Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett hammered his side’s second half against Melbourne Storm, criticising the Broncos for being “completely outplayed” in a 32-16 defeat at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon.

The Broncos looked good for an upset win when they led 12-8 at the break against Storm in Melbourne.

But Brisbane collapsed in the second half, as second-half tries to Cameron Munster, Felise Kaufusi, Suliasi Vunivalu and Jahrome Hughes handed Storm a big win.

The under-pressure Bennett pulled no punches in his post-game assessment.

“The second half, the Broncos didn’t come out,” he said.

“We were completely outplayed in the second half. It’s the most disappointing half of football I’ve seen.

“Our intensity dropped a lot. We weren’t getting off the defensive line really well. Our tackles weren’t hitting and sticking. We weren’t running as hard.

“Everything … we stopped doing. I don’t know what I said at half-time to put them in that place.”

The Broncos started brightly through a Darius Boyd try and when Jamayne Isaako crossed in the 20th minute, the home crowd was shell-shocked.

But Craig Bellamy’s Storm fought back, led by inspirational leader Cameron Smith who kicked for 246 metres and produced 50 tackles.

And even though the Broncos found some momentum with 15 minutes to play, trailing by just four points, they could not convert, leaving Storm to claim victory.

Storm fought back impressively. Photo: Getty

Melbourne has won 15 of its past 17 games against the Broncos.

In Sunday’s other match, Cronulla Sharks finished full of running to defeat Wests Tigers 24-16 at Southern Cross Group Stadium.

The Tigers led 10-2 at the break but could not go with the hosts in the second half as fullback Valentine Holmes and Paul Gallen impressed.

Skipper Gallen was instrumental, scoring Cronulla’s first try when he barged over in the 49th minute.

Holmes then ran 60 metres after being fed by Gallen to give Cronulla a lead it never surrendered.

Holmes, backing up from a State of Origin appearance with Queensland, now has seven tries in his past four matches.

Panthers move top as Warriors go back inside top four

Penrith tops the NRL table at the end of Round 14 after a thrilling 23-22 win over Canberra Raiders on Friday.

The Panthers moved ahead of St George Illawarra Dragons, thanks to Nathan Cleary’s 78th-minute field goal.

That followed late tries from Tyrone Peachey and Dean Whare as the Panthers produced a snatch-and-grab win.

New Zealand moved inside the top four, too, with a 34-14 come-from-behind win over Manly Sea Eagles.

David Fusitu’a bagged a second-half hat-trick from the Warriors, who won well at AMI Stadium.

South Sydney Rabbitohs and Sydney Roosters stayed in touch with the Panthers after posting Round 14 victories.

The Rabbitohs won 18-16 against Gold Coast Titans on Friday night and the Roosters won by the same scoreline against Newcastle Knights on Saturday.

There was joy for the rock-bottom Parramatta Eels, who won their third game of the season with a 20-14 success against North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night.

In a game marred by bizarre refereeing decisions, the Eels beat the struggling Cowboys with Jarryd Hayne scoring a double.

The round concludes when the Dragons play Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Monday.