Melbourne Storm

The annual Anzac day match was shaping up to be a tight encounter at half-time with the Storm leading 16-10, before running in 10 second half tries to rip the Warriors apart.

Melbourne wing Xavier Coates scored four tries in the romp, securing the Storm their biggest win over the Warriors, as well as the most points they have scored at home.

The second half was well and truly one way traffic, with the Storm enjoying 81 percent of possession as they piled on points.

The Storm have beaten the Warriors 42-20 to record their fifth straight victory in the annual fixture.

The reigning premiers are now fourth on the ladder, while the Warriors have dropped to ninth.

The visitors were undermanned and Warriors coach Nathan Brown handed debuts to teenagers Reece Walsh and Rocco Berry.

Walsh has only been with the club for a couple of weeks, having been released by the Brisbane Broncos.

"We could see Reece's talent there today and he is a very talented kid," Brown said.

Peter V'landys revealed on Monday that the Storm were again a point of concern, with Melbourne's current five-day lockdown because of a Covid-19 outbreak.

The ARL Commission chairman flagged the potential of moving them to a resort in NSW, in a bid to beat any headaches from potential border closures.

"We've got to be prepared like we were last year," V'landys told radio station SEN.

"The situation in Victoria may possibly get worse. We will certainly be look at various options today.

The former Bulldog is jostling to claim the wing position vacated by towering Fijian Suliasi Vunivalu, who has defected to rugby.

Vunivalu's incredible record of 86 tries from 111 games for the Storm, with whom he won the 2017 and 2020 titles, stands up in any era.

Smith, who played 49 games for Canterbury and is now competing for a spot with the likes of George Jennings and Isaac Lumelume, is aiming to step into Vunivalu's massive boots.

The Storm dominated all but the last 10 minutes of a season finale, played in front of a rain-drenched crowd of 40,000, that had looked highly unlikely when the league ground to a halt after two rounds in March because of the coronavirus crisis.

The Panthers reached the championship decider on the back of a 17-match winning streak but they were unable to break free of a stifling Melbourne defence until it was too late to make a difference.

All eyes are on Storm captain Cameron Smith. Will he retire after a peerless 430 matches across 19 seasons?

He's given nothing away despite the intense interest, but the scenes at Suncorp Stadium after Melbourne's preliminary final win over Canberra were perhaps indicative of a man bidding farewell.

The Panthers are shooting for 18 straight victories, led by star halfback Nathan Cleary and his father, coach Ivan.

Penrith are conceding vast experience to the Storm, but they're yet to be overawed as belief courses through them.

Vunivalu showed obvious discomfort in his left leg after a routine tackle in Saturday's 36-24 win over the Eels in the qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium.

But Storm trainer Matthew Barradeen ran onto the field as play continued and waved his arm to grab referee Ashley Klein's attention, well before he got to Vunivalu to assess him.

The Eels were on the attack up the other end of the field, but play was held up while the trainer stretched Vunivalu's limb.

Kearney has signed a 12-month deal with the Storm.

In doing so, he will return to where it all began for him as a coach, having previously been Bellamy's assistant between 2006 and 2010.

Kearney also played 139 games for the Storm between 1999 and 2004, forming part of their inaugural premiership-winning side.

The hosts made a flying start when Mikaele Ravalawa was awarded a penalty try in the second minute – Corey Thompson shoving the Fijian to the floor as he was about to ground an in-goal kick at the end of a 70-metre run.

David Nofoaluma grabbed a clever kick from the inspired Benji Marshall, who booted eight points, to level matters but Zac Lomax went over and added his own extras to ensure the Dragons led 12-8 at the break.

The 24-year-old winger always had it in his mind to return to the 15-man game which he played as a youngster in Fiji and decided the time was right when the Queensland Reds came knocking with a substantial offer.

Vunivalu reportedly signed a deal in late November worth $1.8 million with the Reds and Rugby Australia.

While he didn't comment on the size of the deal, he said hamstring issues, which ruled him out of the Storm's painful preliminary final loss to Canberra last year as well as the World Cup Nines, helped him make the decision.