Manly outlast Storm in another brutal Battle of Brookie

But the story of the game was the clear feeling and physicality between the teams, with five players facing an anxious wait for the charge sheet on Saturday morning.

Summing it up, more players were removed from the field than on that famous fight night on the same ground in 2011 when Glenn Stewart and Adam Blair were both sent off.

"It wasn't quite the battle of Brookie, but it was a good contest with two teams going at each other," coach Anthony Seibold said afterwards.

Daly Cherry-Evans bore the brunt of the pain, with Melbourne pair Justin Olam and Tui Kamikamica both sin-binned for late shots on the half.

Cameron Munster also copped some heat and Manly winger Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega was sin-binned for a late shot on the Storm five-eighth-turned-fullback.

The match was best encapsulated by a frantic 14-minute period after halftime, when Manly were denied tries twice by the bunker and had a penalty goal clatter into the posts.

With both sides down to 12 during the stint, each team emerged with a penalty goal after Jake Trbojevic was put on report for a lifting tackle on Munster and Melbourne's Trent Loiero was put on report for a hip-drop.

Tom Trbojevic also spent time off the field for a HIA after contact from Loiero late in the first half, while Sea Eagles second-rower Kelma Tuilagi suffered a concussion.

Terrible in defence for the past two weeks against Newcastle and Penrith, Manly clearly made a point to come out with aggression.

One crunching hit from Haumole Olakau'atu and Josh Aloiai forced Olam off the field for a HIA after whiplash, while a scuffle broke out when Tuaimalo Vaega rattled Melbourne winger Will Warbrick. 

The Sea Eagles led from the start, when Tom Trbojevic charged through on an early Cherry-Evans chip kick to beat Munster to the ball.

After his fitness was a point of conjecture all week, Trbojevic showed no sign of back, hip or hamstring pain as he charged back at the line with the most power he has exhibited all season.

"The thing I know about Tom is he had a really good week training," Seibold said.

"He told me after training on Wednesday he was ready to go. I thought his first carry tonight showed real intent on kick return.

"That provides energy for the rest of the group. They look to the three leaders ... and his first carry set a tone.

"I was really proud of how Tom turned up tonight and competed really strongly."

Melbourne hit back when Warbrick scored untouched, but two first-half penalty goals for the Sea Eagles meant they were always in front on the scoresheet.

Croker's four-pointer off a Taniela Paseka offload with six minutes to go eventually sealed the match, on a night where more players ended up on report than on the try-scorers' list.

"We were brave in some areas, but we played dumb," Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said. 

"We got what we deserved tonight. To keep them to eighteen points was a good effort.

"But we just didn't give ourselves a chance to win the game. Our second half was really poor. We didn't play too smart at all."