-Carr for his third try, the visitors were up 14-10.

After conceding 14 consecutive points, Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes said enough is enough, going on a mazy run to set up Shawn Blore for his first try at the Storm before Nick Meaney added the extras to seal the win.

BIG NELSON LOOMS

Storm forward Tui Kamikamica succumbed to a calf injury just four minutes in.

Kamikamica has led the way in the Storm’s forward pack this season with Nelson Asofa-Solomona working his way back from preseason hamstring injuries.

If the 29-year-old is to miss time with the injury, it may pave the way for the return of Asofa-Solomona to the Storm lineup against the Roosters away on Thursday night.

“Obviously with Nelson, we’ll see how he goes this week [in reserve grade] and then go from there,” Bellamy said.

“At the end of the day, he’ll be a big chance of being in next week.”

The Storm had to fight back from a four-point deficit late to overcome a plucky Bulldogs team that had rattled off 14 consecutive second half points after going to half-time 10-0 down.

Shawn Blore, a work horse on the night with 40 tackles, bobbed up for the Storm’s match-winning try with six minutes left.

While Blore’s minutes have been limited since crossing from the Wests Tigers, what he has done has impressed Bellamy, who said he deserved his big moment of a match-winning try, which came on the back of a mazy run from halfback Jahrome Hughes.

“He didn’t have a great preseason and was a bit underdone to be quite honest and I think he’s still a little bit underdone,” Bellamy said.

“That’s the first time he’s gone the 80 minutes with us.

“There were a couple of times where we thought we would have to replace him but the real positive sign is he just kept hanging in there and hanging in there.”

Bellamy is happy to invest in the 23-year-old Blore, who he sees as having a bright future in the second row.

“He’s a powerful athlete, he’s quick and he’s starting to forge a pretty good combination with [five-eighth Cameron] Munster there on that edge,” Bellamy said.

“He’s a really good guy, he’s sort of invested himself into the club and what we’re about and he got his desserts tonight.

“He’s been working real hard and we think he’s got a lot more improvement in him as well when he gets to know the players a bit more around him.”

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