A six-try blitz in the space of 10 minutes set the Storm up perfectly for their maiden win in the mixed premier league competition on Tuesday night.
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Trailing 2-0 midway through the first half of their clash against the Sharks after early scores to Ella McFarlane and Brayden Winnel, Storm youngster Bronte Prestage stepped up to the plate with a crucial score in the far left corner that sparked a touchdown spree for the purple side.
Though it took just 30 seconds for Sharks star Rhiannon Podmore to stretch the margin back to two points, Storm co-captain Rachael Addison could already sense a shift in momentum and combined with Lachie Harper to send Molly Antone over the chalk in the 13th minute, bringing the scoreline to 3-2.
An Andrew Baggio touchdown saw the Sharks skip ahead once more but the floodgates were well and truly opened as Prestage and Antone crossed the line in quick succession to square things up at 4-all.
Darren Reynoldson then caught the Sharks napping on the short side to put his side ahead in the 18th minute before a late intercept from Harper saw the Storm take a surprise 6-4 lead at oranges.
The second half saw both sides shore up in defence but it didn’t take long for Reynoldson’s class to cut through again.
The veteran stutter-stepped his way out of trouble in the 24th minute before leaving Sharks big man Jack Schein in the dust and strolling over for his side’s seventh touchdown.
Winnel hit back with his second score in the 31st minute to reel the margin back to two and when Schein found his way over in the 38th minute, the Storm looked ready to cough up their slim 7-6 advantage.
Addison, however, had other ideas and was rewarded for attacking in the penultimate set with a match-winning touchdown, handing her side victory to the tune of 8-6.
In the later fixture, a Sophie Crouch double secured the Tigers’ place atop the competition table with a 5-4 win over the Dragons.
The teenage flyer made amends for losing the ball over the try line early on by scoring a touchdown in each half to see off the spirited Dragons.
Tigers co-captains Sophie Quirk and Chris Dowell also found the whitewash for their side while Brocke Argus stayed well atop the competition’s touchdown ladder with his sixth score of the season.
Dragons co-captain Nicole Absolum touched down in the one-point loss with Jess Beer, Rogan Price and Wongsatorn Suthamwuthinat rounding out the scorers.
