Departing winger Ken Maumolo scored a hat-trick, but the Warriors were still comprehensively outplayed 42-16 by the Melbourne Storm at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford on Sunday afternoon.
Ken Maumolo Photo: Photosport
Maumolo has been granted an immediate release from the final year of his contract, and will continue his NRL career at Wests Tigers.
The Storm flexed their considerable muscle today, powering to the top of the ladder with their 12th win of the season.
They are level on 24 points with Penrith but a superior for and against has them top of the pile.
The Storm victory was set up in the opening 40 minutes with tries to Dean Ieremia, Brandon Smith and Josh Addo-Carr.
In tandem with fellow hooker Harry Grant, who bagged a try in the second half, Smith was a standout for the Storm with 124 metres from 16 powerhouse runs and five tackle breaks.
After leading 18-2 at the break, Melbourne went into overdrive as Jahrome Hughes, Justin Olam, Tom Eisenhuth and Grant added their name to the tryscoring list.
On a horror afternoon for the Warriors, they also lost halfback Chanel Harris-Tavita to a suspected torn pectoral muscle and Wayde Egan to a head knock.
They now slip down the ladder to 11th place, with five wins from 13 games.