Melbourne claimed a grinding arm-wrestle against Penrith to extend coach Craig Bellamy's NRL opening round winning streak.
Bellamy's record now stands at 22 seasons without a first round loss, with his Storm troops overcoming the three-time defending champions 8-0 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Friday night.
It was the first time since 2022 that Penrith had been kept scoreless, with Melbourne also responsible for that result.
After three losses to the Panthers last year, including a thumping 34-point defeat in the preliminary final, it was sweet revenge for the Storm.
Bellamy lauded the gutsy effort by his team to shut the Panthers out, with new skipper Harry Grant leading the way with 43 tackles.
"I don't think we played that well but we were really gutsy," Bellamy said.
"We had a lot of a lot of tackles to be made in our 20 metre area and we were out on our feet there a few times, but we just kept finding a way to to keep turning up so that was the really pleasing part."
The game was effectively decided in the space of two minutes in the second half when Penrith were denied a try in the 48th minute with the bunker ruling obstruction.
In the subsequent set of six, Melbourne scored down the other end with Jonah Pezet, in for injured playmaker Cameron Munster, putting up a pin-point bomb.It was batted back by Xavier Coates to Reimis Smith who dived across the tryline.
With both teams turning in massive defensive efforts, it ended up being the only try of the night, as unheralded forwards Joe Chan and Josh King and makeshift centre Nick Meaney stood up for Melbourne.
Storm prop Tui Kamikamika blew a chance to ice the match when he spilt the ball while transferring it between his hands as he tried to ground it.
The score was just 2-0 at halftime, with both teams racking up six errors each while the Storm's completion rate was a woeful 59 per cent, and Penrith's not much better at 73.
The Panthers had back-to-back sets but the Storm's goal-line defence proved impenetrable, with star halfback Nathan Cleary unable to pick a hole for his troops.
In a positive note for the Panthers, Taylan May showed he'd lost none of his pace in his return to the NRL after suffering an ACL injury during the pre-season last year.
His break set up the disallowed try for Soni Luke, which was the closest the Panthers came to scoring.
Penrith coach Ivan Cleary said it was a frustrating night for his team, who have now lost back-to-back matches following their World Club Challenge defeat by Wigan
"We just can't quite put it together, but that's part of building your season and trying to get some consistency throughout the 80 minutes," he said.
"We looked alright, actually the first half, with the ball, but then we just kept dropping it and just couldn't maintain any sort of pressure."
The Warriors' bruising round one loss to Cronulla could ripple into the coming weeks as the club awaits updates on injuries to Wayde Egan and Kurt Capewell.
Egan, coming off a career-best season, hurt his left elbow midway through the second half of the Warriors' 16-12 loss in Auckland on Friday night.
The hooker's arm became caught in an awkward position as he and a group of teammates attempted to drive Sharks centre Siosifa Talakai back into the in-goal.
A Warriors trainer strapped Egan's elbow on the field and the 26-year-old appeared able to move his arm up and down painlessly.
But Egan, who had only just returned from a spell on the bench, left the field for further medical assessment and did not return.
Warriors coach Andrew Webster described the injury as "awkward and scary" given the unusual circumstances that caused it and the level of pain Egan suffered initially.
"It's the way he landed when he came over the top (in the tackle), he planted his arm down there," said Webster.
"We'll just wait for scans. It could be fine, it might be nasty. We don't know yet."
Egan was replaced at dummy half by Freddy Lussick, who appears a natural choice to fill in for Saturday's clash against Melbourne if required.
On club debut, Capewell went down clutching his ribs after a hit from Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo early in the second half.
The premiership-winning second-rower left the field, replaced on the right edge by utility Dylan Walker, but returned 10 minutes later to finish the game.
Webster believed Capewell had suffered rib cartilage damage and would need to be monitored ahead of the game against the Storm.
"That can be worse than broken ribs sometimes from what people have said," Webster said.
"He was tough enough to come back again and finish the game but I think he's going to be a sore boy tomorrow.
"We'll know more in the coming days."
Webster admitted the timing was less than ideal as the Warriors, preliminary finalists in 2023, hoped to bounce back on the road in round two.
"Those things just happen in rugby league don't they?" he said of the injuries.
"If you're going to get a rib cartilage, you don't want it in round one because it lingers for four or five weeks. What's the chances tonight?
"It's just one of those nights."
The Sharks' away win over last year's preliminary finalists comes as they look this season to once-and-for-all shake their reputation as a good side unable to match it with great sides.
"There's a long way to go in the season and we can be better but the display of heart and effort was awesome," Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said.
"That was one of our most special wins, I think."
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Re-live all the big moments in our blog.
That'll do me for tonight team - after two tough games like that I need a lie down.
