Round 19
Melbourne Storm 26 d. St.George-Illawarra Dragons 0

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

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

Storm defeat Dragons in fiery clash
Mon July 21, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne Storm tonight overcame rain, wind and a fiery opposition to defeat the St George Illawarra Dragons 26-0 at Olympic Park in front of 9,335 brave fans.

The miserable conditions set the stage for what was predicted to be one of the best clashes of the round. The Storm and the Dragons have had a history of great matches, and with both teams battling for a top four finish, Melbourne's winter weather was unlikely to hold anyone back.

This match was no exception with the opening half providing two tries to Melbourne, three players sent to the sin, another sent off, and a heavy rain fall all in the mix.

Travelling to Melbourne in recent times has not brought St George Illawarra much luck having lost their past five matches at 'The Graveyard'.

The Storm opened the proceedings in spectacular fashion with Israel Folau leaping over his opponent to catch the ball, before dragging a couple of would-be tacklers across the line to score Melbourne's first try.

Folau demonstrated why he was rated as one of league's "greatest jumpers" by the Dragons coach Nathan Brown mid-week, with his try showing that he is an unstoppable force when in full flight.

The Storm pushed forward for their second try with Steve Turner diving over the line, however they were denied by the video referee due with the Dragon's Jason Nightingale forcing Turner out of the field.

Tensions were high, and not long after Turner's disallowed try the two teams' frustrations boiled over and an all-in brawl erupted resulting in Billy Slater, Adam Blair and the Dragons' Jamie Soward given a 10-minute spell on the sidelines to cool down.

Rather than the Dragons capitalising on their numerical advantage on field, a rogue kick from front-rower Jason Ryles at Jeff Lima in the scrum saw him being sent off the field, this time for the remainder of the game.

With Melbourne's full compliment of players back on the field, and St George one man down, the Storm ramped up the pressure having an immediate effect.

On the stroke of half-time, Lima stormed through a number of Dragon's defenders to put the ball over the line for Melbourne's second try of an eventful opening half, sending his team in at the break 10-0 up.

The Storm exploded into action in the second-half with Blair picking up a loose ball to send Cam Smith over the line, but the video referee had the last laugh denying Melbourne the try due to obstruction.

Without dampening the Storm's drive pushing forward, this time with Jeremy Smith breaking free from the Dragons defenders to secure Storm's third try. Instead of celebrating the try, Smith reacted to another late tackle, catalysing yet another scuffle between the two teams.

Minutes later an offload in the tackle from Israel Folau found Sika Manu on the run. The young backrower took off streaming down field leaving several Dragons in his wake, timing an immaculate pass off to Turner out wide.

The Storm were unstoppable, following another Dragons error Melbourne took advantage to see a penalty awarded cementing Matt Geyer's customary try for the evening.

After 80 minutes of hard-fought football, the Melbourne Storm managed to keep the Dragons scoreless securing a comfortable win at home.

STORM 26 (Tries: J Smith, Lima, Geyer, Turner, Folau; Goals: C Smith 3) def. DRAGONS 0 at Olympic Park.

Report Sent By: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Storm Round 19 v Dragons Game Notes
Fri July 18, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne were too strong for Wests Tigers last Monday night, defeating them 30-18 at Campbelltown Sports Stadium with Greg Inglis scoring a memorable hat-trick.

The win elevated the Storm into second place on the NRL ladder.

St George Illawarra suffered their first defeat in eight weeks last week, going down to Canberra in Wollongong 19-12. The loss left them in fifth position on the NRL ladder.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v St George Illawarra Dragons
WHAT: Round 19 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Olympic Park, Melbourne
WHEN: Monday, July 21st @ 7.00pm
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE ? 7.00pm
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

FAST FACTS
* St George Illawarra have lost their past five matches at Olympic Park
* Melbourne has won seven of their eight home games this year
* St George Illawarra has won their past six night games
* Melbourne has conceded less than 11 points per game on average at home this year

DID YOU KNOW?
The players' annual comedy day will take place on Sunday, August 17th at the Comics Lounge in North Melbourne. Starting at 3.00pm and going on well into the night, the event will feature 10 of Melbourne's best comedians, and will be hosted by Storm Ambassador and comedian Marty Fields.

Tickets are $30 each and are available before the day at the Melbourne Storm or at the Comics Lounge, or on the door on the day.

KEY MATCH UP
Could Greg Inglis' duel with Mark Gasnier be the individual duel of the year? Gasnier clearly got the better of Inglis in Game I of the State-of-Origin series while Inglis returned the favour in Game II in one of the most dominant individual displays in Origin history. Showdown III between these two may go along way to deciding who really is the best centre in the world.

