Tohu Harris of Melbourne Storm goes over for a try
The Melbourne Storm have won a hard fought World Club Championship in front of a very partisan English crowd at Headingly. The final score was the Storm 18, Leeds Rhinos 14.
They can now claim they are the best club side in rugby league until the corresponding game is played early in 2014 between the two premiership winners of the English and Australian competitions of this year.
Cameron Smith the captain of Melbourne Storm and Man of the Match Cooper Cronk lift the World Club Challenge trophy
Melbourne has gone some way to erasing the painful memories of having the world club championship stripped from them in 2010 in response to the salary rort the club was enmeshed in. In a hard fought and free flowing game the English again showed that the gap between southern and northern hemisphere rugby league is reducing dramatically. Gone are the days when any Australian touring side could go to England and expect to do well there. The English super league that has developed over the last 10 years is producing players equal to the Australian National Rugby League, a competition that has long held the reputation of being the most physically demanding of its kind in the world.
Melbourne opened the scoring when Captain Cameron Smith took 2 points from in front of the posts due to an offside decision. A very classy pass from halfback Cooper Kronk put Ryan Hoffman into a gap and the ever-present Billy Slater accepted the offload from Hoffman to dive over for the first try in the 20th minute. Smith again converted to take the storm to an 8-nil lead.
Billy Slater of Melbourne Storm scores the opening try
The much-vaunted Melbourne defence was not only tested in the next few minutes but was broken and made to look very fragile. The sliding defence Melbourne was employing was defeated on several occasions, especially on the right fringe.
The Storm’s line was finally breached in the 29th minute when Rhinos winger Ryan Hall finished a movement that developed from play on the last tackle. Golden Boot winner Kevin Sinfield showed he was a worthy recipient for the award when he converted from the side line and then also converted a penalty right on half time to bring the scores level at 8 all as the two sides went into the sheds for a well-deserved break.
Melbourne prop Jesse Bromwich beat four defenders to score near the posts in the 44th minute and Smith again converted to take the Storm clear by 6 points. The Storm then wrapped the game up a few minutes later when 21-year-old debutant Tohu Harris finished a well-constructed 50-metre movement to finish with the try of the match. Smith missed the conversion from wide out, and Melbourne was in control leading 18-8 with the Leeds side seemingly bewildered at the quick turn-around in fortunes after the resumption of play.
Leeds Rhinos player mobbed by Melbourne defence
Leeds dug in however and scored a classy try of their own when captain Sinfield chip kicked from right to left; the ball was regathered and a couple of passes later saw second rower Jamie Jones-Buchanan cross the line. Sinfield again converted to bring the Rhinos within 4 points of the Storm.
The Storm had a try by Mahe Fonua disallowed when a pass was ruled forward. The Storm survived the next 10 minutes to hang on to their lead and take the game 18-14 in what is to be the end of UK-dominated venues for these clashes. From next year the games will be played in Australia and the UK on a more evenly shared basis.