But I'll be back here tomorrow and we can do it all again, rugby league is back with a vengeance, take care and don't be too hard on yourself if you've crashed with your tips - everyone is in the same boat.
Until next time.
LoadingWell I'll be damned. That's a real statement from Melbourne, without Munster and Asofa-Solomona. Their best win in years.
Penrith are on the attack.....again......they don't look that likely.......again........they force a drop out........again and they go short......again.
To'o knocks it on in the contest and the Storm are going to win. What a remarkable defensive effort! They're the first team to keep the Panthers scoreless in two years (in fact, they were the last team to do it) and they have kept their incredible Round 1 streak alive.
Turuva busts the Storm open from close to halfway and he has Cleary in support but they track him down...through King? That's right, the front-rower Josh King, what a super effort! The Storm look shot to bits, players are down injured everywhere but a big shot from Smith forces an error from Martin. This is an almighty effort.
A R.Smith error puts Penrith on the attack, May goes within inches of scoring before Luke forces a dropout. Melbourne go short and get it back after a great take from R.Smith but not without controversy - Papenhuyzen launched the kick right as the shot clock went off.
But a Martin strip puts Penrith back onto it, and Welch knocks on a Cleary kick to give them another set. Surely can't Melbourne hold them out AGAIN?? But they do...only for Luke to force another drop out. Can they hold out AGAIN AGAIN?
YES THEY CAN! Luai launches a prayer of a kick and Warbrick takes it nicely. Melbourne are looking stronger defensively with every set and Penrith are starting to look short of ideas.
Coates ducks out of dummy half close to the line and drops an offload out the back to Pezet, Kamikamica flies onto it and looks to have scored but he drops it at the last moment. Feels like that could have been game! But Penrith survive.
That's a 12-point swing! From the penalty Melbourne test Penrith on both edges before Pezet puts a beautiful crosskick over to Coates, who taps it back to Smith to score. Been a looooong time coming but we have a try, great effort from Coates to get up there first. Meaney bangs it over from touch and it's Storm 8-0.
That would have been worth the wait if it was given - Luke, who's just come on at dummy half, darts out and offloads to create a little ruck speed, Luai latches onto an offload and finds May who races down the sideline, kicks infield and Luke picks up the scraps to score.
It was awesome! It was also correctly disallowed as Luai ran behind Smith in the lead up. The wait continues.
Sommerton very nearly puts Cleary over with only a desperate Ryan Papenhuyzen knocking down the pass. On the third tackle of the next set Eisenhuth goes for a hopeful offload and Grant does a great job to bat it backwards towards his own line and the Storm come away with it.
Penrith will get an early chance after Loiero gives away a ruck penalty in the first set.
Warbrick hits Turuva high to give Penrith a shot at a two-point field goal but it goes wide. Old school scoreline for an old school game thus far.
A nice backline shift seemed to have Meaney sliding into score for all money but an almighty defensive effort from Edwards and May just slide him into touch. Attack has taken a back seat so far tonight but there's been some mighty defensive plays.
After a Papenhuyzen makes an error the Panthers kick directly off the scrum and they very nearly snag it after Melbourne knock it back into the in-goal. They field the short drop out and get back to work....until a simple Yeo error relieves the pressure. Storm survive again!
Penrith are getting a little frustrated with their inability to get anything going in attack and it shows when Cleary drops it cold on their own 40. Storm on the attack - there's still no points, but they're looking the better right now.
A couple of basic errors from Melbourne have given Penrith some good field position and they've tested the Storm on either edge but the Victorians have showed some great scramble. Then Coates makes another strong carry to earn a penalty and despite the Panthers having all the good ball, that last little period is a win for the Storm,
Turuva, who is normally safe as a bank fielding kicks, drops a sitter absolutely cold. Storm get a full set inside Penrith's 20. Penrith are offside from the scrum and the Storm take the penalty goal for a 2-0 lead.
Penrith go on the attack via a downtown penalty and look sharp but the Storm hold fast and Coates earns a penalty of Melbourne's own to get them down the Panthers end.
Penrith kick off, running right to left.
One change for both sides in Melbourne - as reported yesterday, Cameron Munster is out for Melbourne and Jonah Pezet will come in at five-eighth.
Penrith will bring Soni Luke in on the bench with Tyrone Peachey dropping out.
I'm 1/4 on my tips for Round 1, so take this with a grain of salt, but I like the Panthers here. Melbourne's Round 1 record is imposing, but I think Penrith will have too much thunder for them in the middle of the field. Expecting a tight one though - let's go with Taylan May to score first.
A terrific win to open the season for the Sharks, they showed so much heart and commitment amid heavy pressure from the Warriors. Feels like the sort of game they wouldn't have won last year.
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