In a game that won't win any awards for its quality but was nonetheless an engrossing contest, the Melbourne Storm have booked a home preliminary final with a narrow win over the Canterbury Bulldogs at AAMI Park.

It was a game with plenty of controversy and injuries, but in the end, wound up with a long-range intercept for William Warbrick to ice the game for the Storm.

Both teams came into the qualifying final understrength and desperate for a week off, with the Bulldogs looking to play with plenty of intent out of the gates.

A shift in their opening set saw metres easy to come by, before Viliame Kikau appeared as if he was going to be wiped out by a concussion from a stray elbow.

Despite fears for an eye socket injury, he was able to pass his head injury assessment and return, but not before Eliesa Katoa burst through off a Jonah Pezet pass tthrough where Kikau would have been defending to score the opening points.

Errors from the Storm set the tone for both teams throughout the game, with neither playing anywhere near their best footy, and it was off those that the Bulldogs were able to score, building pressure before Toby Sexton leveled the scores.

Sexton, who had been dropped eight weeks ago, returned to the bench for the game and then was thrust into the action for Stephen Crichton who suffered a suspected knee or ankle injury that will now have him racing the clock for next week.

More errors continued, with a Storm penalty goal handing the home side a narrow lead, before Jacob Kiraz added a try.

A fantastic 40/20 from Pezet flipped the momentum in the lead-up to halftime, with Ativalu Lisati scoring in the following set to ensure the men in purple went into halftime ahead of the contest.

Both teams had run of possessions through the start of the second half, before a controversial penalty for a hip drop allowed Canterbury to build momentum and take the lead through a Matt Burton try.

Tyran Wishart, who was fantastic once he came onto the field with Cameron Munster also taking his game to another level in heading to fullback where Nick Meaney was taken from the park for a concussion test, was able to score and put the Storm back ahead 15 minutes from fulltime.

Melbourne were two points ahead into the final minutes of the game, with Munster then seemingly taken out by a hip drop tackle, only for it to not be penalised.

Canterbury had a late opportunity in their next set, but only were able to throw an intercept ball to Warbrick who ran 90 metres to ice the game.

The Storm will now face the winner of next week's semi-final, which will be played between the winner of the New Zealand Warriors and Penrith Panthers clash, and the loser of the Canberra Raiders and Brisbane Broncos game.

The week off is critical for the Storm given Jahrome Hughes is recovering from a broken wrist and may be fit in time.

Canterbury, on the other hand, will face the winner of Cronulla and the Roosters, with a long injury toll now having just eight days to attempt a recovery.

Match summary

Melbourne Storm 26 (Tries: Eliesa Katoa, Ativalu Lisati, Tyran Wishart, Will Warbrick; Conversions: Nick Meaney 2/2, Jonah Pezet 2/2; Penalty Goals: Nick Meaney 1/1) defeat Canterbury Bulldogs 18 (Tries: Toby Sexton, Jacob Kiraz, Matt Burton; Conversions: Matt Burton 3/3)