The Melbourne Storm held on for an improbable 8-0 victory. It was a strange match befitting of the season so far. One underlined by an uncharacteristically disjointed Panthers attack, a multitude of errors from both sides – 25 in all – and some desperate Melbourne defence. At one point, after the Storm repelled yet another grubber with eight minutes to go, six purple jerseys were bent over, their contents gasping for air.

But there are still things in the modern NRL you can trust. Like Craig Bellamy, the Storm’s master coach, maintaining one of most improbable records in the competition. On Friday his tenure at the Storm passed Wayne Bennett’s stint at the Broncos as the longest ever in the NRL. 22 seasons Bellamy has marched his Storm side into the first round of the NRL. And all 22 times they have walked away the winner.

A season launch in the Nevada desert. Four upsets in the first four matches, and of those not a minute held in Sydney or Brisbane. And then came, within 45 minutes on this barmy night in Melbourne, even greater disbelief. The Penrith Panthers, legendary three-peaters and perhaps the greatest side in history, were kept scoreless in the opening match of their premiership defence.