Gasnier is the Dragons' leader, and had he not been heading to France next year, would probably be captain of the New South Wales State-of-Origin team next year if recent comments from Blues coach Craig Bellamy are anything to go by. He is the complete package when it comes to centres ? strong, powerful, quick and is equally adept at scoring tries or setting them up for teammates. There isn't much he can't do and he'll be looking to leave the Red V with some fond memories, starting with a five star performance in Melbourne against Inglis.

During the week Inglis became the youngest player ever to be named the game's best player in the coveted Rugby League Week players' poll. In his past three club games he has scored eight tries, most of them spectacular, and probably scored nine Dally M votes as well. While Inglis has been accused of playing a good game one week and then going missing for a fortnight, he's really started to put together best-on-ground performances on a regular basis. There's no doubt he's the most talented player in the NRL, but if he can produce what he's capable of week-in week-out, there's no doubt he will go down in history as one of the game's greats. And let's not forget, he is only 21.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 20, Storm: 14, Dragons: 5, Draw: 1
At Olympic Park: Played: 7, Storm: 5, Dragons: 2

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 364, Dragons: 339
Points against: Storm: 227, Dragons: 271
Tries for: Storm: 64, Dragons: 58
Points differential: Storm: +137, Dragons: 68

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. Wests Tigers 30-18 @ Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney
Dragons def. by Raiders 19-12 @ WIN Stadium, Wollongong

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2008 Dragons def. Storm 36-12 @ ANZ Stadium
2007 Storm def. Dragons 28-6 @ Olympic Park
2007 Storm def. Dragons 26-10 @ Oki Jubilee Stadium
2006 Storm def. Dragons 24-10 @ ANZ Stadium
2006 Storm def. Dragons 34-24 @ Oki Jubilee Stadium
2006 Storm def. Dragons 24-10 @ Olympic Park
2005 Storm def. Dragons 24-16 @ Olympic Park
2005 Storm def. Dragons 46-12 @ WIN 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) 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 (Try: Slater; Goal: C. Smith) def. by ROOSTERS (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
ROUND 15: 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
ROUND 16: STORM 22 (Tries: Manu 2, Tomane, Cronk; Goals: Turner 2, Cronk) def. by EELS 24 (Tries: Tautai, Williams, Reddy, Inu; Goals: Burt 4) at Parramatta Stadium
ROUND 17: STORM 30 (Tries: Inglis 2, Slater, Manu, Quinn, Turner; Goals: Smith 3) def. RAIDERS 14 (Tries: Monaghan, Carney, Chalk; Goals: Carney) at Olympic Park
ROUND 18: STORM 30 (Tries: Inglis 3, Slater, Manu; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. TIGERS 18 (Tries: Tuiaki, Hodgson, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 3) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 10, Inglis 10, Folau 8, Quinn 6, Turner 5, Manu 5, Chambers 3, J. Smith 3, Geyer 3, Hoffman 2, Cronk 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, C. Smith, Crocker, Tomane

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 47, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 98, Slater 40, Inglis 40, Folau 32, Quinn 24, Turner 20, Manu 20, J. Smith 14, Chambers 12, Geyer 12, Cronk 12, Hoffman 8, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Crocker 4, Tomane 4

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Sam Tagataese (shoulder): 1 week
Aidan Guerra (ankle): 2 weeks
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 20: Sunday, July 27th v Warriors @ Mt Smart Stadium, 2.00pm (AEST)
Round 21: Friday, August 1st v Titans @ Olympic Park, 7.45pm
Round 22: Friday, August 8th v Sea Eagles @ Brookvale Oval, 7.45pm
Round 23: Friday, August 15th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7.35pm

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1 Sea Eagles 28
2 Storm 26
3 Roosters 26
4 Sharks 26
5 Dragons 22
6 Titans 22
7 Broncos 21
8 Panthers 19
9 Knights 18
10 Eels 18
11 Raiders 18
12 Wests Tigers 18
13 Warriors 18
14 Rabbitohs 16
15 Bulldogs 14
16 Cowboys 10

SQUAD FOR MONDAY'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
10. Brett White
11. Michael Crocker
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange:
14. Jeremy Smith, 15. Adam Blair, 16. Sika Manu, 17. Antonio Kaufusi

Coach: Craig Bellamy

News Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Tue July 15, 2008
• Storm unchanged for Dragons clash
  

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