Storm wipe smiles of Broncos' faces - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Storm wipe smiles of Broncos' faces

By Melissa Woods 05/06/2009 10:29:45 PM Comments (0)

Melbourne made Origin a distant memory for many a Queenslander when they stunned Brisbane 48-4 in their NRL clash at Olympic Park on Friday night.

The Maroons may have beaten NSW in the opening interstate clash in Melbourne on Wednesday night but the Storm wiped the smile off the faces of any Broncos fans.

The home side ran in nine tries to one to continue a losing drought for the Broncos at Olympic Park that dates back to 2003.

Brisbane struggled from the outset without skipper Darren Lockyer, who was a late withdrawal with general soreness after leading Queensland to Origin victory, with PJ Marsh his replacement at five-eighth.

Already missing star centre Justin Hodges, who injured his knee in the match, their reshuffled backline never really clicked and too often were caught short out wide and the hungry Storm backs made them pay.

While Greg Inglis backed up his two-try heroics for the Maroons with another on Friday night, his wing-man Joseph Tomane was just as impressive.

The 19-year-old scored a hat-trick, with Inglis throwing the final ball for Tomane to cross each time.

Tomane also booted six goals from nine attempts to bring his personal tally for the night to 24 points.

His only blemish came in the 67th minute when Israel Folau beat Tomane to the awkward bounce of a ball kicked into the in-goal by Karmichael Hunt.

Folau's four-pointer was the only joy for Brisbane, who were joint competition leaders alongside St George Illawarra heading into the match.

And there was no question Tomane got the points for the night against Folau.

Representatives Cam Smith and Dallas Johnson started on the bench but they weren't missed as Inglis crossed at the 10 minute mark to get the scoreboard ticking over.

Tomane put Billy Slater, who shrugged off an Origin calf injury, through a hole with the fullback finding the giant centre on the run.

The Storm had the match won by halftime, scoring four tries to nil to take a 20-0 lead.

Hard-working halfback Cooper Cronk finished the night with two tries, while the remainder were shared between Tomane, Inglis, Slater, Will Chambers and Aiden Tolman.

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