The Melbourne Storm have held off a fierce Sydney Roosters’ side in a well-fought 18-12 victory at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.
A last-minute try from Xavier Coates saved the Storm from heading into a golden-point battle, while all eyes remained on Cameron Munster who was sent to the bin for a professional foul.
A dead ball in-goal by Jahrome Hughes saw the Storm star marched to the bin, with the referee awarding a penalty for his professional foul on Roosters captain James Tedesco.
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The kick was appealed by the halfback, who argued he was obstructed from scoring. The referee declined his appeal as Tedesco raced away for a quick tap and was taken down by an offside Munster.
League legend Brad Fittler revealed that Munster should expect to receive a fine for his slow exit after he leisurely walked off the field.
“That is a breach. You are supposed to jog off when you go to the sin bin… Munster you are getting fined,” he told Nine’s coverage.
Speaking to Wide World of Sports’ panel post-match, Munster was frustrated with his actions.
“I was sitting in the shed pretty disappointed. I have got a good run of being sin-binned against the Roosters and it is not ideal,” he told Nine’s coverage.
“I thought at the time it was the right idea. I thought Teddy could go the length.
“We want to do the best thing for the team and looking back now, the boys dug deep but we were lucky to get the win.”
Hughes fought off three Roosters defenders to charge over the line and open the scoring.
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A cross-field bomb by Luke Keary was fumbled in goal by Melbourne’s defence, making room for Michael Jennings to pounce and score.
Eliesa Kaota left Keary winded with a brutal shot on the halfback as the Storm regained possession. Munster set the backrower up with a kick across the field to score the Storm’s second try.
The Roosters were denied a try after the referee ruled a forward pass, but the Sydney-siders found themselves back on the board not long after, with Joseph Manu going over in the corner.
An error from the Roosters skipper saw Ryan Papenhuyzen slice through Sydney’s right-hand defence before a loose play of the ball was dribbled out wide by Harry Grant to Xavier Coates who pushed over to score.
With a minute left on the clock, a penalty at the expense of Jared Warea-Hargreaves removed all comeback hopes for the Roosters and sealed the win for the Storm.
