Melbourne Storm's attacking woes are over after a seven-try thumping of Gold Coast Titans on Sunday.
The Storm were without almost their entire outside backline with the exception of Cameron Munster, and they have spluttered when approaching the try line in the previous month. But they could not have been more convincing in attack with a 38-0 win at CBUS Super Stadium.
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Storm lash Titans
Melbourne Storm have piled on seven unanswered tries to thrash the Gold Coast Titans.
With the representative rounds fast approaching the Storm will again start to lose their stars to international and State of Origin commitments just as the side is in season-best form.
Suliasi Vunivalu, a convert from rugby union who has suffered a series of injuries, has made a case to remain on the wing for the coming weeks due to his prodigious scoring run since making his debut three games ago with six tries.
Cameron Smith's heady play from dummy half plus Cooper Cronk's outstanding supporting runs, which netted him two tries, highlighted the Storm's win but their defence shouldn't be disregarded, either, as the Titans never had the sniff of a try.
"We made some inroads in our attack against the Warriors last week and we were very proud of that effort," Smith told Fox Sports.
"It was nice to put some points on the board again today but having a zero from the opposition will please [coach] Craig Bellamy and the boys as well.
"In these conditions against a high-quality side to finish with a zero for two weeks in a row is very nice."
The Storm handed Cheyse Blair his club debut on the wing and promoted forward Christian Welch onto the bench as outside backs Young Tonumaipea, Marika Koroibete and Richard Kennar all missed with injuries.
Blair made an impact on the game just seven minutes in when Titans winger Dene Macdonald attempted to kick past and run around him but his kick went straight at the stomach of the Storm winger.
In a show of good fielding Blair caught the ball and with clear ground ahead ran it back almost the length of the field to score the opening try.
Smith's conversion kick from the left touchline missed but his club continued to defend strongly against the powerful Titans forward pack.
Late in the half the Storm took charge of the contest using precise kicking and good defence to pin down the Titans in their own half.
That pressure led to multiple penalties on the Titans and eventually turned into tries as the Storm moved the ball down the right side creating an overlap which saw Vunivalu scoring his fifth try in three games on 27 minutes with Smith's kick going wide to have his team up 8-0.
As more rain fell the Storm sensed their moment to strike and a flowing movement to the left only minutes later gave second-rower Tohu Harris a chance to score as he wrestled and spun his way to the line despite pressure from three defenders.
Substitute prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona set the table for a fourth try for the half as the towering forward overpowered a defender, stepped past another then ran 20 metres up the middle before dishing off to Cooper Cronk who scored next to the post as Storm led 20-0 at half-time.
Vunivalu should have had his third-straight brave just minutes into the second half when Cronk's perfect grubber kick saw him in the clear and only needing to touch it down but he over-ran the ball and only knocked it on.
But Vunivalu wouldn't need long to make up for his lost opportunity as Cronk's high kick to the try line was cleanly caught by the Fijian who touched it down to make it 24-0 after 45 minutes.
Tempers flared on 53 minutes after Storm's Kenny Bromwich put a heavy hit on Titans' five-eighth Tyrone Roberts with several Titans chasing Bromwich but the referee alleged Bromwich threw a punch in the ensuing melee so the Storm forward was given a 10-minute sin bin penalty.
The man-advantage didn't help the Titans' defence as Smith ran from dummy half, setting up Munster for an open run up the middle in which he drew in the Titans' fullback then passed to Cronk for his second try as the visitors led 30-0 on the hour.
A penalty goal from Smith pushed the margin out to 32-0 then on 72 minutes Blake Green finished off a try which was set up by a 60-metre run from Munster.
The win also came in Storm coach Craig Bellamy's 350th game as an NRL coach.
The Storm play the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane on Saturday night.
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