Raiders 6 Storm 17
CANBERRA - A hat-trick of tries from Melbourne centre Greg Inglis led the Storm to a 17-6 NRL victory over the Raiders at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night, despite a hostile opposition and crowd.
Inglis scored all but one of the Storm's points, bagging three tries and two conversions, while Brett Finch slotted a field goal just before halftime.
But the win didn't come in easy conditions.
In cool temperatures, a downright-cold crowd of 12,165 booed and jeered the Storm every step of the way.
Canberra players showed their displeasure too, when a high tackle on one of their own sparked an all-in brawl between the two sides early in the match.
Despite being the NRL's most unpopular team following revelations last month they rorted the salary cap, Inglis' brilliance ensured their third victory in four games since the scandal broke.
He opened the scoring in the 21st minute after a masterful set piece involving Billy Slater resulted in an easy try.
Inglis managed another four-pointer just seven minutes later to take the Storm 12-0 up, before Finch kicked a handy point on the halftime buzzer to inch them further ahead.
The fiery game was peppered with tense moments - opposing players repeatedly came chest-to-chest after suspect tackles.
Play was stopped for several minutes in the first half after Storm prop Brett White put a high tackle on Raiders centre Jarrod Croker.
Despite a penalty being awarded to Canberra, acting captain Terry Campese became involved in an on-field altercation which quickly deteriorated into a major brawl involving every player.
It looked set to happen again in the second half, when Canberra hooker Travis Waddell became the victim of a dangerous lift tackle by Melbourne's Sika Manu and Jeff Lima put on report.
But the Raiders soon recovered their composure, with winger Daniel Vidot converting a bomb from fullback Josh Dugan into a try which narrowed the margin to 13-6 in the 63rd minute.
Just when Canberra appeared to be back in the game, Inglis was at it again, ploughing head first across the try line with three minutes to spare.
Melbourne 17 (G Inglis 3 tries G Inglis 2 goals B Finch field goal) bt Canberra 6 (D Vidot try T Campese goal) at Canberra Stadium.
- AAP
