Luke Buttigieg at Olympic Park
Playing without its Queensland State of Origin quartet Melbourne has also overcome a late send-off to claim an ugly 14-12 win over Wests Tigers at Olympic Park on Sunday afternoon.
With Cam Smith, Greg Inglis, Billy Slater and Dallas Johnson all in Sydney ahead of Origin II on Wednesday night, and Wests missing skipper Robbie Farah, it was the home side that made the running early in each half and ground its way to the two points.
The result could have been different after an easy try to Daine Laurie went begging in the first half and then when Dane Nielsen, filling in for Inglis, was dismissed with just over three minutes remaining for a high shot on Beau Ryan.
And while the game may not be one that stays too long in the memory banks of the 10,417 fans in attendance, its value should not be underestimated for the victors in what was their only game without their Origin stars this season.
Half-back Cooper Cronk was superb for the Storm, not only leading the way in attack and scoring the game's first try but also working hard in defence as well, while forwards Sika Manu and Adam Blair also played their part.
In the first 20 minutes the hosts dominated field position and possession but time and again were held out by sterling Wests defence before they finally cracked with some good play out of dummy half by Ryan Hinchcliffe.
Hinchcliffe ran the ball and then offloaded for Brett Finch in support before he ran at the defensive line and then also got a pass away for Cronk to crash over, with Joseph Tomane easily converting for 6-0.
But having failed to carry the ball inside the Storm's final 20m until 22 minutes into the game, the Tigers hit back on 23 minutes, sending it wide left from a scrum for Blake Ayshford to score, and Benji Marshall converted to level the scores.
Ten minutes before the break and the visitors should perhaps have scored only for Cronk to force the much bigger Taniela Tuiaki into touch, before an absolute howler from Laurie moments before the break.
Running in support after Gareth Ellis was put into a hole and with only full-back Steve Turner to beat, Laurie somehow dropped the ball when Ellis hit him on the chest with only the line in front of him.
Another Wests opportunity out wide went begging just before the break and in the shadows of their line Storm elected to go for goal rather than play on from a penalty, with Tomane converting for 8-6 at the break.
A late hit from Laurie moments after the restart on Cronk after he kicked ahead gave the Storm good field position and a couple of plays later Matt Cross turned in a tackle and scored under the posts for 14-6 with Tomane's conversion.
Another penalty against Laurie for a dangerous tackle on Quinn nearing the hour mark didn't cost his team as Melbourne failed to capitalise, and from there handling errors began to creep in from both sides.
The momentum swung again with 11 minutes left when Ayshford threw a dummy and then hit a gap and passed for Tim Moltzen in support to score under the posts, Marshall's conversion cutting the deficit to 14-12.
But while Nielsen's rare game in the NRL didn't end on the note he would have wanted it to, and he might find himself on the sidelines for a couple of weeks, his team scraped home.
Melbourne Storm 14
Tries: Cronk, Cross
Conversions: Tomane 2
Penalty: Tomane
Wests Tigers 12
Tries: Ayshford, Moltzen
Conversions: Marshall 2