Ryan Papenhuyzen was the Clive Churchill Medallist in Melbourne’s last premiership four years ago and he played his best match since that night to propel the Storm into next Sunday’s Grand Final.
The Roosters lost Lindsay Collins when he was concussed in the first tackle of Friday’s Preliminary Final at AAMI Park but despite scoring first, they were outmuscled by the Melbourne machine 48-18.
Nelson Asofa-Solomona was sin-binned for the hit on Collins, who was ruled out for the match with a category-one concussion and also the Grand Final under the NRL protocols for head knocks but sadly for his team, that is not an issue after they were bundled out of the playoffs.
Asofa-Solomona faces a nervous wait to see if he will be rubbed out of the decider for the high shot with his woeful judiciary record will count against him – the Kiwi international has already been charged three times this season, copping fines on each occasion.
Table of Contents
1. Papenhuyzen rising back to his best
Melbourne won’t have a team in the AFL Grand Final in the Victorian capital on Saturday but their NRL side has booked yet another trip to rugby league’s big dance in Sydney.
As has been the case with their previous 20 wins this season, this one was built with all-round dominance with all the cogs in their machine playing their part to crush the opposition.
Papenhuyzen proved he is one of the NRL’s most dynamic fullbacks when he’s fit and firing with a superb showing, reminiscent of his 2020 star turn in the Grand Final win over Penrith.
They will need a similar performance from him again next week, likely against the Panthers unless Cronulla cause a boil over at Accor Stadium in the other prelim final on Saturday night.
His exceptional acceleration propelled him across the try line for Melbourne’s first try, set up the second for Jahrome Hughes and was crucial in their third to Jack Howarth when he sprinted onto a lightning quick 20m restart.
He capped off his five-star display with another try of his own as the score blew out in the second stanza.
Pace is an asset many NRL players possess but Papenhuyzen’s ability to go from zero to a hundred in less than the blink of an eye is a rare asset for a Craig Bellamy’s side.
Ryan Papenhuyzen celebrates with teammates. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
2. Tough calls ruffle up Roosters
The loss of Collins was an early body blow and even though Asofa-Solomona was banished for 10 minutes and Trent Robinson’s team got to activate their 18th player, they still came out big losers from the incident.
“That’s difficult but that’s footy sometimes,” Robinson said. “He’s a very good player and he wasn’t able to take any part in the game so that has an impact.”
They should have been playing against 11 when Jahrome Hughes was lucky to avoid the bin for a professional foul on Angus Crichton as he charged through to chase a kick. If referee Grant Atkins had taken sterner, and the correct, action at that point the match could have turned out much differently.
Robinson’s sides never give up and even when the Roosters looked well and truly plucked after going into half-time down by 16, they refused to surrender.
Two early tries in the second half cut the gap to six before a dicey call against them took the wind out of the Roosters’ sails.
Alec MacDonald appeared to get a hand on the ball in an aerial contest with Angus Crichton before it travelled forward to a teammate.
Next play and Hughes showed why he’s the Dally M favourite by notching his third try to make it 30-18 with 25 minutes to go.
Against an ordinary opponent, such a margin would not be insurmountable but when you are up against the Storm in Melbourne in a prelim final, it’s too big a mountain to climb.
Their record now stands at one win from their 22 most recent matches against Melbourne and Penrith. Ouch.
3. Melbourne’s machine claims another victim
The Roosters surprisingly booted a penalty goal while Asofa-Solomona was cooling his heels but they got full value for their one-man advantage when Suaalii sent Daniel Tupou over.
Papenhuyzen burnt Angus Crichton to equalise before the fullback created space for Nick Meaney to put Hughes in for a 12-6 lead in front of 29,213 fans at AAMI Park.
Xavier Coates just managed to get a boot on the line to defuse a bomb and trigger a 20m restart which allowed Papenhuyzen to streak clear for Jack Howarth to touch down and when Hughes ran through Crichton and Luke Keary just before the break, the Storm were up 22-6 at the interval.
Tries to Terrell May and Nat Butcher within eight minutes of the restart gave the Roosters a sniff in their beaks before Hughes’ class halted their charge and ultimately ended their season.
Papenhuyzen scooted over in the 64th minute to drive a final nail in the tricolour coffin before Cameron Munster kick-started early victory celebrations by touching down twice in the closing stages.
4. Munster’s monkey with cymbals a mixed medley
Munster jokes that when he is working out what to do on a footy field there’s only vision of a monkey playing the cymbals inside his mind, Homer Simpson style.
It’s a double-edged sword. His opponents don’t know what to expect if he doesn’t know what he’s going to do.
But it also means his teammates are second-guessing which way he will go.
When his off-the-cuff magic comes off, Munster is brilliant but too often this year he has looked wayward rather than wizardly.
He was caught on the last tackle in the red zone to bring one Storm attacking raid to a fizzling halt and was pinged for a forward pass to Papenhuyzen which also stalled their attacking momentum in the first half.
It was the good Munster in the second half as he cut the tiring Roosters defence to shreds, bagging a couple of late tries in his mixed bag of a night.
The Storm need more diamonds than rocks from their star five-eighth next Sunday.
5. End of an era for Tricolours
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Keary have played their last match for the Roosters while rugby converts Joey Manu and Suaalii have for a while at least.
“Those guys have had a big impact on the history of our club,” Robinson said.
Manu could be back as early as midway through next season while there’s a fair chance Suaalii could return after his Wallabies deal expires after the 2027 Rugby World Cup on home turf.
Next season will be a tricky one for Robinson with Sam Walker and Brandon Smith sidelined until mid-season with their serious knee injuries with Chad Townsend brought in to reinforce the halves with inexperienced playmaker Sandon Smith.
Mark Nawaqanitawase has the potential to produce plenty of points but it will take him time to go anywhere near the impact of Manu and Suaalii.
The Kick: Nelson should be banned for decider
Collins would have missed the Grand Final if the Roosters made it through, Asofa-Solomona should suffer the same fate.
“That’s shoulder contact right to the jaw,” Michael Ennis said on Fox League after the first tackle of the game.
Asofa-Solomona’s hit was not the worst high shot you will ever see but he is a repeat offender and he was clearly trying to make an early statement by bashing his opposing prop.
As a tall man, he needs to lower his target zone when he tackles but yet again he didn’t get low enough and the impact of his shoulder into Collins’ head was enough for the big Rooster to get up and play the ball the wrong way.
It was not a send-off offence and the 10 minutes in the bin was sufficient in the context of the match but lesser hits have resulted in suspensions for repeat offenders like Asofa-Solomona all year.
Nothing livens up a Grand Final build-up like a make or break judiciary hearing and if the system is consistent, he should be facing a ban when the charge sheet comes out on Saturday morning.
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