Storm douse Dragons' flames

Melbourne Storm won a battle of attrition against the St George-Illawarra Dragons 24-10 at Olympic Park in cold and drizzly conditions.

The game promised plenty of tries with both teams possessing ample attacking weapons, but what it produced was a wonderful display of defensive football, particularly in the first half.

Both sides had several opportunities to score with plenty of possession close to the opposition's try line. However both teams muscled up in defence and held firm.

Only the Dragons’ Colin Best and the Storm’s Steve Turner were able to penetrate their opponent's try line in the opening 37 minutes.

However, what transpired in the final three minutes of the first half had the home crowd on their feet and in full voice.

First, Webster broke free on the defensive line 70 metres from home to outpace the retreating Dragons players, scoring under the posts.

Moments later it was Webster again, this time benefiting from an inch perfect kick from Cooper Cronk and a smart gather from Greg Inglis who offloaded to the flying centre, sending the Storm in 14-4 in front at the break.

With the Storm and Dragons playing down the middle in drizzly conditions, both sides were still prepared to throw it around highlighting the skill levels of both teams.

The second half started badly for the Dragons with half-back Matthew Head unable to return having sustained a knee injury.

What occurred for the next 18 minutes was a real old fashioned arm wrestle between two of the form sides in the competition.

However, ill-discipline by the Dragons gifted the Storm a penalty from right in front with 22 minutes to go to send Melbourne two converted tries clear.

Things went from bad to worse for the Dragons when Justin Poore charged Cronk after he had kicked the ball, earning himself ten minutes in the sin bin. Cam Smith converted the resultant penalty from right in front to extend the Storm lead.

The game was over as a contest when Ian Donnelly gathered a loose ball from a Geyer kick to score the try before the Dragons’ Chris Simmonds scored out wide to finish the scoring.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy acknowledged his chargers did a great job tonight against a quality opposition.

“It was a tough win,” said Bellamy.

“St George looked really good in that first 25-30 minutes and we were under the pump.

“I must say that was the most pleasing part of the game for me, the way we hung in. They made quite a lot of chances but couldn’t quite get it over the line.

“It was a real quality game of footy in that first half and for our guys to hang in there and kind of push through the other side at the end of it was a real credit to them.

Although the big wins against Newcastle and Penrith are always welcome, Bellamy enjoys the tight battles more.

“Last week was great, tremendous. You don’t have too many of those nights in footy,” said Bellamy.

“I know during the game I didn’t enjoy it as much tonight, but certainly at the end I enjoyed it a lot more because I know we’ve won a game that was in the balance a fair bit and I’m really proud of this team.

“We’ve got a lot of things to improve, especially with our attack, but I thought they showed real steel tonight which I’m happy to see.”