Queensland captain Cameron Munster will hit State of Origin camp at his vintage best after inspiring Melbourne to a 34-8 defeat of Parramatta at Magic Round.
The so-called “big three” were the difference on a messy Saturday night at Suncorp Stadium, lifting down-and-out Melbourne to their first consecutive wins since Round 2
Five-eighth Munster played a hand in one of the tries of the season, nabbed a four-pointer of his own, then put both Cooper Clarke and Harry Grant in to score.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
Melbourne will still finish the weekend four points outside the top eight, but their season now appears to have a pulse following a highly-publicised seven-game losing streak.
The form of Munster and captain Grant had been particularly concerning during the Storm’s slump.
But the pair have looked more like their usual selves in the back-to-back wins, much to the relief of Maroons coach Billy Slater ahead of Monday’s team announcement.
As Slater watched from the sidelines as part of his Nine Network commentary role, Grant and Munster helped the Storm score one of 2026’s best team tries.
Grant spotted the Eels’ markers at sea, bursting through through the ruck and finding Munster in support.
The third member of Melbourne’s triumvirate Jahrome Hughes wrapped around and triggered a shift to the left that ended in Jack Howarth capping the sparkling 60-metre break.
In the second half, Grant scooted out of dummy half to Hughes, who threw a beautiful flat ball for Munster to stretch onto the line.
Munster then cut inside with a short ball to big youngster Clarke, whose try followed a superb 25m run earlier in the half.
Following a 75m tear from the electric Sua Fa’alogo, Munster threw the last pass for Grant to dive over and confirm the Storm’s win.
Both sides were sloppy with the ball, combining for 17 errors in the first half alone and finished with 31 between them.
Most notably, Davvy Moale dropped the ball as Melbourne carted back the second-half restart, only for Brian Kelly to return the favour on the Parramatta scrum play that followed.
The Eels’ clumsy ways made it hard for likely NSW playmaker Mitch Moses to assert himself in his last game before teams are picked.
A candidate for a NSW wing spot, Josh Addo-Carr went scoreless but made a brilliant defensive play mowing down Moses Leo following the winger’s 60m dash.
He then ankle-tapped Fa’alogo just when the fullback looked certain to score in the second half.
Storm winger Leo suffered a knee injury in a tackle from Jack Williams and Saxon Pryke during the second stanza and did not finish the game.
