'He's a freak': Suliasi Vunivalu's 23-minute hat-trick destroys Raiders
Melbourne Storm star Suliasi Vunivalu got on the board for 2019 with a 23-minute hat-trick in a 22-10 win over the Canberra Raiders.
The 23-year-old was brought back down to mortal numbers in 2018 with just 15 tries, scoring two in a game just three times.
The winger, who has the best strike rate of all active NRL players with more than 50 tries, had crossed 23 times in each of his first two NRL seasons.
But Vunivalu has now scored 64 tries in 72 games, the 13th best strike rate in history.
He destroyed Raiders opposite Nick Cotric with a big shoulder to slide through for the first of the game in the seventh minute.
Just 10 minutes later he was allowed to cruise through to the middle of the in-goal, and on 30 minutes he reached his hat-trick.
“He’s a freak, the Fijian flyer. He’s unreal,” halfback Brodie Croft told Fox Sports at half-time.
“Get him the ball and he’ll do something for you.”
After keeping Gold Coast scoreless in their round one win, the Raiders had no answers to the force of the Storm, who look as fearsome as ever despite the retirements of stars Billy Slater and Ryan Hoffman.
Craig Bellamy’s men did all the attacking during the first 40 minutes, taking full advantage of their possession dominance.
Skipper Cameron Smith extended their half-time buffer with a penalty goal early in the second half.
But the Green Machine were able to work their way into the contest, with a special try in the 50th minute to captain Jarrod Croker giving Raiders fans some hope.
"It kind of feels like we are watching the Storm in round 20, they are clicking so well already," Girds says after Vunivalu scores his second of the evening.
10-0 @storm lead #NRLRaidersStorm
— Triple M NRL (@TripleM_NRL) March 22, 2019
But some rusty play in attack, combined with typical gritty Storm defending, snuffed out any raised expectations from the home side.
Melbourne prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona all but closed the door on a Raiders comeback when he barged over for his team’s fourth try in the 60th minute.
Croker grabbed a consolation try with 10 minutes remaining for a double to continue his impressive return to the team after a serious knee injury at the end of last season.
The surprise early return of winger Jordan Rapana following a shoulder reconstruction was a major positive for Canberra.
with AAP