The world club champions showed they will again be the team to beat for this season’s NRL title with a clinical 17-10 victory over the much-improved Rabbitohs.
Manly Sea Eagles capitalised on the Rabbitohs’ loss with a 25-18 win over the Cronulla Sharks at Brookvale on Sunday to emerge as genuine premiership contenders.
It was the Storm’s greater composure under the scheming control of their influential Test scrum-half Cooper Cronk that proved the difference in a three tries-to-two victory over Souths before almost 33,000 fans at Sydney’s Olympic stadium.
Melbourne capitalised on South Sydney errors to lead 12-0 at half-time but were outscored 10-5 in the second half as the Rabbitohs tested their defence through the powerful running of the English brothers, Sam and George Burgess.
Geoff Toovey’s Sea Eagles stamped themselves alongside Souths and Sydney Roosters as contenders to Melbourne’s crown with their fifth win in six games.
Toovey took over at Manly last season after Des Hasler’s acrimonious departure to the Canterbury Bulldogs and got the Sea Eagles to within one win of the grand final.
He has re-energised the 2011 champions into a side that again looks likely to feature in the big end-of-season games.
St George Illawarra survived a furious Wests Tigers fightback, with a Jamie Soward drop goal two minutes from time securing the Dragons a 13-12 victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday.
Parramatta gave the Gold Coast a scare at home before the Titans escaped with a narrow 28-22 victory after trailing 22-8.
Sonny Bill Williams tormented his former club with a starring role in the Sydney Roosters’ 38-0 demolition of Canterbury.
Playing against the Bulldogs for the first time since walking out on the club in 2008 to pursue a rugby union career, Williams scored two tries and set up another with his first touch of the ball.