Melbourne Storm 22–14 Cronulla-Sutherland — Preliminary Final, 2025 NRL Finals Series
26 Sep 2025 · AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC · Attendance: 29,233
Data last verified: 11 August 2026.
Preliminary Final, 2025 NRL finals series: Melbourne Storm 22–14 Cronulla-Sutherland, at AAMI Park, Melbourne, VIC on 26 Sep 2025.
Scoring timeline
| 6′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Warbrick |
| 11′ | Cronulla-Sutherland — try, Katoa · Hynes missed |
| 15′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Hughes |
| 29′ | Cronulla-Sutherland — try, Katoa · Hynes missed |
| 35′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Papenhuyzen |
| 74′ | Melbourne Storm — try, Coates |
| 80′ | Cronulla-Sutherland — try, Iro · Hynes missed |
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: Warbrick 6'; Hughes 15'; Papenhuyzen 35'; Coates 74' Goals: Meaney (2/4 conversions); Meaney (1/1) 65' pen |
| Cronulla-Sutherland | Tries: Katoa (2) 11', 29'; Iro 80' Goals: Hynes (0/3); Hynes (1/1) 58' pen |
Team sheets
| Melbourne Storm | Cronulla-Sutherland | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Papenhuyzen | Fullback | William Kennedy | 1 |
| 2 | Will Warbrick | Wing | Sione Katoa | 2 |
| 3 | Jack Howarth | Centre | Jesse Ramien | 3 |
| 4 | Nick Meaney | Centre | KL Iro | 4 |
| 5 | Xavier Coates | Wing | Ronaldo Mulitalo | 5 |
| 6 | Cameron Munster | Five-eighth | Braydon Trindall | 6 |
| 7 | Jahrome Hughes | Halfback | Nicho Hynes | 7 |
| 8 | Stefano Utoikamanu | Prop | Addin Fonua-Blake | 8 |
| 9 | Harry Grant | Hooker | Blayke Brailey | 9 |
| 10 | Josh King | Prop | Toby Rudolf | 10 |
| 11 | Eliesa Katoa | Second Row | Billy Burns | 11 |
| 12 | Shawn Blore | Second Row | Teig Wilton | 12 |
| 13 | Trent Loiero | Lock | Jesse Colquhoun | 13 |
| Substitutes | ||||
| 14 | Ativalu Lisati | Briton Nikora | 14 | |
| 15 | Tyran Wishart | Siosifa Talakai | 15 | |
| 16 | Tui Kamikamica | Oregon Kaufusi | 16 | |
| 17 | Alec MacDonald | Braden Hamlin-Uele | 17 | |
| Craig Bellamy | Coach | Craig Fitzgibbon | ||
Match officials
| Referee | Ashley Klein |
Match report
Melbourne raced to an early lead through Will Warbrick and Jahrome Hughes, while Cronulla's Sione Katoa scored twice to keep the Sharks in touch before half-time, at which Melbourne led 16-8. Ryan Papenhuyzen extended the Storm's advantage, and the two sides traded a penalty goal apiece in the second half before Xavier Coates sealed the result for Melbourne in the 74th minute; KL Iro scored a late consolation try for Cronulla as the Sharks fell short in a preliminary final again. Hughes was widely reported to have played through a suspected broken arm.