Two players binned in horror night for Eels as incredible Storm record continues with 48-point drubbing

The first NRL game of the season on Australian soil started in ugly fashion, but once again it was the Storm who proved to be the round one specialists.

For the 23rd year in a row, Craig Bellamy's men took out their first game of the season with a dominant 52-4 victory over Parramatta on Thursday night.

The clash at AAMI Park started in chaotic fashion when Alec MacDonald was knocked out and J'maine Hopgood sin binned for a high shot after 36 seconds.

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Replays showed that Hopgood's shoulder and head connected with MacDonald's.

"He was out before he hit the ground," Andrew Johns said on Nine.

"It's a head clash - he's standing quite tall, Hopgood."

Billy Slater agreed that the contact wasn't illegal and was the result of an accidental head clash, but the officials saw it differently.

"This is going to take some courage from the referees," Slater said.

As a groggy MacDonald eventually got back to his feet and left the field with the help of Storm trainers, Hopgood was called over by referee Todd Smith, where he was placed on report and sent to the sin bin for 10 minutes.

Mitchell Moses attempted to argue with Smith, but to no avail.

MacDonald was ruled out of the match after displaying category one symptoms, which means the Storm could activate the 18th man due to Hopgood's tackle.

The absence of a key front-rower didn't seem to faze the Eels however, who scored the opening try of the match through winger Sean Russell.

Melbourne struck back rather quickly after some nice work from Jahrome Hughes, who threw a brilliant cut-out pass to Will Warbrick who scored in the corner.

"That was inch perfect," Johns said.

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Harry Grant extended the Storm's first-half lead with a solo try, darting out of dummy-half and catching the Eels defence napping, before Jack Howarth crossed out wide.

Johns was left stunned on commentary by a controversial captain's challenge decision that went against Parramatta after a knock-on from Brian Kelly.

"I just got a phone call from Stevie Wonder and he tells me it went backwards," he said.

Parramatta had an opportunity to get back into the contest after a break from Isaiah Iongi from inside his own half.

Will Penisini went agonisingly close to planting the ball down on the next tackle, but was stopped by some willing Storm defence and lost control of the ball.

"You can see they've got some points in them ... but great defence," Johns said.

Tensions threatened to spill over before half time when Grant and Iongi started a brief melee between the two teams, with multiple players running in.

"There's a bit of feeling in this one," Slater said on commentary.

"It's not the first time someone has stood over someone tonight, few push and shoves.

"There's been a lot play out away from the football field with the Zac Lomax situation, we might just be seeing a little bit of it come out on the field."

Melbourne took an 18-4 lead into the break in their season opener and kept piling on the pressure in the second half.

Hughes continued his classy night when he put back-rower Joe Chan through a gaping hole to score, before Grant made it a double with a smart try from close range.

Parramatta's discipline started to become an issue the longer the game went on, with a stack of six-agains going the Storm's way and gifting the hosts field position.

Moses Leo added his name to the scoreboard after a sharp backline movement.

"That is beautiful to watch ... they have fired a shot tonight," Johns said.

Grant sent a scare through the Storm camp when he was spotted clutching at his leg and limped off the field in the second half, but it was soon confirmed by Nine's Danika Mason that the skipper was dealing with hamstring cramps and not a serious injury.

Even without their superstar No.9 on the field, Melbourne kept on producing points as Sua Fa'alogo and Ativalu Lisati

Things went from bad to worse for the Eels when winger Bailey Simonsson was binned for a professional foul, leaving his side down to 12 men for a second time.

Simonsson held down Stefano Utoikamanu for too long in a tackle before the pair exchanged words and a scuffle broke out before referee Smith intervened.

Fa'alogo put the icing on the cake and brought up 50 points for the Storm with just a few minutes left on the clock, adding insult to injury for the visitors.

Parramatta lost this same fixture last season 56-18 and will now attempt to lick their wounds before a round two showdown against reigning premiers Brisbane.

Melbourne will travel to Wollongong next weekend to face the Dragons.