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 Archive > Year > 2007 > Nrl Telstra Premiership
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Finals Week 3
Melbourne Storm 26 d. Parramatta Eels 10 |
 
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 Click the match link for full match details including teams, scoring details, articles and more Sat September 22 2007, 7:45PM AEST GMT+10 Sat: Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 28 d. North Queensland Cowboys 6 at Sydney Football Stadium, Driver Ave, Moore Park, Sydney (NSW) Sun September 23 2007, 4:00PM AEST GMT+10 Sun: Melbourne Storm 26 d. Parramatta Eels 10 at Telstra Dome, Docklands, Melbourne (VIC)  Storm earn chance at redemption Sun September 23, 2007 Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au For the second year running the Melbourne Storm will be heading to Sydney in the last weekend in September to contest the NRL Grand Final. In front of 33,427 league fans, the Storm had the blowtorch applied to them by the Parramatta Eels and came out 26-10 victors. It was classis finals football; an epic encounter with silky skills, hard hits and every other feature of a rugby league smorgasbord. Coach Craig Bellamy was happy with the performance, but there is still room for improvement. "We started off with plenty of effort and desire, but perhaps it wasn't as effective as it could have been. We probably got a little bit too pumped up," Bellamy said. The opening exchanges were fierce and finals-worthy. Both teams received penalties that provided opportunities in try-scoring territory. To their credit, the Storm's desperate defence could not be broken until Tim Smith provided Eric Grothe with a great pass and a clear passage to the try-line. Parramatta's physical approach rattled the favourites, but in pushing hard, penalties flowed for the Storm and the Eels were under pressure. Cooper Cronk tried in vein to link his kicks with Israel Folau, but that usually fruitful attack plan was thwarted each time. With the Storm's attacking kicks negated, the crowd erupted in the 28th minute when through Cam Smith to Cronk to Greg Inglis to Billy Slater and finally Steve Turner, the ball traversed from the extreme left of the field to the right wing. Turner made no mistake in the grounding and Melbourne had locked up the scores. But, more tellingly, had wrestled the momentum from Parramatta. Another penalty after the restart produced further points for the Storm. This time Cronk got the ball in the 10 metre zone, where he dummied, stepped and bounced, evading five Eels and giving the Storm the lead for the first time. For the remaining ten minutes of the half, Melbourne focused its attack on the left-hand wing, Matt King and Anthony Quinn got perilously close to a third for the Storm, but were eventually bundled into touch. The Storm were firing as the first half ended, but Parramatta began the second full of running. On the restart they made their way down the field and regained possession through a goal-line dropout. Joel Reddy found the right-hand corner open and it was suddenly two tries a piece. It was a torrid opening ten minutes for the Storm, who were forced to defend their line again and again. To add to its problems, Billy Slater left the field with a knee injury. Matt Geyer took the field on the wing, with Turner moving to fullback. A Cam Smith penalty goal, following a Timana Tahu high shot on Folau, gave the Storm some respite and on the restart they made Parramatta pay. Inglis set Ryan Hoffman down the left-hand side and with only the fullback Jarryn Hayne to beat, Hoffy offloaded to Matt King, who nabbed a four-pointer in his last game in Melbourne. The eight-point lead was welcomed by the Storm with a lift in intensity. The players tackling themselves to a standstill and hitting the ball up like rampant Godzillas. Still, Parramatta would not yield and Melbourne were forced to fight tooth and nail until the end. Another penalty to Smith with seven minutes to go gave Melbourne a ten-point buffer, but as the ball bobbled into touch on the restart - and Parramatta were gifted the ball ten metres out from the Storm's line - all 13 Storm players on the field might have rued the easy option. In a nail-biting moment, Krisnan Inu came within millimetres of scoring. But Matt Geyer somehow, incredibly, forced the young winger into touch to the collective sighs of relief of the majority at the Dome. Storm Captain Cameron Smith played special tribute to the crowd - the biggest NRL crowd ever in Melbourne. "Obviously it was the biggest crowd we