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Melbourne have thumped the lifeless Canberra Raiders in a 34-10 victory in their NRL match at GIO Stadium.
Melbourne have become the first NRL team in history to win eight straight games by more than 13 points after thrashing a lifeless Canberra by 34-10 at GIO Stadium.
While the defending premiers endured a slow start, they took complete control as saturday night's match wore on, led by two-try prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona and talented full-back Nicho Hynes, who kicked five conversions and had more than 160 running metres.
The struggling Raiders - wounded by injuries and missing three key play-makers through suspension - again failed to score in the second half, an ongoing problem for the spluttering Green Machine, who slipped to a 4-7 record.
Melbourne too were down on troops, missing their complete spine of Ryan Papenhuyzen, Cameron Munster, Jahrome Hughes and Harry Grant.
Surprisingly, Canberra dominated most of the first half with stronger attacks and high-spirited defence, especially during the first 20 minutes, and scored the first two tries.
But the Storm were ahead 12-10 at halftime and came out firing after the break with a performance applauded by coach Craig Bellamy.
"It took us a little while to get into our rhythm I suppose but I'm really proud of them hanging in there," said Bellamy after his team improved their season record to 9-2.
"The thing I was really happy about was we didn't really lose heart.
"To do what they have done tonight, especially coming back after not such a good start - I'm real proud of them and happy for them."
Disappointed Canberra coach Ricky Stuart was lost for words when asked about his team's second-half fade out.
"They (Melbourne) stayed in it for a longer period than us," Stuart said.
When asked about the depleted roster potentially causing major problems for the Raiders, Stuart said "it definitely wasn't that."
"I'm not going to look at that as an excuse."
The rampaging Asofa-Solomona charged over for his second try in the 48th minute and the floodgates opened mid-way through the second half with a free-flowing try on the right side of the field to centre Reimis Smith.
Second rower Tom Eisenhuth scored in the 60th minute as the Raiders once again fell into their well-worn and scoreless hole.
More scoreboard pain was piled on when rookie Trent Loiero crossed for a try to seal the result with seven minutes left.
There were few highlights for Canberra however a stand-out was five-eighth Sam Williams, who created a superb try with captain Elliott Whitehead crossing in the 13th minute.
Williams was also involved in several other impressive attacks early in the match.
"He always generates a bit of enthusiasm when he gets picked in first grade - he gets around the park well," said Stuart.
Melbourne prop Tui Kamikamica was reported for a crusher tackle against Bailey Simonsson while Raider Corey Horsburgh went on report for a tackle on Asofa-Solomona.
