Jahrome Hughes has gone from under the knife to cutting through Manly in the space of a fortnight, leading Melbourne to a 48-24 demolition job at Brookvale.
Fresh off a broken hand suffered only two weeks ago, Hughes was the star for the Storm on Sunday as he helped lay on three tries in a pummelling of the Sea Eagles.
His halves partner Cameron Munster also impressed, while winger Grant Anderson scored a hat-trick to help Melbourne stay in the NRL's top four.
The only concerns for Melbourne were precautionary early marks for fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen and winger Xavier Coates, after a back cork and hamstring tightness respectively.
Otherwise this was one to savour, as the Storm rebounded from last week's shock loss to St George Illawarra to show again why they are a premiership force.
Melbourne blew Manly apart in two separate seven-minute stints, going from 2-0 down to 18-2 up without Manly touching the ball early in the first half.
And while the Sea Eagles got it back to 18-10 by halftime, the Storm repeated the dose after the break with another trio of tries, while Manly didn't have a play-the-ball.
Reigning Dally M Medallist Hughes was at the centre of it all.
His first moment of magic came in the first half when he laid on a perfectly lofted ball for Anderson, putting it out in front of the winger to run on to and score.
With the game back in the balance after the break, the Kiwi No.7 fooled the defence when he looked left and threw a long cut-out ball to the right for Anderson to score again.
In the next set Hughes did the damage from inside his own half, throwing a dummy before running downfield and helping send Papenhuyzen over.
HUGHES. MUNSTER. PAPENHUYZEN. #NRLManlyStorm Telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/60hB8Wn99m
— NRL (@NRL) April 6, 2025
"He's a big part of (the turnaround from last week)," Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said.
"We know he is a good player and a smart player, but he is a tough unit as well.
"To play tonight after the operation he had on his hand. There was no push from in the club from medical people or players.
"But he put his hand up and wanted to play. I thought he was thousands (to one to play). And he's very important to the side as we all know."
Muster also had his fingerprints on the flogging, putting Stefano Utoikamanu across for Melbourne's first, before the five-eighth scored the second himself.
Manly also lost Jason Saab to an ankle injury late, but they are confident it is only a minor one ahead of Saturday's clash with Cronulla in Perth.
"The game was just won in two blocks," Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold said.
"Inside those six sets (where they scored in succession) we gave them field position through a penalty or fundamentals. And they are a very good side, so they made us pay."
Scott Bailey - AAP