have played in front of in our history. It helped us get home in the end; they really rode us home and I just have to thank the public; 33,000 down in Victoria is a great complement to the game." Matt King got a double in the dying seconds of the match, blowing the score out, in what was the perfect prelude to the biggest match of the year next week. In an enticing match-up, the Storm will face the only team this year that they have not been able to defeat in the Manly Sea Eagles. Tonight's brutal encounter, though, might have taken its toll, with injury clouds over Ben Cross, Folau, Hoffman and Clint Newton. "We are a good chance of having a couple missing next week," said Bellamy. "Some of our reserves haven't played for four or five weeks, to that's a concern. But we'll see what happens and hopefully the medical staff can do a good job over the week." Storm 26 (Tries: King 2, Turner, Cronk; Goals: C. Smith 5) def Eels 10 (Tries: Grothe, Reddy; Goals: Inu) News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au Preliminary Final Storm v Eels Game Notes Thu September 20, 2007 Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au Melbourne Storm game notes vs Parramatta Eels. WHO: Melbourne Storm v Parramatta Eels WHAT: Preliminary Final of the 2007 Telstra Premiership season WHERE: Telstra Dome, Melbourne WHEN: Sunday, September 23rd ON TV: Channel 9 from 3.30pm, Fox Sports 3 at 6:00pm CHECK IT OUT: Melbourne Storm's website with all the latest stats, profiles, updates, schedule and training times, alerts, news etc.... www.melbournestorm.com.au IN BRIEF Melbourne Storm earned themselves a week off in the second week of the finals with a commanding 40-0 win over the Broncos in the Qualifying final at Olympic Park a fortnight ago. The Eels on the other hand defeated the Bulldogs in last week's semi-finals, earning a place in the Preliminary Final with a 25-6 win. INS AND OUTS Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has named a 19-man squad for this Sunday's Preliminary Final against the Parramatta Eels. After the 40-0 win over the Broncos in the Qualifying Final and the subsequent week's break, Storm coach Craig Bellamy has made a couple of changes to the line-up. Ben Cross returns the starting line-up in the front-row after sustaining a hamstring injury in the lead-up to the Broncos clash. And after recovering from a knee to the back sustained on the eve of the Qualifying Final, Greg Inglis returns to the starting line-up in the number six jersey. DID YOU KNOW? * Channel 9 will be broadcasting the game LIVE into Melbourne from 3.30pm KEY MATCH-UP Take your pick, there are heaps of them... Slater v Hayne Turner v Groethe Folau v Tahu Inglis v Finch Cronk v Smith Cross v Cayless Hoffman v Hindmarsh The list goes on... HEAD-TO-HEAD Total: 18, Storm: 11, Eels: 7 FOR AND AGAINST 2007 Points for: Storm: 667, Eels: 610 Points against: Storm: 277, Eels: 497 Tries for: Storm: 121, Eels: 104 Points differential: Storm: +390, Eels: +113 LAST ROUND MATCHES Storm: def. Broncos 40-0 @ Olympic Park, Melbourne Eels: def. Bulldogs 25-6 @ Telstra Stadium, Sydney LAST EIGHT CLASHES 2007 Storm def. Eels 14-10 @ Olympic Park 2006 Storm def. Eels 12-6 @ Olympic Park 2006 Storm def. Eels 34-22 @ Parramatta Stadium 2005 Eels def. Storm 26-14 @ Olympic Park 2004 Storm def. Eels 22-16 @ Olympic Park 2004 Storm def. Eels 26-16 @ Parramatta Stadium 2003 Storm def. Eels 50-12 @ Olympic Park 2003 Storm def. Eels 12-10 @ Parramatta Park THE STORM STORY SO FAR ROUND 1: Storm 18 (Tries: J. Smith, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Wests Tigers 16 (Tries: Moodie, Harrison, Whatuira; Goals: Marshall 2) @ Olympic Park ROUND 2: Storm 32 (Tries: White 2, Folau 2, Slater, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith 4) def. Raiders 16 (Tries: Carney, Graham, Best; Goals: Dobson 2) @ Canberra Stadium ROUND 3: Storm 30 (Tries: Slater 2, Folau 2, Hoffman, King; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Warriors 12 (Tries: Vatuvei, Rapira; Goals: Martin 2) @ Olympic Park ROUND 4: Storm 22 (Tries: Folau 2, King, Quinn; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Knights 12 (Tries: Simpson, Abraham; Goals: Gidley 2) @ Energy Australia Stadium ROUND 5: Storm 24 (Tries: Turner 2, Quinn, Folau, King; Goals: C. Smith, Turner) def. Dragons 10 (Tries: Morris, Naiqama; Goal: Naiqama) @ Oki Jubilee Stadium ROUND 6: Storm 30 (Tries: Cronk 2, C. Smith 2, Hoffman; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Panthers 20 (Tries: Lewis, Pritchard, Jennings; Goals: Gordon 4) @ Olympic Park ROUND 7: Storm 28 (Tries: