Melbourne came from behind to score a grinding 12-6 win in Round 7 this year to make it seven wins in a row. In what proved to be their toughest game of the season at the time, the Storm fell behind after 14 minutes when sustained pressure on the try line saw Greg Eastwood cross untouched from a clever Michael Ennis pass.
But their lead didn’t last long as Ryan Hinchcliffe poured through a gap off Cameron Smith’s short ball and stepped inside Ben Barba to level the scores at 6-all.
The second half saw Melbourne off to a lightning-fast start as Ryan Hoffman ran through a yawning gap to make it 12-6 but that was the last time either side would trouble the scorer. Canterbury spent much of the second half camped deep in Melbourne territory but couldn’t land a telling blow.
Ironically the Bulldogs ran for 1582 metres to just 1289 by Melbourne. Ben Barba, Jonathan Wright, Bryson Goodwin, Aiden Tolman and Sam Kasiano all ran for more than 140 metres while Jesse Bromwich added 144 metres and 18 tackles off the bench for the home side.
