Namesake takes over on milestone night for Cameron Smith

Brandon Smith has scored two tries as Melbourne Storm romped to a thumping 40-16 victory over the Cronulla Sharks in a fitting celebration for Cameron Smith’s 400th NRL game.

The younger Smith provided energy off the bench to score in the 34th minute and he capped it all off again with a second try when just minutes were left on the clock.

But the night belonged to his predecessor as Smith became the first player to bring up 400 first-grade games.

Smith converted all but one of the Storm’s six tries and added three penalty goals to match Cronulla’s total himself.

“It’s a night that I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he told Fox Sports.

The competition leaders survived a second-half stumble at AAMI Park when the Sharks fought back to within two points.

But the Storm piled on a further four tries to secure victory and sweet revenge after the Sharks defeated Melbourne in round eight.

The party started early, with a light show and tributes from former teammates Johnathan Thurston and Billy Slater, before Smith – wearing custom-made gold boots – ran on to the field.

Five-eighth Cameron Munster kept the crowd on their feet as he opened the scoring in the fourth minute when he ran onto Jahrome Hughes grubber into the in-goal.

The Sharks settled with winger Aaron Gray, part of a reshuffle after Matt Moylan's withdrawal, scoring in the 11th minute via a sweeping backline move.

The remainder of the first half was all Storm as they took advantage of some sloppy Sharks handling and discipline to charge to an 18-4 lead.

Cronulla's cause wasn't helped with Josh Dugan limping off from fullback with a hamstring injury.

But Melbourne looked like they'd popped the cork too early, with the Sharks on the hunt early in the second stanza.

Tries to Kurt Capewell and Shaun Johnson in four minutes pulled the visitors back to trail only 18-16 before Smith gathered his troops into a huddle.

His words hit home with Melbourne regrouping and crossing twice in four minutes – through Brodie Croft and Justin Olam – to skip away unchallenged and ensure Smith's record night ended in style.

with AAP