While his Melbourne team heaped more finals misery on Cronulla, coach Craig Bellamy quickly declared Penrith are still the team to beat for the NRL premiership.
On the back of a Harry Grant hat-trick, minor premiers Melbourne consigned the Sharks to their seventh-straight finals loss with a 37-10 victory at AAMI Park on Saturday.
The margin was greater than Penrith’s 30-10 win over the Sydney Roosters on Friday but Bellamy happily handed title favouritism to the three-peat champions.
“With Nathan Cleary coming back, that’s obviously a huge plus for (Penrith),” Bellamy said.
“Everyone knows they’re the team to beat, winning three premierships in a row, that’s not easy to do.”
The qualifying final win earned Melbourne a preliminary final berth and a week off, while Cronulla will next face North Queensland, who downed Newcastle 28-16 in their elimination final in Townsville.
Like the Panthers, who got on top early against the Roosters, Melbourne were first on the scoreboard in the six tries to two romp.
Sharks fullback Will Kennedy spilt the kick-off over the dead-ball line, with Melbourne five-eighth Cameron Munster crashing over from dummy half after the goal-line drop out.
With his ability to deliver in a big game under question, Nico Hynes looked sharp when he helped set up the Sharks’ opening try.
Collecting a Hynes pass, Siosifa Talakai, replacing injured centre Jesse Ramien, was able to stand up in the tackle and off-load for Sione Katoa to touch down to trail 4-6.
The Storm pushed their lead out when Nick Meaney got a backhand flick pass away for winger Will Warbrick’s first try of the match.
However, the Hynes critics got some ammunition when the halfback’s kick failed to find touch and then his team were subsequently penalised with Briton Nikora taking out Munster off the ball to open up a 14-4 lead.
It looked like Melbourne would take that margin into halftime, but some Braydon Trindall brilliance in the final seconds saw Nikora cross under the post to close the gap to 14-10.
But Melbourne didn’t allow Cronulla to add to their tally while skipper Grant added 12 points of his own, scoring three second-half tries.
Warbrick also added his second, as the home side finished in style with halves Jahrome Hughes and Munster dominant.
Bellamy said he felt “deflated” walking into the change-room at half-time but realised his team still felt in control.
“The players didn’t seem too concerned about it and in the second half, they done one hell of a job,” he said.
“We dominated possession, and obviously with that field position, and then the points came.
“We can be really happy with what we did.”
Cronulla seemed to have no answers for the Storm onslaught with coach Craig Fitzgibbon saying the home side were on a different level.
“We were just starved of field position and they had an energy about them where they looked like they were running downhill … they played really well,” Fitzgibbon said.
Sharks skipper Cameron McInnes said they would be ready to go again next weekend in the semi-final.
“There’s a massive opportunity ahead of us and everything’s there,” the lock said.
“You obviously want to win and go the shorter route (to a preliminary final), but teams would kill to be here, so no complacency or no doubt and negative energy.”
