Round 4
Melbourne Storm 28 d. Brisbane Broncos 8

2008 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Storm end Broncos unbeaten run
Fri April 4, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

A packed house at Olympic Park gathered to witness the Melbourne Storm's return to form following a 28-8 win over the in-form Brisbane Broncos tonight.

The Storm began the match with statistics on their side, never losing three games in succession under Coach Craig Bellamy, and winning the past six of seven matches against the Broncos.

The Broncos, on the other hand had history against them, not winning the opening four matches of the season since 2003, and scoring only 14 points and conceding 114, in their past four visits to 'The Graveyard'.

Siding with statistics, it was the Storm that opened the proceedings with Billy Slater dashing through the Bronco's defence to pass off just in time to set up Antony Quinn for the Storm's first try.

Cam Smith lined up for the conversion and did not disappoint, putting the Storm out at an early 6-0 lead.

Isreal Folau showed his future teammates at the Broncos what he was made of, taking a strong grab over Denan Kemp from a high ball and driving it over the line to put Melbourne on the scoreboard for a second time.

Smith took the kick to score his second conversion of the night, putting the Storm out to a 12-0 leading margin.

The Broncos opened their account shortly after with Reece Robinson making an impressive dash down the line to score Brisbane's first try.

To the delight of the hostile Melbourne crowd, the Broncos were unable to convert, leaving the scoreboard to show 12-4 in favour of the Storm.

Strong defensive work by the Storm, and mismanagement of possession by the Broncos prevented another quick reply and set up Melbourne to bring the ball down rapidly for Ryan Hoffman to score their third try.

The scoreline was stretched to 18-4 as Smith converted for a third time, and gave the Storm a 14-point lead at the half-time break.

If the first half was anything to go by, the Storm looked set to put their 2008 season back on track following an explosive display in the opening term.

The kept up their impressive form in the second half, with a strong tackle on the try-line preventing the Broncos from scoring the opening try of the half.

At the other end of the field, an opportunity went begging as Greg Inglis dropped a sitter that should have resulted in Melbourne opening the scoring for the term.

The Storm's Adam Blair was placed on report in the 53rd minute for a controversial tackle on the Bronco's Michael Ennis.

After several scoring opportunities, it was the Broncos that scored first in the second term with a quick set up from Captain Darren Lockyer sending David Stagg over the line.

Again, the Melbourne crowd taunted the Broncos' Michael Ennis as he failed to convert for a second time, leaving the scoreline at 18-8.

The Broncos looked to have gained momentum as Stagg again took to the ball over the line a second time, but to the relief of the Storm, the try was disallowed by the video referee.

Despite several strong efforts from the Broncos, it was the Storm that again broke through as Quinn dived over the line to score his second try of the night.

The Melbourne crowd celebrated as Smith scored his fourth conversion, putting the Storm out to a 24-8 lead as the match came into its closing stages.

But Melbourne was not done yet. Quinn, in an almost identical position as moments before put the ball down for his third try, marking the Storm's fifth for the evening.

The scoreboard showed 28-8 as the siren sounded, signalling the Storm's return to form and the end of the Bronco's three match winning streak.

STORM 28 (Tries: Quinn 3, Folau, Hoffman; Goals: Smith 4) def. BRONCOS 8 (Tries: Robinson, Stagg) at Olympic Park.

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Storm Round 4 Game Notes v Broncos
Thu April 3, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

The Storm went down to the Roosters 10-6 at the Sydney Football Stadium last week with early offside penalties costing the team dearly. The loss left the Storm in 11th position.

On the other hand, the Broncos have started the season with three wins in a row, including last week's 36-2 win over the Cowboys at Suncorp Stadium. Brisbane remains the only unbeaten team in the competition and sit on top of the NRL ladder.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v Brisbane Broncos
WHAT: Round 4 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Olympic Park, Melbourne
WHEN: Friday, April 4th @ 7:30pm
ON TV: Channel 9: Brisbane: 6:30pm, Sydney: 9:30pm, Melbourne: 12:15am Saturday; Fox Sports Two: 2:15am Saturday
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

INS AND OUTS
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has named a 17-man squad for the clash against the Brisbane Broncos.

Greg Inglis, who started his first game of the year from the bench last week, has been elevated to the starting line-up at five-eighth.

Adam Blair has been named to start in the front-row, with Antonio Kaufusi taking his place on the interchange bench.

FAST FACTS
* Melbourne has never lost three games in a row under Craig Bellamy
* Brisbane has not started a season with four wins in a row since 2003
* Melbourne has won six of their past seven games against Brisbane
* In their past four visits to Olympic Park, Brisbane have only scored 14 points, and conceded 114

DID YOU KNOW?
The pre-game entertainment this Friday night includes John Swan (Swanee) singing the national anthem, and Michael Paynter performing two numbers from his new album.

