Melbourne Storm young gun Sua Fa'alogo limps off after playing starring role in huge win over Cronulla
Melbourne have kept their unbeaten record at home alive with a gritty 30-6 win over Cronulla, dumping the Sharks out of the NRL top eight.
The spicy rivalry between the two teams continued in their Sunday afternoon match at AAMI Park, with the game up for grabs until the 64th minute when the Storm kicked away.
Centre Nick Meaney crossed for the home side's third try after some brilliant lead-up work by back-rower Eli Katoa and Jahrome Hughes.
The converted try pushed the margin out to a 12-point lead and set up sweet revenge for the Storm's round-11 loss to Cronulla.
While Melbourne locked down third spot on the ladder, the Sharks tumbled from sixth to 10th on the back of the loss.
Katoa and Hughes combined for three of Melbourne's tries, with the Tongan international scoring the opener after running through a hole off a perfect pass from his halfback.
Sua Fa'alogo then had the 21,000-strong crowd on their feet when Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes attempted to bat a ball on that landed in the arms of the exciting young winger.
The 22-year-old pocket rocket sprinted 90 metres downfield, outpacing Cronulla fullback Will Kennedy.
Cronulla got on the scoreboard with six minutes remaining in the first half when Fa'alogo watched a Hughes bomb bounce over his head and into the arms of Braydon Trindall, who dived over the line.
The teams started the second half 10-6, with a Ryan Papenhuyzen penalty goal in the 44th minute adding another two points to the home side's tally.
Some poor discipline and silly errors then started to take a toll on the Sharks, and the ruthless Storm made them pay.
Katoa twice out-leapt Kennedy to set up tries for Meaney and then Hughes, before Queensland Origin forward Trent Loiero iced the win with a try in the dying minutes.
The victory was soured for the home side with Fa'alogo appearing to suffer a serious hamstring injury when he was clipped while making a 50-metre dash with just two minutes remaining in the match.
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