The Gallen sledge that sparked a war of words

The grand final rematch between the Sharks and Storm was always going to be spiteful, but one particular sledge on Paul Gallen took it to another level.

Cronulla's captain was involved in several running battles with his Melbourne adversaries, and things came to a head just before halftime.

Storm centre Will Chambers fired up after Wade Graham attempted to put a big hit on him, with the centre then trading verbal barbs with the visiting skipper.

Fox Sports footage then appears to show Chambers mouth the words "drug cheat" in Gallen's direction, which sparked a war of words and a renewed sense of animosity between the sides.

The alleged sledge would appear to be in reference to the backdated 12-month bans that Gallen and several other Sharks teammates were handed over the ASADA supplements scandal.

It's understood Gallen responded by reminding Chambers of the two premierships (2007 and 2009) the Storm had stripped after being found guilty of rorting the salary cap.

When the halftime siren eventually sounded the Storm held a 2-0 lead but Cronulla's toughness proved too much to handle in the second period as they finished 11-2 winners at AAMI Park.

James Maloney kicked a field goal in the 70th minute to break a two-all deadlock before James Segeyaro swooped on a kick that was mishandled by Billy Slater to touch down under the posts and seal the result.

The Sharks have now won three straight matches, ending the Storm's unbeaten opening to the season in the process.

Played in miserable conditions with rain from start to finish, the 2016 grand final rematch produced plenty of dropped ball from both teams.

However, the Sharks played with greater control in the closing stages to record their first win in Melbourne for nine years.

Melbourne committed 15 errors against the defending premiers and completed less than 70 per cent of their total sets.