Melbourne Storm 18–13 Sydney Roosters — Semi-Final, 2023 NRL Finals Series
15 Sep 2023 · AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC · Attendance: 19,534
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Semi-Final, 2023 NRL finals series: Melbourne Storm 18–13 Sydney Roosters, at AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC on 15 Sep 2023.
Sourcing caveat: Marion Seve's try minute and the breakdown of Nick Meaney's kicks between conversions and penalty goals were not fully reconciled across sources. No official player-of-the-match award was found for this fixture.
Scoring timeline
| 7′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Wishart |
| 33′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Smith |
| 62′ | Sydney Roosters — try, Collins |
| 78′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Warbrick |
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: Wishart 7'; Seve; Warbrick 78' Goals: Meaney (3/5 conversions) |
| Sydney Roosters | Tries: Smith 33'; Collins 62' Goals: Walker (2/2 conversions); Walker — field goal 71' |
Team sheets
| Melbourne Storm | Sydney Roosters | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nick Meaney | Fullback | James Tedesco | 1 |
| 2 | Will Warbrick | Wing | Junior Pauga | 2 |
| 3 | Marion Seve | Centre | Paul Momirovski | 3 |
| 4 | Justin Olam | Centre | Corey Allan | 4 |
| 5 | Reimis Smith | Wing | Jaxson Paulo | 5 |
| 6 | Cameron Munster | Five-eighth | Luke Keary | 6 |
| 7 | Tyran Wishart | Halfback | Sam Walker | 7 |
| 8 | Tui Kamikamica | Prop | Fletcher Baker | 8 |
| 9 | Harry Grant | Hooker | Brandon Smith | 9 |
| 10 | Christian Welch | Prop | Lindsay Collins | 10 |
| 11 | Trent Loiero | Second Row | Siua Wong | 11 |
| 12 | Eliesa Katoa | Second Row | Nat Butcher | 12 |
| 13 | Josh King | Lock | Victor Radley | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Bronson Garlick | Sandon Smith | 14 | |
| 15 | Nelson Asofa-Solomona | Egan Butcher | 15 | |
| 16 | Tom Eisenhuth | Terrell May | 16 | |
| 17 | Tariq Sims | Angus Crichton | 17 | |
| Craig Bellamy | Coach | Trent Robinson | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ashley Klein |
Match report
Melbourne Storm advanced to the preliminary final with an 18-13 win over Sydney Roosters at AAMI Park on 15 September 2023, in a match settled by a dramatic finish. Storm utility Tyran Wishart set the early tone, helping his side to a 10-6 halftime lead built on a Marion Seve try and Nick Meaney's boot. The Roosters hit back through Brandon Smith's dummy-half try before the break and Lindsay Collins's close-range effort in the second half. Sam Walker converted both Roosters tries and then slotted a field goal with around eight minutes remaining to briefly put Sydney in front 13-12, capping a spirited comeback. But Melbourne responded almost immediately: Cameron Munster produced a cross-field kick that winger Will Warbrick climbed above his opposite number to score in the right corner, restoring the Storm's lead in the 78th minute. Melbourne held on from there to close out the contest, ending Sydney's finals campaign and sending Craig Bellamy's side through to a preliminary final.