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NRL Leaders Melbourne won a scrappy Saturday night battle at AAMI Park against a fearsome Canberra side, but it came at a cost as star speedster Xavier Coates limped off.
Queensland Country of origin the winger appeared to pick up his second hamstring injury of the season while diving for a try at the out goal.
The Raiders arrived in Victoria full of confidence after winning five of their last six at the Storm’s home ground, but the hosts won 16-6.
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Played in slippery conditions with showers in the first half, the match was a shadow of Wednesday night’s epic State of Origin clash next door at the MCG.
But with Canberra contributing through costly errors, Melbourne did enough to secure victory after leading 6-0 at half-time.
The Raiders have given up 82 points in their last two losses, but played solid defense in the first half.
The Storm had 60 percent possession and forced the visitors into 229 turnovers, coming off the back of five turnovers.
It took until the 36th minute for Melbourne to break through their defense and score, with Josh King finding a hole left by Canberra captain Elliott Whitehead running off the defensive line.
After a couple of mistakes in the first half, Canberra’s Kaeo Weeks, playing at fullback, made up for it with a 90m strike one minute into the second half to make it 6-6.
But Melbourne hit the front again with scrum-half Bronson Garlick finding Shaun Bloor who crossed.
That margin was extended to 10 points when promising youngster Jack Howarth crashed over for his first try in the 51st minute.
Coates was ruled to have interfered with his try soon after and cut a miserable figure as he was helped down to the dressing rooms, casting doubt on his involvement in the Origin decider in Melbourne.
The plucky Raiders were down to 15 men after losing debutant Jordan Martin, Atti Mariota and Jordan Rapana to headers as Melbourne marched to victory.
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