Melbourne have reached the NRL grand final with a 48-18 win over the Roosters but the historic feat could be soured in a matter of hours with Nelson Asofa-Solomona facing a nervous wait on his availability.
Asofa-Solomona left Roosters counterpart Lindsay Collins concussed with a high shot on the first tackle of Friday night’s preliminary final.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Carnage erupts seconds into NRL finals blockbuster.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
Collins was clearly affected by the hit, getting to his feet facing the wrong way and playing the ball without a second thought.
He was quickly ruled out of the match with concussion, and Asofa-Solomona could find himself sidelined with replays showing his shoulder connected with Collins’ jaw.
The Storm prop was put on report and sent to the sin bin.
“We knew it was going to be tough early in the game — first tackle,” Steve Roach said on Fox Sports.
Andrew Voss said: “But the implications of it. Charge, Melbourne win, potentially there’s a lot here to unpack.”
Anything more than a grade-one charge would leave Asofa-Solomona facing a minimum three-match ban, and needing a win at the judiciary to play in the decider.
Michael Ennis argued Asofa-Solomona did not lay a “standard” swinging arm on Collins.
“Yes he’s trying to put on a big shot, Nelson, but the lowering body of Collins (contributes),” Ennis said.
“Carnage here at AAMI Park and it might not be done with as the grand final awaits.”
Melbourne utility Tyran Wishart was also placed on report in the second half for a crusher tackle, while Nick Meaney was benched early with a minor knee complaint.
The Roosters ran out to a 6-0 lead while Asofa-Solomona was in the bin, but his return helped spark the Storm.
Ryan Papenhuyzen — superb in easily his best game in years — helped Melbourne draw level when he got between Luke Keary and Angus Crichton to score.
The fullback had his hands all over the Storm’s next try when he got outside of the defence and turned a ball back inside for Meaney, before Hughes loomed up in support to score.
Another first-half try came when Papenhuyzen beat the Roosters defence for speed off a 20-metre tap, and put centre Jack Howarth over at the other end of the field.
And when Jahrome Hughes took defender Angus Crichton over the line to score just before halftime, it was 22-6 at the break.
The Roosters briefly got the game back to 24-18 early in the second half, and missed a chance to go level when Joey Manu spilled a ball short of the line.
But again it was Hughes and Papenhuyzen who took the game away.
Any hope of a Roosters comeback was snuffed when a Hughes bomb was allowed to bounce, and the halfback stepped his way over on the next play.
Storm forward Alec MacDonald appeared to knock the ball on into an offside teammate after the kick.
But there was no doubt about Melbourne’s next, when skipper Harry Grant got out of dummy-half and turned a ball back inside for Papenhuyzen to score.
Cameron Munster’s try in the dying seconds ensured Melbourne’s victory went down in the history books as their largest ever score in a preliminary final.
The Storm, into their 11th grand final but first since claiming the title in 2020, await the winner of Saturday night’s preliminary final between the Panthers and Sharks.
Penrith lost that grand final to Melbourne four years ago before stamping their dominance with a hat-trick of premierships against three different opponents.
The Roosters’ defeat brought down the curtain on the NRL careers of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Luke Keary as they head off to the Super League.
Joey Manu and Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii will also leave for rugby union.
– with AAP