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Fri September 19 2008, 8:45PM NZST GMT+12Fri: New Zealand Warriors 30 d. Sydney Roosters 13 at
Mt Smart Stadium, Penrose, Auckland (NZ)Crowd: 25,585
Sat September 20 2008, 7:45PM AEST GMT+10Sat: Brisbane Broncos 14 l. Melbourne Storm 16 at
Suncorp Stadium, Castlemaine Street, Milton, Brisbane (QLD)Crowd: 50,466
Sun September 21, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.auIn arguably the most intense and gripping game or rugby league this year, Storm five-eighth Greg Inglis scored the most precious try of his career in the final minute at Suncorp Stadium to send the Broncos out of the finals race, and his Melbourne team head long into a preliminary final against the Cronulla Sharks next Friday night.
With less than a minute left on the clock, and Melbourne trailing Brisbane by two points, the Storm made the impossible possible with a play through the hands out to the left hand edge that silenced the home crowd and sent the Storm's travelling contingent into a state of delirium.
All seemed lost when the Broncos regained possession 20-metres out from their own try-line with 90 seconds on the clock. But a shuddering hit on Brisbane front-rower Ashton Sims by Sika Manu jarred the ball loose, and the rest as they say is history.
However, if the Storm had of taken advantage of their superior possession in the first-half, the final minute heroics wouldn't have been needed. Instead it was the Broncos who made the Storm pay for failing to finish off their dominance.
In as early as the fourth minute Broncos winger Darius Boyd put the home side in front with a try in the corner, and they were at it again towards the end of the first-half when their other winger Denan Kemp extended their lead.
Corey Parker's conversions sent the Broncos in at the break with a 12-nil ahead, but if Billy Slater had gathered with a try beckoning, and Cooper Cronk wasn't miraculously held up, things could have been so different.
Only those in the Storm's inner sanctum will know exactly what coach Craig Bellamy said at half-time, but it had the desired effect. The Storm came out with a lot more aggression in the second-half, and the Broncos didn't seem to appreciate the extra attention.
A couple of all-in push and shoves ignited proceedings, and the Storm seemed to be the team that fed off the intensity.
Crocker opened the scoring for Melbourne in the second-half when a break from Israel Folau sent the backrower on his way to the try-line.
Only minutes later a controversial incident looked set to derail the Storm's comeback. A bump on Brisbane hooker Michael Ennis from Jeff Lima was deemed late by the touch judge, and given the previous melees, referee Shayne Hayne sent Lima to the sin bin for 10 minutes.
To rub salt into the wounds, Parker took the two points on offer from right in front to send his team 14-6 up.
But instead of slowing the Storm's momentum, the added adversity seemed to spur them on to greater heights.
A short chip-kick from Cronk saw Slater leap high above two defenders, catch the ball on his chest, and drive across the try-line for Melbourne's second try, and give the small band of Storm fans in the crowd hope.
Then, in the 54th minute, what would have been one of the greatest tries in the history of the NRL was correctly disallowed when Inglis was judged to have been offside when Cam Smith kicked the ball. Replays showed the decision was right, but there were only millimetres in it. From Cam's grubber, Matt Geyer chased and batted the ball towards the in-goal sideline, only for Anthony Quinn to somehow bat the ball back himself before crashing into the advertising hoarding. The ball landed in the arms of Inglis who put the ball down, but it wasn't to be.
The rest of the game had it all ? dropped ball, turnovers, penalties, kicks out on the full - you name it, both teams did it. More importantly, both teams produced a clash that will be remembered for many, many years to come.
STORM 16 (Tries: Crocker, Slater, Inglis; Goals: C Smith 2) def. BRONCOS 14 (Tries: Boyd, Kemp; Goals: Parker 3) at Suncorp Stadium
News Source:
www.melbournestorm.com.auFri September 19, 2008
Source: www.broncos.com.auWith just over 100 seats left, tickets will not be available for sale at the Suncorp Stadium gates at tomorrow's NRL final between the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm.
With those single-seat tickets likely to be sold by Ticketek online tonight and tomorrow, the NRL has decided to advertise that eople attending the ground tomorrow without a ticket will not et in.
This is designed to eradicate the possibility of people turning up o Suncorp Stadium without tickets and being disappointed.
The match will kick off at Suncorp Stadium at 7.45pm.
Source:
www.broncos.com.au
Finals Week 2
Brisbane Broncos 14 l. Melbourne Storm 16
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