NRL: Warriors beat Melbourne Storm 38-14 to end losing streak in emphatic fashion

Sunday, 12 April 2026

At AAMI Park, Melbourne: Warriors 38 (Ali Leiataua 10’, Marata Niukore 15’, Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 31’ 51’, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 44’, Jackson Ford 48’; Tanah Boyd 7 goals) Melbourne Storm 14 (Cooper Clarke 17’, Jack Howarth 24’; Nick Meaney 3 goals). HT: 18-14.

After a run of 17 defeats over the last 11 years, spanning a total of 3926 days, the Warriors have finally beaten the Melbourne Storm.

Not only did they beat the Storm – but they beat them at AAMI Park, a venue where they last won in 2014.

And not only have they put both of those long-running hoodoos to rest, but they did so in such a fashion that there was plenty of time for their faithful fans to soak it all in.

After back-to-back losses to Wests Tigers and the Cronulla Sharks, the Warriors were back in the winner’s circle on Saturday night, courtesy of an unthinkable 38-14 result.

After keeping the Storm scoreless for the final 55 minutes, they were back up to second on the NRL ladder, boasting the best points difference of the seven teams on eight points.

They will slip one place on Sunday, falling behind the winner of the last match of round six between the Tigers and the Newcastle Knights.

This win was built on a dominant forward pack, a furious physical display on defence, led by Demitric Vaimauga – an 11-year-old the last time the Warriors beat the Storm – and some fantastic finishing, not least of all from Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

A week after scoring a hat-trick in a losing effort against the Sharks, the flying winger had two here.

The Warriors were up 12-2 after 15 minutes, down 14-12 after 24 – ‘here we go again,’ fans must have been thinking – then back up 18-14 at halftime, after Watene-Zelezniak’s first and a Tanah Boyd penalty.

They blew the game open when Tuivasa-Sheck, Jackson Ford and Watene-Zelezniak scored three tries in the space of eight minutes early in the second spell.

Up by 22 with just under half an hour to play, there was only ever going to be one result – and not the same one they have been accustomed to for more than a decade.

The Warriors’ eventual 24-point win was their largest over the Storm, relegating the 16-point win they managed on May 25, 2002 to second place.

You don’t need to be a diehard fan to know that was the same year they made the first of their two NRL grand final appearances.

For the record, it was the Warriors’ first win over the Storm since July 12, 2015, when they won 28-14 at their Go Media Stadium home.

And their first win over the Storm in Melbourne since Anzac Day 2014 – two weeks shy of 12 years ago – when they prevailed 16-10.

The Warriors and the Storm entered Saturday’s match having had similar hot-cold starts to their seasons, against two unique sets of opponents.

After beating the Parramatta Eels 52-4 and the St George Illawarra Dragons 46-20 in rounds one and two, the Storm had lost to the Brisbane Broncos, 18-14, in a rematch of last year’s grand final; the North Queensland Cowboys, 28-24; and the Penrith Panthers, 50-10.

The Warriors meanwhile had thumped the Sydney Roosters, 42-18; the Canberra Raiders, 40-6; and the Knights, 38-12; before losing 32-14 to the Tigers and 36-22 to the Sharks.

Next up, now they’re flying high again: A visit to Go Media Stadium by the Gold Coast Titans next Saturday evening.

As for the struggling Storm, losers of four in a row: A trip to play the Raiders next Friday.