Round 15
Melbourne Storm 48 d. North Queensland Cowboys 20

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

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

Inglis stars as Storm smash gallant Cowboys
Sun June 22, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Playing with the tag of red hot favourites, the Melbourne Storm did not let their fans or the punters down defeating the North Queensland Cowboys 48-20 at Olympic Park.

Greg Inglis was clearly the stand-out player on the park, producing his best performance for the Storm the season with three spectacular tries in the second half of the match.

After a competitive close first half in which the Storm lead by just two points after 40-minutes, the Storm powered forward to destroy the Cowboys by 28 points to hold their position at the top of the NRL table.

The Melbourne Storm could not have gone into the game in a better position. Not only did the Storm begin the match at the shortest odds of the season at $1.05, their opponents, the North Queensland Cowboys, had lost their last seven matches of the season.

To make matters worse for the Cowboys, the Storm's starting line-up welcomed back 10 of their State-of-Origin representative players.

But despite the lead up favouring the home side, it was the Cowboys that threw caution to the wind early in the match to score the first try with Mark Henry putting the ball down over the line.

Cowboy's captain Johnathan Thurston was unable to secure the dream start for North Queensland, missing the goal to leave his team leading 4-0.

It didn't take long for the Storm to respond to the challenge, with a determined Jeremy Smith successfully taking on the Cowboy defenders to score Melbourne's first try.

Cam Smith didn't fail to put the points on the board, converting the try to put the Storm in front for the first time of the match at 6-4.

The Storm's lead was short lived as Thurston set up a try for John Williams with a measured corner kick.

Again, North Queensland's captain's kicking let him down, leaving the score line at 8-6 in favour of the Cowboys.

Despite the Cowboys dominating the possession, it didn't stop the Storm and Billy Slater from doing what they do best.

A slick pass from centre Matt Geyer set up Slater for a 40-metre run to score the Storm's second try of the half.

Smith continued his straight kicking to push the Storm out to a four-point lead in the 25th minute of the match.

The Storm continued to show their skill with Greg Inglis pouncing on a loose ball and passing off to Geyer mid-air to score a spectacular try for Melbourne pushing the score out to 16-8.

Although the Storm were beginning to gain momentum, the Cowboy's Carl Webb kept the game within reach scoring a strong try for North Queensland in the final minute of the half.

Thurston was able to convert for the first time of the match, drawing the score to 16-14 and setting up an exciting second half at Olympic Park.

The Storm looked to have responded to the challenge early in the second-half with Steve Turner making an explosive dive over the line, but the try was disallowed by the video referee.

This did not stop Isreal Folau from scoring a forceful try moments later and picking up the momentum for the Storm.

Smith scored his third goal of the match giving Melbourne a handy 22-14 point lead in the early stages of the second half.

The Storm continued to swing into their best form with yet another strong team effort setting up Inglis for his first try of the match.

And the tries kept on coming with Turner being awarded his first try by the video referee to score Melbourne's sixth for the match.

Although the Cowboys continued to run to ball forward, the Storm looked to have taken control of the match with a strong defensive effort denying the Cowboys their first scoring attempt of the half.

The Cowboys continued to make several strong attempts towards to line but were deterred time after time by the Storm's continual pressure at the crucial stages.

On the other hand, Inglis was unstoppable as he darted around the Cowboy's defenders to score the most memorable try of the match.

The Storm did not stop there. Folau powered down the sideline into open space to set Turner up for his second try of the match and the Storm's eighth for the game.

Smith failed to convert for the first time in the second half, but the Storm led by a massive 28-points with the scoreboard showing 42-14.

It was all Inglis as he stormed down the field, saluting to his Cowboys opponents, to score his third try of the match in spectacular fashion pushing the score out to 48-14.

The Cowboys made one final effort with Ray Cashmere scoring their fourth try, and as the siren sounded, Thurston scored his fourth conversion of the match.

