A Benji Marshall hat-trick has helped Wests Tigers secure a top four berth with a 26-14 victory over Melbourne at Leichhardt Oval - but the win has come at a heavy cost with Chris Lawrence in doubt for the remainder of the season with a broken jaw.
The final scoreline flattered the hosts who led a Storm side that lost Greg Inglis, Sika Manu and Brett Finch to illness before kick-off, by just two points with 13 minutes remaining despite dominating possession throughout.
Robbie Farah scored on 67 minutes to give the Tigers some breathing space before the skipper set up Marshall's third try at the death to complete the five-tries-to-three win in front of 20,168 raucous fans.
The win leaves the Tigers in second spot on the NRL ladder, but injuries to Wade McKinnon (hamstring), John Skandalis (buttock) and Gareth Ellis (calf) have left Tim Sheens with a major headache heading into the finals.
It was a disastrous start for the Tigers who lost Lawrence to a broken jaw after a Jeff Lima high shot in just the fourth minute of play.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when Justin O'Neill scored against the run of play after an ill-directed pass from Robert Lui.
Cam Smith toed the loose ball through for Ryan Hinchcliffe who sprinted downfield and found Cooper Cronk before O'Neill beat Mitch Brown and Beau Ryan on his way to the line.
But the Tigers faithful soon had reason to cheer as the hosts hit the lead thanks to a moment of trademark Marshall magic.
Marshall's decision to run on the last tackle paid off as he cut through the Storm defence and found Brown on his inside with a trademark flick pass who fed Lui on the inside to deliver the final pass to Marshall to level things up at four apiece after 15 minutes.
The Tigers moved further in front seven minutes later when Andrew Fifita crashed through four Melbourne defenders to score adjacent to the posts.
Marshall made no mistake with the extras to give the hosts a 10-4 lead.
The Storm hit back in controversial circumstances when Billy Slater sent Willie Isa over in the corner to cut the margin to two points on the half-hour.
While there was no doubt about the try itself, the visitors were fortunate to win a scrum feed deep on attack after the ball spewed out of a Tigers scrum and hit the referee.
Melbourne very nearly scored again through O'Neill in the shadows of half-time, but the hosts escaped to head to the sheds with a 10-8 advantage.
The Tigers increased their lead seven minutes in when Marshall scored his second try of the afternoon after a pin-point grubber kick from Ryan caught the visitors napping.
Marshall added the extras from the sideline for 16-8 but the hosts appeared to ease their intensity and were made to pay when Ryan Hoffman barged over to cut the deficit to 16-14 with 21 minutes remaining.
There were more nervous moments for the Tigers but a spirited 40m run from Lote Tuqiri swung momentum back their way.
And when Farah burrowed over from dummy half had done enough to secure the vital two points.
Wests Tigers 26
Tries: Marshall 3, Fifita, Farah,
Goals: Marshall 3,
Melbourne Storm 14
Tries: O'Neill, Isa, Hoffman,
Goals: Smith,
Leichhardt Oval, 29/08/10. Crowd: 20,168.