Superb Souths cook up impressive win over Storm
SOUTH Sydney has surged to the top of the NRL ladder following a 30- 20 win over an out- of- sorts Melbourne Storm at ANZ Stadium last night.
The loss halted an eightmatch winning streak for the Storm and could present major headaches for coach Craig Bellamy with inspirational skipper Cameron Smith coming off the field with a leg injury inside the final 10 minutes.
Rabbitohs hooker Damien Cook broke the game open following his 50- metre solo effort in the 62nd minute, running around a handful of Melbourne defenders to score near the uprights.
Cook had been struggling with a right ankle injury after several defenders fell on his lower leg in a heavy tackle.
The Storm led 16- 12 at halftime, but Souths grabbed the lead in the 52nd minute through a try by Adam Doueihi, who was a late replacement for Robert Jennings. However, Doueihi’s night ended nine minutes later when he jarred his left knee and was taken from the field.
The Bunker made another unwelcome appearance mistakenly flashing up the word ‘ try’ after looking at a Cameron Murray knock- on in a mid- air contest for the ball with opposite winger Josh Addo- Carr.
Souths fans thought scores had been levelled 16- 16 at the break.
Instead, Melbourne maintained the halftime lead 16- 12 scoring three tries to two through Dale Finucane, AddoCarr, Curtis Scott.
Hymel Hunt and Sam Burgess were the Rabbitohs firsthalf try scorers.