Gravity-defying try hailed as Storm beat the Warriors in a last-minute thriller

Brett Lackey reports for Daily Mail Australia and the Australian Associated Press that the Storm have secured a nail-biting victory over the Auckland Warriors in Melbourne, courtesy of a last-minute try hailed as one of the best of all time.

Melbourne winger Xavier Coates scored the miracle try with 25 seconds left to rob the Warriors of victory in a pulsating Round 2 NRL clash at AAMI Park.

Coates took flight from almost five meters out and somehow managed to plant the ball from his vertical position before taking out the corner post or going into touch.

Fox Sports commentator Mick Ennis dubbed the four-pointer ‘the best toy I’ve ever seen.’

‘That is ridiculous what he has just done.’

The try put the Storm back in front, with Nick Meaney converting for a final score of 30-26.

Fox commentator and former player Mick Ennis dubbed the try the best he’d ever seen

‘To be fair, I don’t know [how I did that],’ Coates said after the siren.

‘It was a bit of adrenaline going. I didn’t even know if I got the ball down.

‘That came down to the last sorta five minutes. It was collectively a team effort to get ourselves back into the game.’

Melbourne scored twice in the final three minutes of the game – until then, the Warriors looked certain to have finally taken down their bogey team after dominating the home side in the second half.

The victory extends the Storm’s winning run to 15 over the Warriors, who haven’t been victorious against the men in purple since 2015.

Melbourne led 18-6 at halftime, but the visitors scored three second-half tries to take control of the match.

*The 23-year-old is a Papua New Guinea international who previously played for the Broncos Image credit: Daily Mail*

*Cooper Cronk praised the Superman effort, saying he doesn’t ‘fathom’ how Coates pulled it off. Image credit: Daily Mail*

*Coates said after the game, he didn’t even realize he got the ball down and was running on adrenaline Image credit: Daily Mail*

Nothing appeared to be going the Storm’s way, with Ryan Papenhuyzen and skipper Harry Grant giving away four points with dumb penalties in front of the goalposts.

After being pinged for an illegal steal, Papenhuyzen made amends with his second try of the night, coming in the 77th minute, with Meaney making it a two-point game.

Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak scored a try in each half, and Warriors halfback Shaun Johnson marshaled his backline in style.

The try and conversion secured the Storm’s Round 2 clash after the Warriors looked to have it in the bag

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, playing in the centers, was also a constant danger as he transitioned back to the NRL after two years in rugby.

The first half was all Melbourne, with halfback Jahrome Hughes starring with two try assists, two line breaks, and six tackle busts.

Meaney’s galloping try came off a Hughes break, but the No.7 was equally important on defense, stopping a confident Marcelo Montoya try with a ball-and-all tackle.

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