Storm star Xavier Coates has produced a put-down for the ages, scoring a try described as the greatest ever in the NRL to hand his side a last-gasp victory over the Warriors.

Xavier Coates will feature on highlight reels for years to come after somehow grounding the football with a gravity-defying effort in the dying seconds. After leaping from almost five metres out from the tryline, Coates’ entire body was out of the field of play. However, he somehow managed to ground the football, despite the attention of Warriors winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak.

It was the second try that Melbourne scored in the final two-and-a-half minutes of the game to seal one of the NRL’s most remarkable comebacks.

“I didn’t even know if I got the ball down, so I couldn’t really celebrate with them, but it all popped up on the big screen and ended up getting a try,” Coates said.

Asked what was going through his mind when he was watching the replay, Coates said: “I was thinking I didn’t want to put my left hand down on the sideline.

“So I was hoping that left hand stayed up. I knew I was up in the air and I got the ball down with my right hand, but I was hoping that left hand didn’t touch the sideline. I sort of just ended up getting the ball down.

“I’m pretty happy to get that ball down and to finish the game, the way we did. I’m just really proud of the team.”

The Maroons star revealed that he regularly practices acrobatic put-downs at training.