A masterclass second half saw the Melbourne Storm run in 56 points to annihilate the Warriors in the annual Anzac Day clash.
The 70-10 full-time score was a far cry from the 16-10 advantage the Storm had at half-time, largely thanks to handling errors and poor play execution by the Warriors that gifted 3 tries.
Warriors coach Nathan Brown slammed his players after the game, accusing some of simply giving up.
"I've been in this game for a long time and it's disappointing to sit here and say that but some people looked for the easiest way out they could and that's sad.
It's not a reflection of all the players, we had players working extremely hard and putting themselves on the line but when you're playing against the best teams and don't have the ball, the best players can not look good."
Two penalties in a row gave the Warriors much needed metres early on in the game. Despite a fast passing game going left, a knock-on by left-winger Edward Kosi saw Ryan Papenhuyzen pick up and pass to Storm halfback & NZ Māori player Jahrome Hughes, to score a 70 metre try in the seventh minute.
But the Warriors didn’t show any signs of slowing down. The 12th minute saw the club reply in kind with a Chanel Harris-Tavita pass to right-winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak to get their first points of the game, tieing up the game 4-4 after Reece Walsh failed to convert.
Hughes played playmaker for his Melbourne teammates in the 22nd minute, putting his foot to the ball, Kosi failed to ground the ball but Storm winger Xavier Coates did, for the first of his four tries.
Minutes later, a poor pop by Warriors star Shaun Johnson was swiped out of the air by Melbourne winger Nick Meaney who ran 70 metres to score a try.
Johnson would redeem himself only soon. Kicking on the second tackle from Johnson would see hooker Wayde Egan chase and plant to score four more points, with Reece Walsh converting.
But the Warriors goal kicker gave an untimely penalty away after high contact on centre Justin Olam at the last minute, giving his Storm counterpart Papenhuyzen a chance to land a wide penalty kick between the posts with the score at 16-10 going into the second half.
In the second half, Melbourne flicked a switch running in 10 tries to inflict an eighth consecutive Anzac Day defeat on the Warriors.
In worse news for the Warriors, winger Dallin Wātene-Zelezniak was carried off the field after an accidental blow to the head by Nelson Asofa-Solomona, however early indications were he suffered concussion and may have avoided serious physical injury. The club will also be sweating on the fitness of workhorse backrower Josh Curran who left the field with a lower-leg injury, while prop Arran Pene will have a nervous wait for the match-review committee's charge sheet after being placed on report for making contact to the head of Reimis Smith.
The final score equalled the Storm's best result in the NRL, matching the 70-10 win against the Nathan Brown-captained St George-Illawarra Dragons in 2000. Now the Warriors' coach, Brown will need his players to brush the crushing defeat off as they look to Saturday’s clash with the Canberra Raiders.