Melbourne ironman Jahrome Hughes returned from a broken arm to break Cronulla hearts.
And fellow Storm stars Cameron Munster, Harry Grant and Ryan Papenhuyzen all produced their own magical moments to help lift the Storm into yet another grand final.
One of rugby league’s most successful clubs in the modern era triumphed 22-14 over a spirited Cronulla in front of a packed house at AAMI Park.
The Sharks were excellent defensively, just as they have been the past month, and were well in the hunt when Nicho Hynes kicked a penalty goal to reduce the margin to a converted try with just over 20 minutes to go.
But the week off for the Storm, and the class of their key players, paved the way for Melbourne to book another appearance in Sunday week’s decider. It will be their seventh grand final since 2012. It is coach Craig Bellamy’s 11th grand final in 23 years.
Their record is truly amazing – and so are Hughes and Munster and Grant and Papenhuyzen.
Hughes scored a try and displayed absolute toughness to take on the line and test out the forearm he fractured just three weeks ago.
How many fans would have truly predicted the halfback would be back so soon? He is a tough hombre who once again proved he lives for the big moments.
Papenhuyzen and Munster combined for a try just before the break to put Melbourne ahead 16-8.
And Grant led from the front, forever testing the Sharks line and even setting up the final try. You can only hope the match review committee do not bother spotting him for a potential hip-drop tackle that left Ronnie Mulitalo hobbling out of a tackle.
Storm five-eighth Cameron Munster.Credit: Getty Images
Before praising the Storm any further, you have to take your hat off to Cronulla.
They crash out in week three of the finals for a second straight season, but they had a red-hot crack, and refused to buckle under the relentless Melbourne pressure that would have cracked most other teams.
“I’ll tell you this – we’re in a better position than we’ve ever been. We’re not going away. We’re not going to get worse,” coach Craig Fitzgibbon said after the loss.
“We didn’t play very well tonight. We were brave, and our effort was – it’s pretty hard to fault our effort.
“It’s better than last year. We’re not going away. At the end of the day there’s only two teams that get there, and we fell short again.”
Referee Ashley Klein talks to Cronulla halfback Nicho Hynes.Credit: Getty Images
Hynes spilled the ball at a crucial stage of the game when they were pushing for an equaliser, but it was also his lovely pass to Billy Burns that set up one of the Sharks’ first-half tries.
There are no players of note heading to the Shire next year, while there remain question marks over the future of fullback Will Kennedy.
The Sharks were entitled to be frustrated when Braydon Trindall was penalised for racing out of the line and putting a shot on Hughes. The pair appeared to clash heads, just as Canberra’s Tom Starling did six days earlier when flattening Sharks prop Tom Hazelton. No action was taken on that occasion, but Cronulla were pinged and forced to defend a fresh set of six on their own line.
Melbourne await the winner of Brisbane and Penrith, but will have the benefit of a couple of extra days’ recovery.
It is frightening to think what they could be when they do string a full 80 minutes together. There was a stage in the second half against the Sharks they clocked off.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said his team had been given a leg up over next week’s grand final opponent, who will have two fewer days to prepare after playing on Sunday afternoon.
“Yeah I think it is an advantage. But with all due respect, we didn’t make that decision,” Bellamy said. “At the end of the day, the NRL made that decision, not us.”
The master coach said this season, like last, can already be considered a successful one, even if the Storm don’t win the title next weekend.
“We ran into a really good side last year in Penrith. They know how to win grand finals, as we’ve seen in the last few years,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s hard to get into a grand final, and it’s extra hard to win one.
“Like this thing of ‘you’ve had a failed season if you don’t win the grand final’, that’s a load of crap. It’s hard to get into a grand final.”
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Papenhuyzen clutched at his left shoulder when hit off the ball by Trindall, but played on, and even came up with a try-saving tackle on Briton Nikora, even though he was penalised for collecting the bench back-rower high.
The first half was played at such speed and quality, there were only three errors.
Every time the Storm looked like kicking away early in the game, the Sharks did well to hang in the fight. Some of their scramble defence was outstanding.
Cronulla captain Blayke Brailey sent a scare through the camp when cameras captured him keel over when his knee appeared to buckle in warm-up, but he was fine.
What a year he had. What a night for the Storm. How tough is Hughes.