Round 22
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 10 l. Melbourne Storm 16

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

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

Storm blow race for minor premiership wide open
Sat August 9, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne broke a nine-year hoodoo at Brookvale Oval, notching their first victory at Manly's home ground since 1999 with a hard fought 16-10 win, sending them equal on points with the Sea Eagles at the head of the NRL ladder and blowing the race for the minor premiership open in the process.

It's the third time in a row the Storm has now beaten the Sea Eagles, including last year's 34-8 grand final victory, and the psychological scars inflicted on the Manly players may be significant come finals time.

From the opening whistle it was tough, brutal, uncompromising football, and when Melbourne's Michael Crocker and Manly's Brent Kite came to blows in the opening minutes, the stage was set for a classic encounter.

While both forward packs were trying to bash each other into submission, it was the sublime skills of Storm fullback Billy Slater that allowed Melbourne to score their two first-half tries.

His support play on the inside of halfback Cooper Cronk, who hit the flying fullback with a laser-like ball on the chest, and offload to Matt Geyer got the Storm off to the perfect start in the eighth minute.

A clever chip by Cronk over the Manly defence in the dying minutes of the first-half saw Slater gather a bobbling ball he had no right to, before drawing the defender and slipping the ball to Israel Folau. The giant centre out-sprinted veteran Manly five-eighth Steve Menzies from 30-metres out to score in the corner.

In between Melbourne's tries, the Sea Eagles had their moments when they sent the almost 18,500 Manly fans packed into the ground into raptures.

In the 12th min the Storm were lucky to get away without conceding a try from Brett Stewart. The Manly fullback was deemed to have taken out Anthony Quinn just before challenging a high ball with Slater. Slater spilled the ball and Stewart pounced, but the video referee had other ideas.

However, Manly weren't to be denied when backrower Glenn Hall scored after referee Shayne Hayne penalised the Storm 10-metres from their own try-line, gifting the Sea Eagles another set of six.

The second-half started in much the same vein as the first.

After looking like he was about to pass, Cronk decided he'd go himself, barging between Menzies and Anthony Watmough to extend the Storm's lead to 10-points.

But the Sea Eagles weren't going to let the Storm run away with the game, and five minutes later they drew within a converted try when David Williams crossed in the corner.

The game then descended into a real arm-wrestle, and when Cronk failed with a field goal conversion with nine minutes remaining, you just knew Manly were going to lay siege to the Storm's try-line.

And lay siege they did. With five sets in a row in the dying minutes, Manly threw everything they had at Melbourne, but they couldn't crack the best defence in the NRL, and the Storm left Brookvale with two valuable points in the race for the minor premiership.

STORM 16 (Tries: Geyer, Folau, Cronk; Goals: C Smith 2) def. SEA EAGLES 10 (Tries: Hall, Williams; Goals: Matai) at Brookvale Oval.

Report Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Storm Round 22 v Sea Eagles Game Notes
Thu August 7, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne returned to the winner's circle last week with an emphatic 44-4 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Olympic Park. The win kept them at second spot on the NRL ladder.

Manly were also impressive last Friday night, disposing of the Penrith Panthers 30-10 at Brookvale Oval to keep them at the top of the NRL ladder.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v Manly Sea Eagles
WHAT: Round 22 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Brookvale Oval, Sydney
WHEN: Friday, August 8th @ 7.35pm
ON TV: Channel Nine (Melbourne) midnight, Fox Sports 2 @ 11.30pm
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
* Melbourne has won three of their past four clashes against Manly
* Manly has beaten the Storm in their past five clashes at Brookvale Oval

DID YOU KNOW?
The players' annual comedy day will take place on Sunday, August 17th at the Comics Lounge in Errol Street, 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 (03 8412 4900) or at the Comics Lounge (03 9348 9488), or on the door on the day (although these tickets will be limited).

