Melbourne have shut down Tom Trbojevic for the second time this season, holding the Manly superstar to his worst game since they played a month ago.
A 40-12 win on Friday catapulted the Storm through to the NRL preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium in a fortnight, but cast serious doubt over the Sea Eagles' premiership chances.
The NRL's most in-form player was nullified by another ruthless defensive game plan from the minor premiers.
Melbourne limited Trbojevic to 118 running metres and the fullback drew a blank on the try-scoring sheet and try-assists column.
The star fullback has been held scoreless in just three NRL games this season - now twice against Melbourne and in an 18-10 loss to Newcastle in round 12.
Not surprisingly, his run metres on Friday night were also his third-lowest of the 2021 season, with the top two coinciding with both losses to Storm and the Knights.
It was a far cry from his average of 182 metres per game this season, capping a disappointing night for the 24-year-old who had 30 try-assists and 25 tries from 15 games going into the qualifier.
In true Melbourne style, the Storm did their homework on the lively No.1 to nullify his impact and limit his space with aggressive defence.
Without his potency in attack, the Sea Eagles struggled to get on the board with just a double for Jason Saab - one coming from a blunder at the back.
"People are probably going to reflect on it that way," said coach Des Hasler about Trbojevic's quiet night.
"But we didn't give ourselves a chance.
"You look at possession, you look at where our possession was, they made us come out of the corner the whole time.
"We didn't make them chew up any gas, we leaked them down the field both with our ill-discipline with the ball and also giving away too many penalties. It was nine in total tonight.
"It's just not going to get it done. We weren't smart enough."
The Sea Eagles were lifted into the top four on the back of his stunning form and will now count on Trbojevic's ability to bounce back in an elimination final next weekend.
Manly will face either Sydney Roosters or Gold Coast at Mackay for a chance to play in the preliminary final in a fortnight.
Australian Associated Press
