[ Source : NRL.COM ]

The Storm welcomed superstar Ryan Papenhuyzen back to the fold as a Xavier Coates hat-trick led them to a 37-16 victory over the Titans at AAMI Park on Saturday.

After 405 days out of the NRL, Papenhuyzen played the final 18 minutes and had some nice touches as the Storm took a huge step towards locking up a top-four finish.

The Storm got off to a flying start when Will Warbrick crossed in the fifth-minute courtesy of a pinpoint Jahrome Hughes grubber kick.

Nine minutes later the Titans hit back when Chris Randall burrowed over from dummy half before Coates returned serve as the teams traded tries.

Titans centre Brian Kelly finished off a slick left-side raid in the 26th minute and the scores were locked at 10-10.

A penalty against Tino Fa’asuamaleaui in the 34th minute handed Nick Meaney the chance to edge the home side in front and the fullback landed the shot.

Cameron Munster then stamped his class on the game with a line break and a perfectly timed pass for Coates to make it a double and the Storm took an 18-10 lead to the break.

The Titans struck first in the second half when a Fa’asuamaleaui offload set the attack in motion on the right edge and Brimson delivered the final pass for Jojo Fifita to score wide out. Thomas Weaver piloted the conversion from the touchline to close the gap to 18-16.

A huge moment for the AAMI Park crowd when Papenhuyzen took the field in the 62nd minute in his first NRL match for more than a year and they had more to celebrate 60 seconds later when Christian Welch powered over from close range to make it 24-16.

With 10 minutes to play, the Storm put the game to bed when Grant put in a deft grubber kick for Eliesa Katoa to follow through and score the home side’s fifth try.

Another kick and another try in the 75th minute when Coates flew high to pull down a Munster kick as the Storm blew the margin out to 20 points.

Munster then added a field goal with two minutes to play to make the final score 37-16.

The Storm’s chief playmaker Hughes left the field soon after with a suspected medial ligament injury in the only dampener on the day for Melbourne.