The Serve

Rampant Storm finish Brisbane

There were no finals nerves for the Melbourne Storm, who ruthlessly slaughtered the depleted Brisbane Broncos 40-nil at Olympic Park, ending the run of the defending premiers.

Both sides suffered major blows before kick off, with a training mishap resulting in five-eighth Greg Inglis sustaining a back injury and withdrawing. Brisbane’s number six Tonie Carroll was also taken out of the game with a hamstring problem.

With Matt Geyer moving to second reciever, the Storm were awesome in attack, using the hefty breeze at their backs to perfection.

Steve Turner had a hat-trick before the break.

Brisbane promised to play a physical game, however they were more than matched by the hungry Storm pack, with the backs of Melbourne monstering their out of depth opposition. Cameron Smith’s try in the 31 st minute was the only touchdown not scored by a back.

There was one scare for the home side when Matt King was taken off during the second half with a neck problem. He returned in the final ten minutes and almost instantly goet amongst the try scorers.

Melbourne will next play in a fortnight, at Tesltra Dome, against the Bulldogs or Parramatta.