Posted April 01, 2017 23:35:30

Photo: Penrith huffed and puffed, but Melbourne Storm's defence was exemplary at AAMI Park. (AAP: Julian Smith)

There's a reason the scoreline doesn't come close to suggesting how close it was between the Melbourne Storm and the Penrith Panthers — Melbourne's defence is just way too good.

The Storm chalked up a 28-6 win over Penrith to make it five wins from five for the early-season favourites, but it came in spite of a 20-minute period late in the second stanza which saw the Panthers banging on the door, but to no avail.

Wave after wave after wave of Penrith attacks came, and repeatedly the Storm's back line denied them in an incredible defensive display that frustrated the visitors at AAMI Park.

To rub salt in the wounds, it set up the Storm to score a length-of-the-field counter-attacking try, sealing a personal double for winger Suli Vunivalu.

Storm full-back Billy Slater said Melbourne did not play its best attacking football, but even then it was enough to get the win against a determined opponent.

"It's hard work, but when everyone's doing their job, it makes it a lot easier," he told Grandstand.

"That's what we're doing on the try-line at the moment. Everyone's pitching in, everyone's working really hard. There's a lot of urgency and we're making it really hard for teams to score against us.

"If we keep doing that we're going to be a hard team to beat. Our attack's still not as fluent as we'd like it, but if we keep defending like that, we'll win more games than we lose."

Cooper Cronk, who was on the scoresheet with his try early in the second half, told Grandstand the Storm have a rock-solid defensive system that should reap plenty of dividends this season.

"I think we've got a system in place we obviously back all the way," he said.

"The other thing too is that it wasn't as if it was a pretty static attack. Penrith were throwing the ball around left right and centre. We kept filling the space from the inside, working hard.

"We're a tough team. A tough resilient team. We defend our line, then come up with points down the other end.

"That's the sign of a good football team, that works hard for one another."

The Storm host defending champions the Cronulla Sharks in round six, again on home soil, and will be hard pressed not to make it six from six on their current form.

Topics: nrl, rugby-league, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, penrith-2750, nsw, australia