It was a question as to just how long their Origin stars would play and whether or not they would be fatigued from the physical contest on Wednesday night, but the Melbourne Storm and the players involved in Origin showed no ill-effects, as they cruised to victory at AAMI Park.
Bursting out of the blocks early on, they scored 7 straight tries over a 60 minute period before the Sharks pulled one back late on, with the final score finishing up as 38-6 in favour of the Storm.
It was the Storm’s key players standing up, as Cam Smith played a captain’s knock and halves duo Cooper Cronk and Gareth Widdop playing their roles to perfection.
Whether it was kicking 40-20’s, putting players into gaps or setting tries up, the trio were on a roll to which the Cronulla Sharks had no answer, leaving them shell-shocked.
The roll was felt by the Sharks immediately, one that stand-in captain Wade Graham said was hard hcg diet protocol basics to reverse, especially when the Storm scored tries in quick succession.
“They took us to school pretty early in that first half and once they get out to a lead like that it’s hard to reel them in,” Graham said.
“They were on at the start and we were a bit off.
“We’ve got to get back to Cronulla and take our medicine and get ready for Parramatta (on Saturday).”
The win was a sweetener for captain Smith, who was playing in his 250th NRL game, with the club captain and hooker pleased with the effort of his side for his milestone game.
“I’m not one for counting games or looking toward milestones but I’m very proud of playing 250 matches because not too many blokes get to do it,” he said.
“I was happy the boys put in a really good performance and I could finish with a smile on my face.”
3. Gareth Widdop
2. Cooper Cronk
1. Cameron Smith