But in the end, it was a match dominated by the Melbourne Storm, with the final score showing 48-20.

STORM 48 (Tries: Inglis 3, Turner 2, J Smith, Slater, Geyer, Folau; Goals: C Smith 6) def. COWBOYS 20 (Tries: Henry, Williams, Webb, Cashmere; Goals: Thurston 2) at Olympic Park.

Report Sent By: www.melbournestorm.com.au

NRL: Storm 48 v Cowboys 20
NYC: Storm 10 v Cowboys 14


Storm Round 15 v Cowboys Game Notes
Fri June 20, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne enjoyed a bye last Round after losing to the Titans in Round 13 at Skilled Park.

The Cowboys suffered their seventh straight loss in Round 14 action against Newcastle, going down 30-18 and sending them to the foot of the NRL table.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v North Queensland Cowboys
WHAT: Round 15 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Olympic Park, Melbourne
WHEN: Saturday, June 21st @ 7.30pm
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE ? 7.30pm
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

FAST FACTS
* North Queensland has lost five of their six away games this year
* North Queensland has not won in Melbourne since 2001
* Melbourne has won 20 of their past 21 games in Melbourne

DID YOU KNOW?
Boxing champions Jeff Fenech and Azumah Nelson will be special guests of the Storm at this Saturday night's game.

The pair will meet for the third time on June 24th at Hisense Arena (formerly Vodafone Arena). Nelson leads their personal duels 2-0.

KEY MATCH UP
While his team aren't travelling to well, when Thurston is on song he is arguably the best player in the world. His ability to direct a team around the park is as good as anyone, and no-one in the world is better at creating try-scoring chances for their teammates. His creativity and skill levels are second-to-none, and his kicking game is pretty good too. And with ball in hand he is extremely dangerous, having broken the line on 10 occasions to be sitting second in the NRL (behind Billy Slater with 14).

His battle in the halves with Cooper Cronk will be terrific.

We all know how good a halfback Cooper is. He's a confident player who has no problems directing his star-studded team around the park, and the skills that make halfbacks great are all there to see. But it's probably his kicking game that sets him apart from the rest. Whether it's long kicks into the corners, short kicks over the top, grubbers through the defence or banana kicks with the outside of his foot, Cooper can do it all. He's number one in the NRL for kick metres having kicked for just over five kilometres, well clear of his nearest rivals. A lot of the Storm's tries come on the back of Cronk kicks and there's no doubt he'll be looking to continue that trend on Saturday night.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 17, Storm: 12, Cowboys: 5
At Olympic Park: Played: 5, Storm: 5, Cowboys: 0

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 234, Cowboys: 246
Points against: Storm: 151, Cowboys: 343
Tries for: Storm: 40, Cowboys: 42
Points differential: Storm: +83, Cowboys: -97

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm BYE
Cowboys def. by Knights 30-18 @ Dairy Farmer's Stadium

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2008 Storm def. Cowboys 12-10 @ Dairy Farmers Stadium
2007 Storm def. Cowboys 50-12 @ Dairy Farmers Stadium
2006 Storm def. Cowboys 18-6 @ Olympic Park
2006 Cowboys def. Storm 40-8 @ Dairy Farmers Stadium
2005 Cowboys def. Storm 24-16 @ Sydney Football Stadium
2005 Cowboys def. Storm 30-24 @ Dairy Farmers Stadium
2004 Storm def. Cowboys 28-6 @ Olympic Park
2003 Storm def. Cowboys 22-16 @ Olympic Park

