Melbourne have locked up the minor premiership with two weeks still remaining of the regular season.
The Storm entered into their contest against the Dolphins knowing a victory would seal first spot on the ladder after Penrith had slipped to a surprise loss to Canberra earlier in the day.
After a tight opening 20 minutes, Craig Bellamy’s side exploded into action as Sua Fa’alogo opened the scoring.
The winger’s four-pointer proved to be the catalyst for the home side with three more tries coming before the half time break as they headed into the sheds with a 22-0 lead.
And the Storm made no mistake in the second stanza as they continued to pile on the points against a beleaguered Dolphins outfit at AAMI Park.
"It was unexpected," Bellamy said post-match.
"We knew we could wrap up a top two spot tonight but...then we got a little bonus there with the minor premiership.
"The minor premiership is a little bit understated or underrated."
Melbourne have been perched at the top of the ladder ever since displacing Cronulla in Round 13 with Jahrome Hughes guiding his side while Ryan Papenhuzyen and Cameron Munster were sidelined.
Captain Harry Grant worked in tandem with Hughes during the 48-6 demolition with the hooker proving impossible to stop as he helped himself to a four-pointer to go with two try assists, 80 run metres and eight tackle busts.
Yet the No.9 failed to see out the game as he was taken off with 15 minutes remaining after being hampered by a groin injury.
Although any fears around the skipper’s absence in the coming weeks was put to bed immediately by the man himself post-match.
"It was just precautionary," Grant stated.
However, he is unlikely to feature against North Queensland next week with Bellamy revealing that with first place secured, he would rest a number of their stars for their clash against the Cowboys.