Paynter is a hot new addition to the Sony record label and has just returned from Los Angeles where he has recorded his new album.

KEY MATCH UP
Wallace has been such a revelation in the number seven jersey that experts are saying he's the first halfback Brisbane have had, who can dominate a game and guide his team around the park, since the glory days of Allan Langer. Considering Langer's one of the game's greats, that's some wrap. If he can grab the game by the scruff of the neck at the most feared venue in the NRL, those superlatives may well be justified.

Conversely, Storm halfback Cooper Cronk has spent the past two seasons proving to the rugby league world what a terrific halfback he is. He is professional in everything he does, from his training, to his preparation, to his performances on game day. The attack has been inefficient over the past two rounds, so expect Cronk to be cranking up his own game on Friday night, particularly with Queensland State-of-Origin coach Mal Meninga watching from the stands.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 22, Storm: 12, Broncos: 9, Drawn: 1
At Olympic Park: Played: 8, Storm: 6, Broncos: 2

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 54, Broncos: 104
Points against: Storm: 45, Broncos: 28
Tries for: Storm: 9, Broncos: 16
Points differential: Storm: +9, Broncos: +76

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm: def. by Roosters 10-6 @ Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Broncos: def. Cowboys 36-2 @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2007 Storm def. Broncos 40-0 @ Olympic Park
2007 Storm def. Broncos 14-6 @ Olympic Park
2007 Storm def. Broncos 28-18 @ Suncorp Stadium
2006 Broncos def. Storm 15-8 @ ANZ Stadium (Sydney)
2006 Storm def. Broncos 18-12 @ Suncorp Stadium
2006 Storm def. Broncos 10-4 @ Olympic Park
2005 Storm def. Broncos 24-18 @ Suncorp Stadium
2005 Broncos def. Storm 28-15 @ Suncorp Stadium

THE STORM STORY SO FAR
WORLD CLUB CHALLENGE: STORM 4 (Try: Hoffman) def. by RHINOS 11 (Try: Donald; Goals: Sinfield 3; Field Goal: Sinfield) @ Elland Road, Leeds
ROUND 1: STORM 32 (Tries: Slater 3, Johnson, Tagataese; Goals: C. Smith 5, Turner) def. WARRIORS 18 (Tries: Vatuvei 2, Ropati; Goals: Witt 3) @ Telstra Dome, Melbourne
ROUND 2: STORM 16 (Tries: Aitken, White, Falou; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by SHARKS 17 (Tries: Kearney, Gallen, Simmons; Goals: Covell 2; Field Goals: Kimmorley) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 3: Storm (Try: Slater; Goal: C. Smith) def. by ROOSTERS (Try: Kenny-Dowell; Goals: FitzGibbon 3) at Sydney Football Stadium

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 4, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, Folau

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 8, Turner

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
N/A

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 16, Slater 16, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Folau, Turner 2

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Michael Crocker (shoulder): 1 week
Danny Vaughan (knee): season

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 5: Friday, April 11th v Sea Eagles @ Olympic Park, 7:30pm
Round 6: Monday, April 21st v Raiders @ Canberra Stadium, 7:00pm
Round 7: Saturday, April 26th v Cowboys @ Dairy Farmers Stadium, 7:30pm
Round 8: BYE
Round 9: Monday, May 12th v Knights @ Olympic Park, 7:00pm
Round 10: Saturday, May 17th v Dragons @ ANZ Stadium, 7:30pm
Round 11: Saturday, May 24th v Rabbitohs @ Bluetongue Stadium, 7:30pm

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1. Broncos 6
2. Bulldogs 4
3. Knights 4
4. Titans 4
5. Roosters 4
6. Wests Tigers 4
7. Eels 4
8. Raiders 4
9. Sharks 4
10. Sea Eagles 2
11. Storm 2
12. Dragons 2
13. Panthers 2
14. Warriors 2
15. Rabbitohs 0
16. Cowboys 0

SQUAD FOR FRIDAY'S GAME
Starting team:
1. Billy Slater
2. Steve Turner
3. Will Chambers
4. Israel Folau
5. Anthony Quinn
6. Greg Inglis
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Jeff Lima
9. Cam Smith (c)
10. Adam Blair
11. Jeremy Smith
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange:
14. Matt Geyer, 15. Antonio Kaufusi, 16. Sika Manu, 17. Clifford Manua

Coach: Craig Bellamy

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Tue April 1, 2008
• Inglis at five-eighth for Storm v Broncos clash
  

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