The history books will tell you South Sydney cannot win the comp after they were embarrassed 50-0 by the perfect Storm as Josh Addo-Carr became the first player in 71 years to score six tries in a game.

No team has ever conceded 50 points in a game and gone on to lift the trophy, and it’s hard to see the Rabbitohs recovering from this after they fell victim to an Addo-Carr masterclass.

The Fantastic Mr. Foxx became the first player since Newtown’s Jack Troy in 1950 to cross six times as he terrorised his junior club in trying conditions.

It wasn’t as spectacular as Ryan Papenhuyzen’s four tries in 11 minutes against Brisbane earlier in the year, but Addo-Carr won’t care after he tore South Sydney’s right edge defence to shreds to grab four in the opening 40 minutes.

The rep star became the first Storm winger since Suliasi Vunivalu in 2016 to score four tries in a first half and then added two more as the Rabbitohs simply had no answers for his electric speed.

Melbourne clearly spotted a weakness and they attacked the edge at will, with Benji Marshall struggling to keep up with the Storm’s speedsters while centre Steven Marsters was sensationally hooked after just 25 minutes.

PERFECT STORM

They lost Cooper Cronk at the end of 2017, Billy Slater left a year later and Cameron Smith retired at the start of this season, but somehow this Storm team is better than ever after they made it 17 wins from their past 20 games against South Sydney.

The Rabbitohs were severely undermanned and were always going to struggle against a side that has made them their bunnies over the years, but no-one could have expected the 26-0 half-time scoreline as Addo-Carr and co ran riot.

Cameron Munster had his best game of the season, Jahrome Hughes added another try to his impressive tally and Harry Grant totally outplayed Origin rival Damien Cook as the visitors got the job done without Ryan Papenhuyzen.

This is a squad that used to ground their opponents into submission, but the new breed are the modern entertainers that can score at will and have the bravado to attempt the big plays their predecessors would have ignored.

PREMIERSHIP HOPES DASHED

They may have won seven on the trot but Wayne Bennett could sense this performance coming after worrying signs against the Titans and Raiders in recent weeks.

Things started poorly when Jai Arrow was placed on report for a crusher tackle on Munster in just the third tackle of the game, and they rapidly went downhill from there as the Rabbitohs capitulated spectacularly.

Three players were stripped in tackles, including a one-on-one steal by Munster on Cook that led to a Hughes try, as the Bunnies came up with schoolboy errors and disgraceful defence that had people questioning whether they are genuine premiership contenders.

Bennett has the experience and nous to steady the ship, but their confidence must be rocked if they have to play Melbourne again in the finals.