Disappointment as mother of all NRL hoodoos drags on
The NRL's longest-running head-to-head losing streak remains unbroken after the Warriors were unable to claim their first win over Melbourne in 16 attempts.
The New Zealanders fell 38-24 to their ultimate bogey side as Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes put on a play-making masterclass on Saturday night.
The last time the Warriors tasted victory over Melbourne was a 28-14 triumph at Go Media Stadium in 2015 - a 3262 day wait and counting.
If the two sides don't face up in the finals, the drought could be more than a decade old before the Warriors get another chance to break it.
Although Tohu Harris has only been on the losing end of the last six years of Melbourne dominance - the Warriors captain was playing for the Storm the last time they lost in New Zealand - the record is no less crushing.
"Every single person back in the sheds is disappointed with the result tonight because everyone wanted to get that win against them," he said.
So enduring is the hoodoo, of the club's current crop of players, only veteran halfback Shaun Johnson has experienced a win over Melbourne wearing Warriors colours.
"These 17 players haven't been beaten by Melbourne 15 times," coach Andrew Webster said.
"It's a great story, isn't it, how dominant they are. They've been probably the most consistent team over the last 20 years I reckon, but this group was really confident that we could do something and we haven't, so we've got to wear that one.
"But the past isn't any resemblance on these 17 boys."
The losing streak means it has been nine years since the Warriors have won the Michael Moore trophy.
The trophy, which is named after the Storm's late inaugural football manager and awarded to the victor of each game played between the teams, means more to Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy than simple bragging rights over the Warriors.
"For us we want to make the Moore family proud. The club, when it started, he was probably the mortar between the bricks that stuck everyone together," Bellamy said.
"We just know how important he was to our club getting started and it's something that we'll forever celebrate."
There is a sense that the Warriors are not far off breaking the curse after once again taking a dominant position over the Storm this season.
The Warriors would have been victorious in round two if not for a last-minute Xavier Coates wonder-try, while they again looked certain to win after racing out to a 14-0 lead in the first 20 minutes on Saturday before being hauled in.
"I think sometimes you can get beaten before you get to the start line against the great teams and we weren't," Webster said.
"That's the pleasing thing. That's part of the journey and once you get over that hump and you get that first win you can cross that and then it's not a story for the next 15 years."
