Round 25
Newcastle Knights 17 d. Melbourne Storm 16

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

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

Two points dropped in race for minor premiership
Sat August 30, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

With a host of former players watching from the "old boys" marquee at the traditional last home game of the season bash, the Newcastle Knights dug deep to keep their finals hopes alive with a hard-fought 17-16 win over the Storm at Energy Australia Stadium.

The performance was all the more impressive given their inspirational skipper Danny Buderus was missing after rupturing a bicep muscle during last week's win over the Cowboys, ending both his season and Newcastle career.

But while Buderus wasn't on the field in body, he was clearly there in spirit as the Knight's out-Melbourned Melbourne with a high-intensity, high-speed game plan that caught the Storm off-guard early, and which they found impossible to fully recover from.

Conversely, the Storm played in an uncharacteristically sluggish manner, making bad decisions in both attack and defence, giving away silly penalties thus gifting the Knights good field position, and completing very few sets, particularly in the first half.

The opening play was a snapshot of what was to come when fullback Billy Slater dropped the ball from the kick-off gifting the Knights great field position from the get-go.

Ironically enough the first-half ended with Slater spilling the ball from a pass off the scrum with the very last play, perfectly encapsulating how the first 40-minutes went for Melbourne.

Newcastle's first try came in just the second minute after Slater's indiscretion gave the Knights possession 10 metres out with six tackles in hand. Hooker Matt Hilder crossed under the posts and Kurt Gidley made no mistake with the conversion.

Cam Smith gave away a silly penalty a couple of minutes later for holding on too long in the tackle, and Gidley was happy to stretch the lead out to 8-nil.

It took a piece of Greg Inglis magic in the 24th minute to get the Storm back in the game. Defending 25 metres out from his own line, he intercepted a pass and ran all the way untouched to score under the posts.

Knight's halfback Scott Dureau then produced his own piece of brilliance. After he had chip-kicked the Storm defensive line, Dureau chased then kicked the ball past the advancing Slater, who in turn obstructed the Newcastle number seven. Gidley made no mistake with the penalty kick.

The second-half started much more Storm-like.

After Michael Crocker had missed a difficult chance in the opening minute, Israel Folau scored in the corner after flying high over Wes Naiqama from a short Cronk chip to level the scores at 10-a-piece.

Unfortunately that's where the Storm stopped playing like the Storm.

A soft penalty against Jeremy Smith in the 63rd minute for a late hit on the Newcastle kicker piggy-backed the home side down the ground into great field position.

From the ensuing set, a flat pass from Hilder found a rampaging Jesse Royal and not even a strong tackle from Jeremy Smith could stop the Knights player from scoring.

A minute later Hilder decided to send a drop goal over the black dot to give the Knights a seven-point lead with 15 minutes remaining.

In the dying moments of the game the Storm created a couple of half-chances before a great run into a hole in the Knights defence by Sika Manu gave the Storm hope with only a couple of minutes left on the clock,.

Unfortunately for Melbourne it wasn't long enough, and Newcastle deservedly took the points.

The "old boys" in the crowd would have been proud of that performance.

STORM 16 (Tries: Inglis, Folau, Manu; Goals: C Smith2 ) def. by KNIGHTS 17 (Tries: Hilder, Royal; Goals: Gidley 4, Field Goal: Hilder) at EnergyAustralia Stadium

Report Sent By: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Storm Round 25 v Knights Game Notes
Fri August 29, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne continued on their merry way with a resounding 40-6 win over the Penrith Panthers at CUA Stadium on Monday night.

The win kept the Storm at the top of the NRL ladder, two points clear of Manly and Cronulla with two games to go.

Newcastle won their fourth game from their past five starts with a 38-24 win over the Cowboys at EnergyAustralia Stadium.

The win kept them just inside the top eight.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v Newcastle Knights
WHAT: Round 25 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
WHEN: Saturday, August 30th @ 5.30pm
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE from 5.30pm
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 their past five games against Newcastle
* Newcastle has scored 29 tries in their past five games
* Newcastle has won their past three games at EnergyAustralia Stadium

DID YOU KNOW?
Rugby League 2008 World Cup Director Colin Love AM will be hosting a World Cup 2008 Preview Cocktail Party on Thursday, September 4th at Crown Casino.

Also in attendance will be Melbourne Storm superstars Billy Slater, Israel Folau and Greg Inglis who are bound to make a huge impression during the World Cup tournament.

The preview will highlight the blockbuster game between Australia and Great Britain at the Telstra Dome on November 8th.

The party will be held in the River Room on Level 1 of the Crown Entertainment Complex, with formalities starting from 7.00pm.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 20, Storm: 10, Knights: 10
At EnergyAustralia Stadium: Played: 10, Storm: 3, Knights: 7

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 526, Knights: 497
Points against: Storm: 261, Knights: 446
Tries for: Storm: 95, Knights: 90
Points differential: Storm: +265, Knights: +51

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. Panthers 40-6 @ CUA Stadium, Penrith
Knights def. Cowboys 38-24 @ EnergyAustralia Stadium

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2008 Storm def. Knights 18-4 @ Olympic Park
2007 Storm def. Knights 44-0 @ Olympic Park
2007 Storm def. Knights 22-12 @ EnergyAustralia Stadium
2006 Storm def. Knights 24-16 @ EnergyAustralia Stadium
2006 Storm def. Knights 52-6 @ Olympic Park
2005 Knights def. Storm 37-18 @ EnergyAustralia Stadium
2005 Storm def. Knights 48-10 @ Olympic Park
2004 Storm def. Knights 28-18 @ EnergyAustralia 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
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
ROUND 22: STORM 16 (Tries: Geyer, Folau, Cronk; Goals: C Smith 2) def. SEA EAGLES 10 (Tries: Hall, Williams; Goals: Matai) at Brookvale Oval
ROUND 23: STORM 30 (Tries: Quinn 2, C Smith, Cronk, Slater; Goals: Smith 5) def. ROOSTERS 6 (Try: M Aubusson; Goal: Roberts 1) at Olympic Park
ROUND 24: STORM 40 (Tries: Inglis 3, Turner 2, Quinn, C Smith, Lima; Goals: C Smith 4) def. PANTHERS 6 (Try: N Smith; Goal: Gordon) at CUA Stadium, Penrith

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Inglis 15, Folau 12, Slater 11, Quinn 10, Turner 9, Manu 6, Geyer 6, J. Smith 5, Cronk 4, Chambers 3, Hoffman 3, C. Smith 3, Lima 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, Crocker, Tomane

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 66, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 144, Inglis 60, Folau 48, Slater 44, Turner 44, Quinn 40, Manu 24, Geyer 24, J. Smith 22, Cronk 20, Chambers 12, Hoffman 12, Lima 8, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Crocker 4, Tomane 4

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

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 26: Sunday, September 7th v Rabbitohs @ Olympic Park, 7.00pm

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1 Storm 36
2 Sea Eagles 34
3 Sharks 34
4 Roosters 30
5 Broncos 29
6 Raiders 28
7 Dragons 28
8 Knights 26
9 Eels 26
10 Warriors 26
11 Panthers 25
12 Wests Tigers 24
13 Titans 24
14 Rabbitohs 20
15 Bulldogs 14
16 Cowboys 12

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
10. Brett White
11. Michael Crocker
12. Jeremy Smith
13. Dallas Johnson

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

Coach: Craig Bellamy

News Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Fri August 29, 2008
• Farewell Buderus at Saturday's game
  
Tue August 26, 2008
• Newcastle retire No.9 jersey
  
Tue August 26, 2008
• Bellamy makes one change for Knights clash
  

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