Slater 2, Turner, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 4) def. Broncos 18 (Tries: Hannant, Stagg, Eastwood; Goals: Lockyer: 3) @ Suncorp Stadium ROUND 8: Storm 12 (Tries: King, Johnson; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Tigers (Tries: Lawrence 2, Galea, Farah; Goals: Collis 7) @ Bluetongue Stadium ROUND 9: Storm 38 (Tries: Cronk 2, King 2, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 7) def. Bulldogs 14 (Tries: El Masri, Maitua, Millard; Goals: 1) @ Olympic Park ROUND 10: Storm 26 (Tries: Hoffman, Folau, Slater, Lima, Chambers; Goals: Turner 3) def. Roosters 2 (Goal: Fitzgibbon) @ Olympic Park ROUND 11: Storm 12 (Tries: Folau, King; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Sea Eagles 13 (Tries: Watmough, Hicks; Goals: Lyon 2; Field Goal: Orford) @ Brookvale Oval ROUND 12: Storm 26 (Tries: Turner, King, Geyer, Inglis; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Rabbitohs 10 (Tries: Widders, Hegarty; Goal; Merritt) @ Olympic Park ROUND 13: Storm 4 (Try: J. Smith) def Warriors 2 (Goal: Martin) @ Mt Smart Stadium ROUND 14: Storm 58 (Tries: King 2, Inglis 2, Geyer, J. Smith, Newton, Cronk, Tagataese, Turner; Goals: C. Smith 9) def. Cowboys 12 (Tries: Bowen 2, Williams) @ Dairy Farmers' Stadium ROUND 15: Storm 24 (Tries: King, Newton, Turner, Hoffman, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. Dragons 6 (Try: Scott; Goal: Soward) @ Olympic Park ROUND 16: BYE ROUND 17: Storm 12 (Tries: King, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. Rabbitohs 8 (Tries: Gordon, Merrit) @ Bluetongue Stadium ROUND 18: Storm 44 (Tries: Slater 2, Quinn 2, Turner 2, Hoffman, King, Newton; Goals: C. Smith 3, Turner) def. Knights 0 @ Olympic Park ROUND 19: Storm 34 (Tries: Inglis 2, Geyer, Folau, King, S. Turner; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Raiders 6 (Try: G. Turner; Goals: Dobson) @ Olympic Park ROUND 20: Storm 16 (Tries: Folau, Cronk, Aubusson; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Roosters 26 (Tries: Williams 2, Tupou, Harrison; Goals: FitzGibbon 4, Roberts) @ Aussie Stadium ROUND 21: Storm 17 (Tries: King, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: Folau 2, Field Goal: Cronk) def. Sharks (Tries: Perenara, Pomeroy; Goals: Covell 4) @ Toyota Park ROUND 22: Storm 14 (Tries: Inglis, Folau, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith) def. Broncos 6 (Try: Emmett; Goals: Parker) @ Olympic Park ROUND 23: Storm 14 (Tries: C. Smith, Slater; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Eels 10 (Tries: Grothe, Inu; Goals: Inu) @ Olympic Park ROUND 24: Storm 38 (Tries: Folau 3, Slater, Geyer, Lima; Goals: Smith 6, Folau) def. Bulldogs 6 (Try: Hickey; Goal: El Masri) @ Telstra Stadium ROUND 25: Storm 50 (Tries: Inglis, Cronk, Quinn, Folau, Hoffman, Turner, Slater, King; Goals: C. Smith 5, Folau, King) @ Olympic Park QUALIFYING FINAL: Storm 40 (Tries: Turner 3, Geyer, King, C. Smith, Slater, Quinn; Goals: 3, Folau) def. Broncos @ Olympic Park 2007 TRY SCORERS (STORM) Folau 21, King 17, Turner 14, Slater 12, Hoffman 10, Geyer 8, Cronk 7, Inglis 7, Quinn 6, Newton 4 (Newcastle 1), J. Smith 3, C. Smith 3, White 2, Lima 2, Johnson, Chambers, Tagataese, Aubusson 2007 GOAL SCORERS (STORM) C. Smith 80, Turner 5, Folau 5, King 1, 2007 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM) Cronk 2007 POINTSCORERS (STORM) C. Smith 176, Folau 94, King 70, Turner 66, Slater 48, Hoffman 40, Geyer 32, Cronk 29, Inglis 28, Quinn 24, Newton 16 (Newcastle 4), J. Smith 12, White 8, Lima 8, Johnson 4, Chambers 4, Tagataese 4, Aubusson 4 MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE Antonio Kaufusi: Season (Patella Tendon) Danny Vaughan: Season (ACL) Pale Ale: Season (Back) 2007 TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER 1. Storm 44 2. Sea Eagles 38 3. Cowboys 32 4. Warriors 29 5. Eels 28 6. Bulldogs 26 7. Rabbitohs 26 8. Broncos 24 9. Wests Tigers 24 10. Sydney 23 11. Sharks 22 12. Titans 22 13. Dragons 20 14. Raiders 20 15. Knights 20 16. Panthers 18 SQUAD FOR SUNDAY'S GAME: Starting team: 1. Billy Slater 2. Steve Turner 3. Matt King 4. Israel Folau 5. Anthony Quinn 6. Greg Inglis 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Ben Cross 9. Cam Smith (c) 10. Brett White 11. Clint Newton 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Dallas Johnson Interchange: 14. Jeremy Smith, 15. Matt Geyer, 16. Michael Crocker, 17. Jeff Lima, 18. James Aubusson, 19. Garret Crossman. Coach: Craig Bellamy. News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au
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