The NZ Warriors' season from hell took a turn for the worse - as if that was possible - as they conceded half a century against an unsympathetic Melbourne Storm in Sydney.
One week after head coach Stephen Kearney was axed, in their first game under interim coach Todd Payten, the Auckland-based NRL side turned in an absolute stinker, falling 50-6 to their archrivals.
Flying winger Suliasi Vunivalu secured a hat-trick of tries for the Storm, while fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen and debutant centre Paul Momirovski scored two each, as the Warriors' heads went down and tackles began falling off.
Trailling 22-0 at halftime, they struck first after the restart, with Patrick Herbert's try provide just a glimmer of hope that the contest wouldn't get out of hand - but that hope proved forlorn.
Two tries to Vunivalu in as many minutes midway through the second half seemed to kill off any last resistance, as Melbourne continued to pound away unmercilessly.
Ironically, the Warriors had the better of the opening exchanges, twice crossing the Melbourne line in the first 10 minutes, without managing to secure a try.
In the third minute, big winger Ken Maumalo took three tacklers over in the corner, but was bundled into touch without finding the turf.
Moments later, Herbert did appear to force the ball, but replays showed he lost control in the process, so the try was disallowed.
They were again hot on attack, when captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck grubbered towards the line, but Storm wing Josh Addo-Carr gathered and sprinted upfield. When he was eventually shut down, the ball went across field, where Momirovski opened the scoring with his first try against the run of play.
Vunivalu scored his first from one of Melbourne's first forays inside the Warriors 20-metre mark and the rest was history.
With a mounting casualty ward, the Warriors suffered yet another injury, when hooker Karl Lawton, filling in for suspended Wayde Egan, left the field with suspected concussion and failed his head assessment. Replacement half Chanel Harris-Tavita was forced to play dummy half for most of the match.
Now 2-5 for the season, the Warriors must regroup for their next outing against Brisbane Broncos at Central Coast Stadium next Saturday.
Storm 50 (Vanivalu 3, Momirovski 2, Papenhuyzen 2, Addo-Carr & Brandon Smith tries; Cam Smith 7 goals) Warriors 6 (Herbert try; Harris-Tavita goal)
