Storm 28 Broncos 8

And so a giant is stirred. No designer sunglasses and stubble in this grudge match. Just a designer city whose football team has had something of a stumble.

Having never lost three matches in a row under coach Craig Bellamy, the Storm were not going to let it happen against the side that covets him, and others. And, with the help of Israel Folau, who will be in the opposing dressing room next season, and Cam Smith, who may follow him, the Storm prevailed.

But not before a wonderful match. Broncos five-eighth Darren Lockyer re-injured his troublesome knee, but not before inspiring a Brisbane fightback, while Melbourne fullback Billy Slater produced the type of performance which would have puffed Lockyer's chest out during his former career at the back.

And in a match that looked mouth-watering, along came the chicken wing to make it finger-lickin' good. After a week in which Melbourne were issued a warning over a new wrestling technique, Adam Blair was placed on report for a tackle in which Broncos hooker Michael Ennis's left arm was wrenched in ugly circumstances.

Even in the absence of extra security and T-shirt slogans, there were similarities between the rivalry between the Roosters and the Bulldogs, and the two one-team towns which have won the past two NRL premierships.

At the heart of it is poaching. The difference here is, even though Folau has already jumped from one club to the other, the biggest blow may still be to come.

Bellamy may follow, along with Greg Inglis - though he had a forgettable night. In two years, who knows? Slater may be asking Footy Show producers if he could avoid crossing paths with his former roommate Smith ahead of their much-awaited appearance in the studio.

"It's like a weight off my shoulders to get that game out of the way and now I can concentrate on the rest of the year," Folau said afterwards.

Had he felt under pressure? "Not really, I was just focusing on my game this week … all the stuff in the media I wasn't worried about and I was just trying to think about what I had to do this week.

"I made the decision and told [my teammates] and everyone responded well and moved on, so I'm pleased that everyone reacted well and how we performed tonight really showed [what the Storm can do] in 2008."

Last night, Slater and Smith were instrumental in the same line-up, Slater brilliant at the back - his work to set up the first try to Anthony Quinn was sublime - and Smith his usual conniving self, his 48th-minute tackle on Darius Boyd as good as anything on the night.

Quinn scored three as the Melbourne machine hummed in the most impressive fashion since their premiership win. Importantly, a number of big-name players joined him in returning to form - Ryan Hoffman was impressive, along with Michael Crocker, playing his first match of the season. He has still to lose in a Melbourne jersey.

It was somewhat apt that among the crowd at Olympic Park last night was the acting Prime Minister, because this was the acting grudge match. Not quite in the same class as the Bulldogs-Roosters hate fest at ANZ Stadium, but getting there.

On the same day PM Kevin Rudd was forced to defend a salute to US President George W Bush, Julia Gillard paid her own tribute to a superpower allegedly on the wane, attending her first match since being made the Storm's No.1 ticket holder.

Storm chief executive Brian Waldron admitted to a group of supporters in the Chairman's Club, which included Gillard, before the match that it had been a "pretty tough week".

But he was talking tough as the players were playing it. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," Waldron said. "The Melbourne Storm is bigger than losing Israel Folau - and I can guarantee you Craig Bellamy will be here for the next two years. We are hopeful he'll be here longer. Time will tell." Far from admitting to diminishing respect, as Williams did of Mason prior to the other grudge match, Waldron said: "We have enormous respect for the Broncos. Sometimes we hate them, sometimes we love them."

That sort of rivalry that was always going to bring the best out of Melbourne, and they produced it early - through Quinn after nine minutes and Folau on 20, in one of those rare occasions where a try pleased both sets of supporters. Reece Robinson pulled one back for the Broncos, but came up with the error which saw Hoffman score the Storm's third. It was that sort of game, full of sub-plots and ironies - a true test of a rivalry.

The corresponding match last year was a vicious affair on and off the park, with accusations of grapple tackling to the fore. The build-up to last night's clash also featured the emergence a new Melbourne wrestling technique - the chicken wing.

The first irony last night was not Folau's try. The first penalty - for a grapple tackle - was awarded against Brisbane.

The mischief-makers would suggest they were already trying to impress their future coach, and possibly their future teammates.

MELBOURNE 28 (A Quinn 3 I Folau R Hoffman tries C Smith 4 goals) bt BRISBANE 8 (R Robinson D Stagg tries) at Olympic Park. Referee: J Maxwell. Crowd: 13,831.