Melbourne Storm have continued their relentless charge through the NRL with another dominant performance against the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday night.
Helped by Kiwis hooker Brandon Smith's brace of tries, the Storm bolted to a 40-12 demolition of the hosts at Suncorp Stadium to register their ninth consecutive win by 13 points or more.
Buoyed by their shock upset of Sydney Roosters last weekend, the Roosters went toe-to-toe with the Victorians through the opening stages, before Smith bulldozed his way over the line to open the floodgates.
Smith grabbed his second try to round out the scoring for Storm, putting the cherry on top with a trademark burst out of dummy half from close range.
Rookie fullback Nicho Hynes continued his sparkling form filling in for incumbent Ryan Papanhuyzen, raising his stock with a try, a pair of assists and 212 running metres.
In stark contrast, Broncos playmaker Anthony Milford was pulled before fulltime after a nightmare half, while star prop Payne Haas left the field with a suspected knee injury that has put him in doubt for State of Origin selection.
The Storm sit two points behind the competition-leading Penrith Panthers - who have a game in hand - at the top of the NRL ladder.
Join us at 8pm Friday for live updates of the Warriors v North Queensland Cowboys NRL clash
