The Melbourne Storm have taken care of business to lock in yet another top four finish after defeating the Bulldogs 20-14 in a feisty encounter on Friday night.

Melbourne had the better of the first half to lead 12-0 at the break, but the Bulldogs stayed in the contest with second half tries to Bailey Hayward, Viliame Kikau and Jacob Kiraz.

FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every game of every round in the 2025 NRL Telstra Premiership, LIVE with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

The scoreline would have been closer had Stephen Crichton not missed two conversions, but the Storm were deserving winners of a game which threatened to boil over at stages.

Midway through the second half, Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton juggled a pass into Melbourne’s Nick Meaney as he got tackled, and referee Adam Gee ruled it a knock-on.

Storm winger Grant Anderson then taunted Burton by ruffling his headgear, which neither the Bulldogs No. 6 nor his teammate Kikau took kindly too.

A melee ensured, as Kikau came in and grabbed Anderson, while Burton made his feelings known to Meaney and tossed the ball at him, thinking it was the Storm centre who had rubbed his head.

Greg Alexander said on Fox League: “Just a little push and shove. Kikau didn’t like Grant Anderson’s treatment of Burton.”

Remarkably, referee Gee called a penalty against the Storm because of Anderson taunting Burton by touching his head.

“What happens is the touch on the back of the head instigates it,” Gee told Anderson.

“That’s what that reaction is. It’s going against you.”

Dan Ginnane said in commentary: “Wow. What would have been a knock-on against Canterbury becomes a penalty to the Dogs.

“Does Matt Burton think Meaney was the head tapper?”

Alexander added: “Grant Anderson just oversteps the mark.”

Footy fans couldn’t believe Gee reversed the penalty over a head rub.

NRL reporter Phil Rothfield wrote on X: “I never in my life seen a player penalised for touching a rival’s head.”

One fan said: “Penalty for rubbing a head in NRL is crazy.”

A second said: “Might be one of the worst penalties ever. Penalising a player for geeing up after a knock on? Games gone.”

A third said: “That’s the most pathetic penalty I reckon I’ve witnessed in rugby league. If Kikau didn’t react nobody would have cared.”

Another commented: “That is disgraceful by the ref. On what earth is patting an opposition player’s head a penalty? It happens all the time! You’re rewarding the Dogs player for overreacting!!”

Down to 12 men for 10 minutes of the second half when captain Harry Grant was sin binned for a shoulder charge, the Storm dug deep defensively to hold off a fast finishing Canterbury.

It moves the Storm two games clear of the third-placed Bulldogs, who have an inferior points difference and will need a miracle to steal second on the ladder.

The Storm’s rugged defence was a highlight all night as Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton tested them time and again with his stellar field kicking, but the key moment came in a spectacular chase down tackle from Storm winger Xavier Coates to deny Harry Hayes a metre from the line late in the second half.

Coates, who is in remarkable form, scored what would be the game’s winning try, benefiting from a stellar build up that was one of the team tries of the season.

With Grant in the sin bin, Storm created some breathing space on the back of a 30 metre dash and chip from Grant Anderson, which connected with Nick Meaney, who’s perfect four-from-four from the goal kicking tee was crucial.

On the next play, Storm young gun Jonah Pezet produced a perfectly weighted cross field kick to find Coates unattended, who posted his 12th try in his past nine home games.

The Bulldogs huffed and puffed with star centre Stephen Crichton coming so close to a late try, but could just never take the lead as Storm held on with one of their best defensive performances of the season.

There was a worrying moment when Burton hyperextended his already strapped left knee and stayed down for 30 seconds, but got up and into the defensive line much to the relief of Dogs fans.

Burton’s woes continued when he was again left on the deck, this time from a fierce tackle with his ribs wide open from Storm enforcer Tui Kamikamica, which winded him.

But he is one of the toughest Bulldogs there is and he tried his utmost to get his side over the line under duress.

The spectacular chase down tackle from Coates to deny Hayes just centimetres from the line was the game’s defining moment.

With NewsWire

Originally published as ‘Wow’: Penalty for ‘head rub’ in Storm-Bulldogs blasted by NRL fans