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The Panthers are back in the winning circle after staving off a Storm revival to come away with a 22-14 victory at AAMI Park. The Panthers led 22-0 at the break courtesy of a Nathan Cleary masterclass and Brian To'o hat-trick however the Storm were invited back into the contest after ill-discipline saw Penrith go down to 11 players during the second half. Apart from his three tries, To'o racked up 224 run metres and eight tackle breaks while Tom Jenkins ran for 191 metres and Dylan Edwards 172. From the field: Harry Grant Led by a returning Harry Grant, Melbourne fought to the end but couldn't ice their opportunities as they officially kissed their finals chances goodbye. Once again it was fullback Sua Fa'alogo showing the way for the Storm with 209 metres from 27 runs to go with seven tackle breaks while Jack Howarth broke eight tackles. Relive all the action of Round 25 of the NRL Telstra Premiership on NRL.com's live blog. Storm v Panthers at AAMI Park Storm v Panthers - Round 25, 2026 Match: Storm v Panthers Round 25 - home Team Storm 11th Position away Team Panthers 1st Position Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne Media Conference NRL Press Conference: Storm v Panthers - Round 25, 2026 Full-time: An important win for the Panthers on the back of losses to the Warriors and Roosters in consecutive weeks. Despite finishing the match down on possession (42 per cent) and losing the penalty count 10-4, the Panthers' 22-point lead at half time was enough to sneak away with the win. 79 min: Melbourne get the ball back and Grant chips over the top in the dying seconds but Casey Mclean comes up with the football on the buzzer. 78: A last-ditch effort from Storm with Munster going high and forcing To'o to ground the ball in the in-goal. 77 min: Panthers throw in a captain's challenge for a Cleary knock on during an offload but are unsuccessful. Storm have a scrum 30m out from their own end. 71 min: Cogger returns and the Panthers are back to 13 men. 70 min: Melbourne continue to threaten a comeback and pepper Penrith's line but the visitors come up with some great cover defence. 62 min: Storm make the most of their first opportunity with the extra man, shifting the ball from sideline to sideline and quick hands from Nick Meaney gives enough space for Tuimalatu-Brown to go flying over in the corner. Meaney can't add the extras. Panthers 22-14. Cogger sent to the sin bin 61 min: A third sin-bin for Panthers with Cogger sent for 10 after rushing up out of the line and tackling Wishart high. Jack Howarth Try 56 min: Storm set up camp in their attacking zone after several repeat sets. The home side go left and Munster finds Howarth out the back who shows great footwork to get on the outside of Tago and muscle his way over the line. Panthers 22-10. 53 min: Smith returns and we're back to 13 on 13. Penrith does well to concede just six points despite losing two to the bin. 48 min: Storm go short on the dropout and Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown gets the ball back for his side. Melbourne go on the attack but Cogger wins the ball back with some desperate rushing defence. 47 min: The Panthers go back to 12 men with Martin returning to the fray. 46 min: Penrith sigh relief with Keeley knocking the ball on in the play ball in the set off the kick-off. Tyran Wishart Try 44 min: The Storm are quick to exploit the advantage with Wishart darting and weaving his way over the line for Melbourne's first try. Panthers 22-6. 43 min: The Panthers give away two set restarts on their line and go down to 11 men after Smith is sent to the bin for a third infringement. Wishart drills a 40/20 41 min: Tyran Wishart puts Storm straight on the attack with a 40/20 in the first set off the kick-off. Half-time: The Panthers are sitting pretty at 22-0 despite having only 53 per cent of possession and a lower completion rate. Panthers however ran 358m further with the football while the Storm came up with six errors and four ruck infringements. Brian To'o showed his class on the wing with a first-half hat-trick highlighted by a runaway intercept try. 40 min: Melbourne with all the momentum and have one more roll of the dice before the break but a Munster kick into the in-goal rolls dead. 38 min: Melbourne are quick to take advantage of their extra man advantage and look to post their first points when Harry Grant chases and his own grubber into the in-goal. The bunker however rules Grant lost the ball into the arm of To'o in the put down. Martin sent to the sin bin 36 min: Faalogo grubbers into the in goal on the last but can't beat To'o to the football. Liam Martin is penalised and sent to the sin bin for a professional foul after replays show he impedes the Melbourne fullback on the chase. 35 min: An opportunity for Melbourne with Izack Tago losing the football on the first tackle. Storm get a scrum from 10m out as Keeley returns from his stint in the bin. Brian To'o 3rd Try 30 min: A hat-trick for To'o! Cleary spots the overlap on the right edge and sends the ball short for To'o who goes to the air to score his third for the half. Panthers 22-0. 29 min: Penrith are back on the attack after Tom Jenkins picks up a loose ball and carries his team over halfway. 27 min: Storm sigh relief with Jack Cogger coughing up the football on the next set. Keeley sent to the sin bin 26 min: Oryn Keeley is sent to the sin bin for repeated infringements for slowing down the ruck. The penalty and ruck infringement count is 8-1 Melbourne. Brian To'o 2nd Try 24 min: Penrith make it three straight as To'o intercepts a Sua Faalogo pass and races 60 m downfield to score. Cleary adds the extras. Panthers 18-0. Liam Henry Try 20 min: The Panthers get a restart and march their way downfield. Cleary shifts the ball from right to left and Liam Henry crashes over from close range. Panthers 12-0. 13 min: The Storm are saved by a Liam Martin knock on close to the line. 12 min: The Panthers are gifted a golden opportunity after Melbourne concede back-to-back penalties in their own end. 8 min: Shawn Blore leaves the filed for a HIA which he later passed. 5 min: A Trent Loiero penalty allows the Panthers to march straight back into their attacking zone but Melbourne's defence holds firm. Brian To'o Try 3 min: The perfect start for Penrith as Nathan Cleary kicks to the posts and Lindsay Smith soars high to gather the ball and send a long pass out to Brian To'o for his 100th career try. Panthers 6-0. Late Mail Storm: A late switch with Tyran Wishart starting at halfback and Trent Toelau going to the bench. Captain Harry Grant came through Wednesday's final training session and makes his return from a hamstring injury. Joe Chan goes to the bench to accommodate the return of centre Jack Howarth (shoulder). Panthers: Back-rower Luke Garner has been added to the bench 90 minutes before kick-off. Garner made his return to action through NSW Cup last weekend and is line for his first NRL action since Round 17. Young gun Casey McLean lines up for his first game since Round 22 having overcome a hand injury. Numbers Game - The Storm have won nine from 10 against the Panthers at AAMI Park. - Panthers winger Brian To’o has scored nine tries in his last nine games against the Storm. - The Storm have won their last nine games immediately following a bye. - Ivan Cleary will reach the milestone of 500 games as NRL coach. - Storm winger Moses Leo has scored five tries in his last four games at AAMI Park.