Coates bags hat-trick as Storm roast Sydney Roosters

Melissa Woods | April 6, 2023

A Xavier Coates hat-trick has helped the Storm to their most convincing win of the NRL season, steamrolling the Sydney Roosters 28-8 in Melbourne.

While he bagged three tries, the towering winger had to share the spotlight on Thursday with star playmaker Cameron Munster and hooker Harry Grant, who both shone in the wet conditions at AAMI Park.

Munster set up two tries and scored one himself to continue his dominant season since returning from a finger injury.

Victor Radley was the villain for the visitors, sent to the sin-bin and put on report in the 27th minute for a late shot on Munster as the Storm attacked the line.

At that stage the Roosters were in front 8-6, but by the time the lock returned Sydney were down 18-8 and the Storm were running away with the match.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson conceded it was a turning point but felt the signs for his team already hadn’t been great.

“It wasn’t necessary and it wasn’t the end of the world at the same time,” Robinson said. 

“We were up 8-6 when Rads (Radley) went off but there was still quite a few errors coming out of our own end, we gave him good field position so even then it was not really in our favour.

“They had a really good game plan and they executed it well against us.”

Melbourne’s attack had all cylinders firing, with Munster, Grant, halfback Jahrome Hughes and fullback Nick Meaney all in on the action.

They used their kicking game to keep the Roosters guessing, while the men from Sydney didn’t help themselves with 13 handling errors, 39 missed tackles and only a 62 per cent completion rate.

The Storm’s forward pack also deserved praise, with skipper Christian Welch winning a running battle with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, while Melbourne lock Josh King was another to stand up.

The Roosters’ only try came in the 12th minute through winger Jaxson Paulo, when he ran on to a long floating pass from Sam Walker.

But the Storm defence was high-energy throughout as they wrapped up their third successive victory. 

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy was delighted with their ball control, completing at 84 per cent, which eased the pressure on their defence.

“It was a really well-controlled performance … the way they controlled the game was first class,” he said.

He rated the game of Coates as his best since the 22-year-old joined the Storm ahead of the 2022 season.

“He’s one hell of a talented player and he’s starting to find his niche in his team and the players are more aware of what he’s good at and how he can help the team,” Bellamy said.

“That was probably his best performance for us.”