Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has cheekily flipped the bird to Cameron Smith after the Storm skipper scored a bizarre try in their 50-22 rout of Wests Tigers.
The Storm were leading by 16 points late on Saturday evening when Smith kicked ahead for himself after Tigers second-rower Luciano Leilua denied him picking up the ball in the ruck.
The off-contract Smith went on to claim the 47th try of his career, taking him past Bellamy, who made almost 150 appearances for Canberra between 1982-92.
Smith instantly directed his celebration towards the coach's box on the Sunshine Coast, before Bellamy responded by giving Smith the finger in jest.
"It was a scrappy old try. I thought he deadset knocked it on," Bellamy said post-game.
"I have to apologise for my reaction. When they all started looking up at the box and were laughing at me. I stuck it up. I'm surprised the camera caught me actually. If anyone takes offence to that, I'm sorry.
"The only thing I can feel OK about, it took him 428 games to get there. I got mine in about 140 or something."
Smith's flex over his long-time coach wasn't the only reason to celebrate for Melbourne, who locked in a top-two finish for the fifth consecutive year with the win.
Smith finished the night with a try assist, seven conversions from nine attempts, and 30 tackles in a vintage performance, while wing pair Suliasi Vunivalu and Josh Addo-Carr chipped in with two tries each.
Wests Tigers rookie Asu Kepaoa also nabbed a brace in what was a combined 13-try extravaganza.
The half-century is the most the Tigers have conceded this season.
However with just one game left in the regular season, Bellamy will be less than pleased with his team conceding four four-pointers for the second straight week.
The signs were ominous for the Tigers the moment Jahrome Hughes kicked early in the tackle count for Vunivalu to seize his first try in just the fifth minute, and Addo-Carr followed him in soon after.
The early assault failed to stop Benji Marshall from producing a two-man cutout for Kepaoa to post their opening points in their first foray in enemy territory.
The points kept flowing for both sides, with Storm fullback Nicho Hynes and Tigers prop Josh Aloiai, who suffered a suspected serious knee injury late, trading four-pointers in the space of three minutes.
"At the moment there is concern that it might be the bad one," Tigers coach Michael Maguire said of Aloiai's injury.
"So we'll have to wait and see until we get scans. We don't want to make a judgement yet, but the doctor was a little concerned there."
A three-try, 13-minute blitz to finish the half, including a sizzling Addo-Carr run that finished off a 70-metre kick return, resulted in the Storm taking an 22-point lead at the break.
The Tigers scored the first two tries after resumption, with Marshall again finding Kepaoa with a long spiral, and then Adam Doueihi slicing through five minutes later.
However the Storm responded emphatically with the final three tries of the contest, ensuring they will likely host a qualifying final at Suncorp Stadium when the finals begin in two weeks.
Vunivalu also failed to finish the match after limping off with a suspected hamstring injury.
Australian Associated Press
