STORM 32
WARRIORS 18
KEY POINTS:
A Steve Price injury and a clinical Melbourne Storm consigned the New Zealand Warriors to a 32-18 National Rugby League (NRL) defeat in Melbourne tonight.
The inspirational captain hobbled off just before the 20-minute mark with a torn hamstring when he jarred his left leg while sidestepping on the tacky surface at a sweltering Telstra Dome.
It all went downhill from there for the error-ridden Warriors who were in the game at 12-16 at halftime, but were over-run in the second half.
A downcast Price, who joins fullback Wade McKinnon (knee) as a Warriors casualty, could only look on from the sideline as the Storm kicked clear.
"It's quite painful and hopefully it's not as bad as we think," Price told Fox Sports of the injury.
The Storm scored five tries to three, with electric fullback Billy Slater bagging three in the first half before setting up Sam Tagataese's 71st minute try.
Last year's heroes Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith pulled the strings as the Storm extended their winning streak in Melbourne to 17 matches, despite losing forward Ryan Hoffman to a rib cartilage injury.
There was controversy before each half when the Storm made the Warriors wait for several minutes before taking the field.
An infuriated Warriors briefly strode off the field before the second half as the Storm finally emerged after an 18-minute halftime break.
Despite the evening kickoff, the match started in 36degC temperatures which led officials to call drinks breaks at the 20-minute mark.
The Storm, seeking to become the first back-to-back NRL premiers since Brisbane in 1993, flew out of the blocks thanks to Slater's brilliance.
He had his hat-trick by the 25-minute mark as the Storm attacked Manu Vatuvei's left wing, with memories of his horrors in the Warriors' previous Monday night game against Parramatta still fresh.
Vatuvei was a prominent figure for the Warriors with some costly errors but a key role in both their first half tries, and also a 78th minute consolation touchdown.
Slater's opening try in the fifth minute was set up by a Smith offload 1m from the line when he ran on the sixth tackle.
A Vatuvei fumble which led to a line drop-out saw the Storm race back on attack and Slater had his second from an overlap when Vatuvei raced infield on defence.
His third was a gem, set up by a Cronk chip kick gathered by winger Steve Tuner who sent Slater over.
But Vatuvei was also proving his worth on attack.
They opened their account in the 17th minute when Vatuvei towered above his opposite Turner and palmed back a Nathan Fien bomb for Jerome Ropati to dive over.
Then the big winger struck five minutes before the break when he bulldozed over from 10m out, carrying three defenders with him.
Five-eighth Michael Witt, who had a 92 percent goalkicking success rate in 2007, continued his top form with a pair of sideline conversions.
The Storm struck the killer blows after the break and it was Vatuvei who featured again, dropping a bomb near his own line.
Dallas Johnson steamrolled over Lance Hohaia to score from the next play, then two Smith penalties made it a comfortable 26-12 with 20 minutes remaining.
The Warriors also blundered three kickoffs with Epalahame Lauaki (twice) and Witt kicking the ball dead on the full.
New Warriors signing Brent Tate, in his first NRL match since undergoing major knee surgery, rued missed chances.
"We just didn't take our opportunities," Tate said.
"A couple of times we had them on the ropes, they were on the verge of cracking, I think, and we'd either turn it over or drop the ball.
"Just simple mistakes, so we probably let them off the hook there. "
- NZPA
