Melbourne Storm's Cameron Smith delivered a captain's knock to give his team every chance of a top four NRL finals berth with a drama-packed 22-12 win over Brisbane at AAMI Park.
Smith shrugged off a possibly serious ankle injury that temporarily forced him off the field while centre Mahe Fonua scored two second half tries to seal the last round win and a place in the play-offs.
The Storm moved into fourth, however Penrith and North Queensland can still leap-frog them with wins against the Warriors and Manly respectively.
Brisbane meanwhile could drop out of the eight should the ninth-placed Warriors or 10th-placed Parramatta, who face the 15th-placed Canberra on Saturday night, win.
Smith left the field with 11 minutes remaining in the first half with the injury diagnosed as syndesmosis - a high ankle sprain which usually means at least a week out.
The Storm looked in disarray in his absence, with the Broncos scoring one try and the video referees over-ruling an on-field decision to award another to Andrew McCullough.
At the same time Smith was injured, Brisbane skipper Corey Parker also left the field for a concussion test after a heavy knock in a tackle.
He returned in time to convert Jack Reed's 33rd minute try for his side to trail 12-10.
Reed's night was cut short soon after when he dislocated his shoulder while making a charge in the final play of the first half.
Smith however was back into the fray three minutes into the second half, although the Storm didn't have it all their own way.
A Parker penalty tied the match up and despite the home side's best effort, Brisbane's wall of defence held firm until the 65th minute.
Melbourne centre Mahe Fonua leapt high to take a Cooper Cronk bomb and then muscled his way across the line to break the deadlock.
Will Chambers, kicking in place of Smith, was unable to kick the conversion.
In the end it didn't matter with Fonua intercepting a Ben Hunt pass and racing 55 metres, chased by three Broncos, to touch down.
Brisbane coach Anthony Griffin, who will be replaced by Wayne Bennett next season, said his team's defence was rock solid after a costly early lapse when Ryan Hoffman and Cooper Cronk both scored.
"The jump they got on us in the end was the difference," Griffin said.
"I thought from then we were on top for long periods of the game but unfortunately a kick and an intercept and we end up with nothing.
"It's a tough pill to swallow."
Griffin said that Reed would require his third shoulder reconstruction in as many years.
Despite his injury and absence, Smith still topped his team's tackle count with 49, only surpassed by McCullough's game-high 52.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy said he was hopeful that his skipper would be available to play their opening final next weekend.
"It's not minor but it's obviously not too serious otherwise he wouldn't have gone back on," he said.
"Hopefully our physio can get him up for next week."
The coach was concerned that his team might run out of steam after a heavy travelling schedule leading up to the match and was proud they held firm.
"It was nice to get a win for a lot of reasons," Bellamy said.
"Obviously we're in the semis now but also for the guys who are departing, like Ryan Hoffman, we always want to send them out on a good note."
Share
