Melbourne have been handed an extra boost in their bid to reach a fifth grand final in six years with Brandon Smith cleared of any facial fracture. Smith lasted just 18 minutes before being forced off the field in Friday night's 40-12 qualifying final rout of Manly at Sunshine Coast Stadium following a head clash. While Storm doctors were confident mid-match of no structural damage, there were fears after fulltime that Smith could have suffered a break. "He is starting to swell up but he's got chubby cheeks to start with so it's hard to work out where the swelling is," Christian Welch joked afterwards. "But he is such an important guy for us. "I am not sure what the (recovery) timeline is but it is a huge benefit having a full two weeks to get back up for a prelim." Papenhuyzen has also bounced back to his best after recovering from concussion issues, scoring either side of halftime to take his try tally in the past fortnight to five. "I have had my fair share of head knocks and it's tough (coming back)," Welch said. "It is not easy getting your confidence back but I would like to think that he's turned the corner."
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