Melbourne Storm 29–28 South Sydney Rabbitohs — Qualifying Final, 2018 NRL Finals Series
7 Sep 2018 · AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC · Attendance: 17,306
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Qualifying Final, 2018 NRL finals series: Melbourne Storm 29–28 South Sydney Rabbitohs, at AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC on 7 Sep 2018.
Sourcing caveat: Individual try/conversion minute markers (beyond Munster's 77th-minute field goal and the approximate timing of Murray's try) were not identified in sources found. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scorers
| Melbourne Storm | Tries: Blair; Blair; Vunivalu; Vunivalu; Scott Goals: Smith (4/6 conversions) Drop goals: Munster 77' |
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | Tries: Inglis; Inglis; Gagai; Jennings; Murray Goals: Reynolds (4/6 conversions); Gagai (0/1 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Melbourne Storm | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy Slater | Fullback | Alex Johnston | 1 |
| 2 | Suliasi Vunivalu | Wing | Campbell Graham | 2 |
| 3 | Cheyse Blair | Centre | Greg Inglis | 3 |
| 4 | Curtis Scott | Centre | Dane Gagai | 4 |
| 5 | Josh Addo-Carr | Wing | Robert Jennings | 5 |
| 6 | Cameron Munster | Five-Eighth | Cody Walker | 6 |
| 7 | Brodie Croft | Halfback | Adam Reynolds | 7 |
| 8 | Jesse Bromwich | Prop | Thomas Burgess | 8 |
| 9 | Cameron Smith (c) | Hooker | Damien Cook | 9 |
| 10 | Tim Glasby | Prop | George Burgess | 10 |
| 11 | Felise Kaufusi | Second-Row | John Sutton | 11 |
| 12 | Joe Stimson | Second-Row | Angus Crichton | 12 |
| 13 | Dale Finucane | Lock | Sam Burgess | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Brandon Smith | Hymel Hunt | 14 | |
| 15 | Christian Welch | Cameron Murray | 15 | |
| 16 | Kenny Bromwich | Jason Clark | 16 | |
| 17 | Sam Kasiano | Dean Britt | 17 | |
| Craig Bellamy | Coach | Anthony Seibold | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ashley Klein |
Match report
Melbourne Storm hosted South Sydney Rabbitohs in the 2018 NRL Finals Week 1 Qualifying Final at AAMI Park. Coming off a minor-premiership-winning regular season, the defending premiers were pushed to the brink by a resurgent Rabbitohs outfit inspired by Greg Inglis, who scored twice. The lead changed hands multiple times, with Melbourne forced to fight back from behind on five separate occasions. Robert Jennings crossed after a penalty was awarded against Curtis Scott for a second effort in a tackle, and with roughly nine minutes remaining Cameron Murray appeared to have snatched the match for Souths with a try that put them briefly ahead. Melbourne responded immediately: Cameron Munster set up a Billy Slater line break before stepping up himself to slot a 31-metre field goal in the 77th minute, sealing a dramatic 29-28 win. The result sent the Storm through to the following week's finals with a bye, while the Rabbitohs were forced to await the Brisbane-St George Illawarra result to learn their finals fate.