KEY MATCH UP
The match-ups in this game are incredible:

Israel Folau v Steve Matai
Greg Inglis v Steve Menzies
Cooper Cronk v Matt Orford
Brent Kite v Brett White
Glenn Stewart v Dallas Johnson

The list goes on. But the individual match-up that has everyone talking are the fullbacks, Billy Slater against Brett Stewart.

Slater has had a season like no other. He remains the most elusive player in the comp with 18 line breaks ? five more than the next best player. He also averages more metres than any player on kick-returns ? 13.7. He was sorely missed in the 8-6 loss against the Warriors a fortnight ago in Auckland, and upon his return last week against the Titans, he was back to his destructive best. He ran for a game-high 176 metres from 13 hit-ups, and set up a sensational try with one of his customary line-breaks.

Stewart bagged his 13th four-pointer for the season last week (second in the NRL try-scorer's list) and provided a wonderful try assist for winger Michael Robertson's 80-metre run to the line. Stewart has beautiful skills and makes things happen on the spur of the moment, even when nothing looks to be 'on'. One of the most instinctive players in the game, the Storm defence will need to get up on him quickly.

Slater took Stewart's Kangaroo Test jumper from him for the Centenary Test in May, and will be looking to try and win it back with the World Cup just around the corner.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 12, Storm: 7, Sea Eagles: 5
At Brookvale Oval: Played: 6, Storm: 1, Sea Eagles: 5

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 440, Sea Eagles: 493
Points against: Storm: 239, Sea Eagles: 257
Tries for: Storm: 79, Sea Eagles: 90
Points differential: Storm: +201, Sea Eagles: +236

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. Titans 44-4 @ Olympic Park, Melbourne
Sea Eagles def. Panthers 30-10 @ Brookvale Oval

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2008 Storm def. Sea Eagles 26-4 @ Olympic Park
2007 Storm def. Sea Eagles 34-8 @ ANZ Stadium
2007 Sea Eagles def. Storm 13-12 @ Brookvale Oval
2006 Storm def. Sea Eagles 30-20 @ Olympic Park
2006 Sea Eagles def. Storm 34-12 @ Brookvale Oval
2005 Sea Eagles def. Storm 25-18 @ Brookvale Oval
2004 Sea Eagles def. Storm 30-28 @ Brookvale Oval
2003 Storm def. Sea Eagles 40-10 @ 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 (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
ROUND 19: STORM 26 (Tries: J Smith, Lima, Geyer, Turner, Folau; Goals: C Smith 3) def. DRAGONS 0 at Olympic Park
ROUND 20: STORM 6 (Try: Manu; Goal: C Smith) def. by WARRIORS 8 (Try: Fai; Goals: Hohaia 2) at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
ROUND 21: STORM 44 (Tries: Folau 2, Inglis 2, Turner, Quinn, Hoffman, Geyer, J Smith; Goals: Cam Smith 4) def. TITANS 4 (Try: Ropana) at Olympic Park

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Inglis 12, Folau 11, Slater 10, Turner 7, Quinn 7, Manu 6, Geyer 5, J. Smith 5, Chambers 3, Hoffman 3, Cronk 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, C. Smith, Crocker, Tomane, Lima

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 55, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 114, Inglis 48, Folau 44, Slater 40, Quinn 28, Turner 28, Manu 24, J. Smith 22, Geyer 20, Chambers 12, Cronk 12, Hoffman 12, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Crocker 4, Tomane 4, Lima 4

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

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 23: Friday, August 15th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7.35pm
Round 24: Monday, August 25th v Panthers @ CUA Stadium, 7.00pm
Round 25: Saturday, August 30th v Knights @ EnergyAustralia Stadium, 5.30pm

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1 Sea Eagles 32
2 Storm 30
3 Roosters 30
4 Sharks 30
5 Broncos 27
6 Dragons 24
7 Panthers 23
8 Knights 22
9 Wests Tigers 22
10 Raiders 22
11 Titans 22
12 Warriors 22
13 Eels 20
14 Rabbitohs 18
15 Bulldogs 14
16 Cowboys 10

SQUAD FOR FRIDAY'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

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