The Melbourne Storm secured a hard-fought 20-14 victory over the Bulldogs to lock in a home qualifying final, surviving a dramatic late scare when Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton was denied a potential match-levelling try in the final minute.
The Storm’s defence was immense all night, highlighted by Xavier Coates’ desperate chase-down tackle on Harry Hayes and his decisive try that sealed the win.
Despite playing a period with Harry Grant in the sin bin and losing Tui Kamikamica to a head knock, Melbourne held firm under relentless pressure, with Nick Meaney’s perfect goal kicking and standout performances from Tyran Wishart and Trent Loiero proving decisive.
The result leaves the Bulldogs’ hopes of stealing second place all but over, while Storm showed their defensive mettle in one of their best performances of the season.
