Melbourne Storm 30–10 Canberra Raiders — Preliminary Final, 2020 NRL Finals Series
16 Oct 2020 · Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD · Attendance: 37,112
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2020 NRL finals series: Melbourne Storm 30–10 Canberra Raiders, at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, QLD on 16 Oct 2020.
Sourcing caveat: Sources show two slightly different goal-kicking breakdowns for Cameron Smith; the version specifying a penalty goal is used here. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 5′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Bromwich |
| 7′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Papenhuyzen |
| 9′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Vunivalu |
| 23′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Olam |
| 30′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Cotric |
| 62′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Finucane |
| 72′ | Canberra Raiders — try, Cotric |
Tries with a sourced minute, in order scored, with the conversion kicked/missed alongside each one where source data lets us match a kicker to that specific try. Tries whose exact minute isn't recorded in available sources appear in the Scorers table below but not here; goal tallies we can't attribute to one specific try are shown as descriptive text in Scorers rather than guessed into this timeline.
Scorers
| Melbourne Storm | Tries: Bromwich 5'; Papenhuyzen 7'; Vunivalu 9'; Olam 23'; Finucane 62' Goals: Smith (4/5 conversions); Smith — penalty goal |
| Canberra Raiders | Tries: Cotric 30'; Cotric 72' Goals: Croker (1/2 conversions) |
Team sheets
| Melbourne Storm | Canberra Raiders | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Papenhuyzen | Fullback | Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 1 |
| 2 | Suliasi Vunivalu | Wing | Semi Valemei | 2 |
| 3 | Brenko Lee | Centre | Jarrod Croker | 3 |
| 4 | Justin Olam | Centre | Jordan Rapana | 4 |
| 5 | Josh Addo-Carr | Wing | Nick Cotric | 5 |
| 6 | Cameron Munster | Five-eighth | Jack Wighton | 6 |
| 7 | Jahrome Hughes | Halfback | George Williams | 7 |
| 8 | Jesse Bromwich | Prop | Josh Papalii | 8 |
| 9 | Cameron Smith | Hooker | Tom Starling | 9 |
| 10 | Christian Welch | Prop | Iosia Soliola | 10 |
| 11 | Felise Kaufusi | Second Row | John Bateman | 11 |
| 12 | Kenny Bromwich | Second Row | Elliott Whitehead | 12 |
| 13 | Nelson Asofa-Solomona | Lock | Joseph Tapine | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Brandon Smith | Siliva Havili | 14 | |
| 15 | Tino Fa'asuamaleaui | Dunamis Lui | 15 | |
| 16 | Nicho Hynes | Hudson Young | 16 | |
| 17 | Dale Finucane | Corey Harawira-Naera | 17 | |
| Craig Bellamy | Coach | Ricky Stuart | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ashley Klein |
Match report
Melbourne Storm booked their fourth NRL Grand Final berth in five seasons with a dominant 30-10 preliminary final win over Canberra Raiders at a rain-affected Suncorp Stadium. The Storm raced to three tries inside the first ten minutes through Jesse Bromwich, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Suliasi Vunivalu, building a commanding 24-6 halftime lead that the Raiders could never overturn. Justin Olam and Dale Finucane added further tries either side of halftime, with Finucane's score coming in his 200th NRL game. Canberra's response was limited to a double from winger Nick Cotric, who crossed either side of the break. Storm halfback Jahrome Hughes controlled the contest with his kicking and running game, while captain Cameron Smith slotted four goals and a penalty for a personal haul. The match was also notable as English forward John Bateman's final NRL appearance before returning to Wigan. The result sent Melbourne through to face Penrith Panthers in the 2020 NRL Grand Final.