"We got a bit of a preview getting off the bus and I'm sure they got a bigger serve when they warmed up," coach Craig Bellamy said. "They [the crowd] were not going to go home after 10 minutes."

Why would they? Most had waited 17 years for the day the blue and whites would play a competitive match again in the suburbs.

And after blowing the Storm off the park inside the first quarter of an hour it turned into an 80-minute party, only momentarily spoiled when Melbourne flyer Marika Koroibete blotted the copybook with a late try in the Bulldogs' 20-4 cakewalk.

So foreign were the surroundings Bellamy and skipper Cameron Smith got lost en route to the press conference. They eventually needed a police escort through the crowd, numbered at 16,764 and still buzzing long after the final siren.

They had sung and cheered all night. Chanted the name of prodigal son Josh Reynolds before he had even entered the fray on 60 minutes. And chanted the team song as the players sung it loudly and proudly in front of the hill, named after Terry Lamb.

"There's not too many games where you get to run out in front of 16,500 people and it sounds like 40,000," said Bulldogs captain Aiden Tolman, who once wore Melbourne's purple. "It was a great atmosphere.

"There's only a few games in your career where you can run out and it's something really special. This is our spiritual home and where we belong."

The Bulldogs will be back there to take on the Sharks next month. It can't come quick enough if the first 15 minutes was any guide.

Having waited more than 60-odd minutes to score their first try the last time the two sides met at Belmore 17 years ago - Craig Polla-Mounter grubbering for himself and sliding over in atrocious conditions - barely 60-odd seconds had passed this time in.

Brett Morris latched onto a Curtis Rona kick and dived over. And then Shaun Lane scored his maiden NRL try. And then another Kiwi winger - not superboot Daryl Halligan who manned one flank way back when - but Sam Perrett had a third inside the first 14 minutes. Game over.

"I think we were overwhelmed in that first 15 minutes and then settled into it OK then," Bellamy said. "At the end it was pretty costly, but apart from that I thought it was reasonably even.

"[But] that's part of footy and some of our young outside backs - while it wasn't a happy experience - I think it's a valuable experience."

Bellamy knows his attack needs a makeover without Billy Slater. Cooper Cronk was also missing on Monday night. But Bulldogs coach Des Hasler still thought the southerners were in "red hot" form coming into the match. Typical Des: the Storm had lost their last two.

"We tried to employ what Melbourne are good at in getting away to a good start and playing good field position helped a lot," Hasler said.

"I've got to give a huge rap to the fans. They really got behind the team and it's a reflection of all the hard work from [Bulldogs chief executive] Raelene [Castle] and the team behind the scenes. To see 16,000 or 17,000 turn up here tonight ... it was a great atmosphere."

Not the most hostile Smith reckons he has seen, but enough to know there was going to be barely a moment's peace.

"I'd only ever seen Belmore growing up as a kid seeing the Bulldogs playing up here," he said. "They're just passionate fans as every club has."

He won't mind if it is 17 years between return visits.