Both sides scored two tries apiece in the first half, but were unable to legitimately cross the line after the break.

The only points of the second half came from the boot of Melbourne halfback Matt Orford, who landed a penalty in the dying minutes.

A crucial decision went Melbourne’s way midway through the second half when video referee Ian Parnaby ruled a controversial no try against the Raiders for obstruction, to the amazement of the Canberra coaching staff.

Parnaby’s decision was the correct one to make because the new NRL guidelines make it clear that decoy players cannot impede the run of a defender.

The match started fiercely in front of a parochial Melbourne crowd at “the graveyard”. The first points went to the Storm when referee Sean Hampstead adjudged that Raiders forward Ruben Wiki lay too long on Stephen Kearney in the tackle, which gifted Matt Orford with his first two points of the season.

Both sides were uncompromising in the early stages, prepared to hit the ball up through the middle of the ruck and also bruise in defence.

Canberra earned their first try of the 2002 season in the ninth minute. After doggedly plugging away at the Storms defence, Wiki crashed over the try line to give the Raiders a 4-2 lead.

Clinton Schifcofske made no mistake with the conversion from an acute angle, 6-2 the lead to Canberra after 10 minutes.

The Raiders kept up the pressure but found it difficult to contend with the physical defence displayed by Melbourne, who excelled at the physical work in the trenches.

They finally began to make good yardage and found their way back into Canberra’s half, where Melbourne built a good attacking opportunity.

Some excellent footwork by five eighth Scott Hill split the Raiders defence in the middle of the ruck, enabling Mitchell Sargent to score a try on his NRL debut. Orford added the easy extras, which gave the home side an 8-6 lead.

With their first try still fresh in mind, Melbourne continued the onslaught. The Raiders at first stood firm, but eventually the pressure took its toll and the Storm grabbed their second four pointer in the 34th minute.

Once again Hill was involved, his pinpoint cut out pass created an overlap for Steve Bell to put Marcus Bai over in the corner. Orford added two to the Melbourne total opening up an eight point lead.

But with seconds remaining in the half the Raiders were able to wrest the momentum from their opponents against the run of play. Canberra launched a counter attack and Schifcoske high bomb went ungathered by Melbourne.

The ball ended up in the hands of James Evans who crashed over out wide. Once again, Schifcofske landed the difficult conversion, cutting the deficit to two points at half time.

Both sides continued to graft out their attack in the second half, continually carting the ball up behind hardworking forwards. Astute kicking games from The Storm’s Orford and his opponent Brett Finch kept the match in a tense arm wrestle.

But then came the turning point in the match, which dismayed the small contingent of Raiders fans and coach Matt Elliott.

Mark McLinden looked to have blown open a rare hole in Melbourne’s defence and provided a brilliant try for winger Jamal Lolesi, but Hamastead sent the decision to video referee Parnaby to check for obstuction.

With new obstruction guidelines in place, Parnaby correctly adjudged that Raiders lock Terry Martin interfered with Hill’s ability to be involved in the defence, and therefore awarded the penalty to Melbourne.

The Canberra camp was extremely upset with the decision, but there was no doubt that under the new rules Martin transgressed and illegally impeded Hill.

The match was tight and opportunities were few and far between. No further tries were added, and in the final stages of play, Orford snared another penalty for Melbourne to give them the close 16-12 win.