THE STORM STORY SO FAR
WORLD CLUB CHALLENGE: STORM 4 (Try: Hoffman) def. by RHINOS 11 (Try: Donald; Goals: Sinfield 3; Field Goal: Sinfield) at 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) at 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 6 (Try: Slater; Goal: C. Smith) def. by ROOSTERS 10 (Try: Kenny-Dowell; Goals: FitzGibbon 3) at Sydney Football Stadium
ROUND 4: STORM 28 (Tries: Quinn 3, Folau, Hoffman; Goals: Smith 4) def. BRONCOS 8 (Tries: Robinson, Stagg) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 5: STORM 26 (Tries: Slater 2, Inglis, Quinn, Hoffman; Goals: Smith 3) def. SEA EAGLES 4 (Try: Barney) at Olympic Park
ROUND 6: STORM 23 (Tries: Chambers, Turner, Slater, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 3; Field Goal: Cronk) def. RAIDERS 16 (Tries: Best, Plum, Purtell; Goals: Carney 2) at Canberra Stadium
ROUND 7: STORM 12 (Tries: Inglis, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. COWBOYS 10 (Tries: Williams 2; Goals: Thurston) at Dairy Farmer's Stadium
ROUND 8: BYE
ROUND 9: STORM 18 (Tries: Folau 2, Quinn; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. KNIGHTS 4 (Try: Mullen) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 10: STORM 12 (Tries: Chambers, Manu; Goals: Smith, Turner) def. by DRAGONS 36 (Tries: Nightingale 2, B. Morris, J Morris, Lett, Soward; Goals: Soward 6) at ANZ Stadium
ROUND 11: STORM 15 (Tries: Chambers, J. Smith; Goals: C. Smith 2, Field Goals: Cronk) def. RABBITOHS 12 (Tries: Vagana 2; Goals: Luke) at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
ROUND 12: STORM 46 (Tries: Geyer 2, C. Smith, Folau, Turner, J. Smith, Crocker, Cronk; Goals: C. Smith 7) def. BULLDOGS 0 at Olympic Park
ROUND 13: STORM 0 def. by TITANS 18 (Tries: Delaney, Meyers, Jeffrey; Goals: Rogers 3) at Skilled Park
ROUND 14: BYE

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 7, Folau 7, Quinn 5, Chambers 3, J. Smith 2, Turner 2, Geyer 2, Hoffman 2, Inglis 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, Manu, C. Smith, Crocker, Cronk

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 32, Turner 2, J. Smith

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 70, Slater 28, Folau 28, Quinn 20, Chambers 12, J. Smith 10, Geyer 8, Turner 8, Hoffman 8, Inglis 8, Cronk 6, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Manu 4, Crocker 4

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Aidan Guerra (ankle): 1 week
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 16: Sunday, June 29th v Eels @ Parramatta Stadium, 3.00pm
Round 17: Sunday, July 6th v Raiders @ Olympic Park, 2.00pm
Round 18: Monday, July 14th v Wests Tigers @ Campbelltown Sports Stadium, 7.00pm
Round 19: Saturday, July 19th v Dragons @ Olympic Park, 5.30pm
Round 20: Sunday, July 27th v Warriors @ Mt Smart Stadium, 2.00pm (AEST)
Round 21: Friday, August 1st v Titans @ Olympic Park, 7.45pm

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1 Sea Eagles 20
2 Storm 20
3 Roosters 20
4 Titans 20
5 Sharks 20
6 Dragons 16
7 Broncos 16
8 Knights 16
9 Eels 16
10 Panthers 16
11 Wests Tigers 16
12 Raiders 14
13 Bulldogs 12
14 Warriors 12
15 Cowboys 8
16 Rabbitohs 8

SQUAD FOR SATURDAY'S GAME
Starting team:
1. Billy Slater
2. Steve Turner
3. Matt Geyer
4. Israel Folau
5. Anthony Quinn
6. Greg Inglis
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Jeff Lima
9. Cam Smith [c]
10. Brett White
11. Michael Crocker
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange:
14. Jeremy Smith, 15. Antonio Kaufusi, 16. Sika Manu, 17. Adam Blair, 18. Aiden Tolman (one to be omitted)

Coach: Craig Bellamy

News Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Tue June 17, 2008
• Bellamy names 18-man squad for Cowboys game
  

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