The Storm secured a nail-biting victory over the Auckland Warriors in Melbourne thanks to a last-minute try that was hailed as one of the best of all time.
Melbourne winger Xavier Coates scored the wonder try with 25 seconds left on the clock to rob the Warriors of victory in a pulsating Round 2 NRL clash at AAMI Park.
Coates ran from almost five yards out and somehow managed to plant the ball from his vertical position before clearing or clearing the corner post.
Fox Sports commentator Mick Ennis called the four-pointer “the best effort I’ve ever seen.”
“It’s absolutely ridiculous what he just did.”
The try put the Storm back into the lead, with Nick Meaney converting for a final score of 30-26.
Xavier Coate’s stunning try with just 25 seconds before the siren secured the Storm’s victory
Fox commentator and former player Mick Ennis called the effort the best he had ever seen
“To be honest, I don’t really know (how I did that),” Coates said after the siren.
‘It was a bit of adrenaline. I didn’t even know if I had mastered the ball
‘It came down to the last five minutes. It was a collective effort to get ourselves back in the game.”
Melbourne scored twice in the final three minutes of the match – until then the Warriors seemed confident they had finally eliminated their bogey team after dominating the home side in the second half.
The victory extends the Storm’s winning point to 15 over the Warriors, who have not been successful against the men in purple since 2015.
Melbourne led 18–6 at half-time, but the visitors scored three tries in the second half to take control of the match.
The 23-year-old is a Papua New Guinea international who previously played for the Broncos
Superman’s effort was widely praised. Cooper Cronk said he doesn’t “fathom” how Coates did it
Coates said after the game that he didn’t even realize he had the ball on the ground and was running on adrenaline
Nothing seemed to be going the Storm’s way, with Ryan Papenhuyzen and skipper Harry Grant giving away four points with stupid penalties in front of the goalposts.
After being pinged for an illegal steal, Papenhuyzen made amends with his second try of the night in the 77th minute, with Meaney making it a two-point game.
Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scored a try in each half, with Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson setting up his backline in style.
The try-and-conversion set up the Round 2 clash for the Storm after the Warriors looked to have it in the bag
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who played in the centres, was also a constant danger as he continued his transition to the NRL after two years in rugby.
The first half was all Melbourne with halfback Jahrome Hughes starring with two try assists, two line breaks and six tackle busts.
Meaney’s galloping effort came from a Hughes break, but the number 7 was just as important in defense, managing to stop a certain Marcelo Montoya effort with a ball-and-all tackle.