At AAMI Park on Friday, Melbourne roared home once more to defeat the Bulldogs 16–14 in the closing minutes.
After trailing by four points following a hat-trick from Josh Addo-Carr that put the Bulldogs on course for an upset in Round 6, Melbourne rallied to send new signing Shawn Blore over for the game-winning goal in the 75th minute.
Craig Bellamy’s team once again maintained its stronghold to record their fourth victory of the year. This season, they have also rallied from behind to take victories from the Warriors and Broncos at home.
Fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen opened the score for Melbourne after finding space on the line and making a brilliant one-on-one steal to give his team a chance on the line.
In the twelfth minute, Addo-Carr attempted a counterattack in the left corner for the Bulldogs, but his attempt was unsuccessful as he barely made it over the touch line.
In the twenty-fourth minute, Xavier Coates produced yet another incredible play of the year, catching a Jahrome Hughes kick and then punting a grubber past the defense so that Reimis Smith could cross the goal line.
Despite Nick Meaney’s unsuccessful conversion attempt, Melbourne led 10-0 at halftime.
The visitors were finally on the scoreboard when Addo-Carr got space in the next play and sprinted downfield to land his first try of the season, following Connor Tracey’s brilliant play in their own in-goal to pull the Dogs out of danger.
The Bulldogs were given cause for concern when rookie forward Sam Hughes was sent out for striking Christian Welch’s head on the ground. However, Papenhuyzen’s 10-minute stint was short-lived as he was also sent off for taking out Stephen Crichton off the ball.
With 14 minutes remaining, the Bulldogs were able to even the score 10–10 thanks to a double from ‘Foxx’ following another deft feed from Xerri on the inside.
Five minutes later, Addo-Carr’s hat-trick from Matt Burton set up the Bulldogs’ advantage. Matt Burton’s brilliantly timed pass set Addo-Carr up for the goal.
With five minutes remaining, the Storm regained the lead, putting Blore over for his second-ever NRL try, despite being outplayed for the bulk of the second half.
