Round 3
North Queensland Cowboys 12 l. Melbourne Storm 26

2009 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Storm attack clicks into gear
Sun March 29, 2009
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

In a highly entertaining encounter, the Storm has come away with a convincing 26-12 win against the North Queensland Cowboys at Dairy Farmer's Stadium in Townsville.

The Storm's offense clicked into gear to score four tries for the match whilst keeping the dangerous Cowboy's to just two.

Melbourne's star offensive players, Billy Slater and Greg Inglis gave the Storm a creative spark which their Cowboy's counterparts, Matt Bowen and Jonathan Thurston, failed to match.

In the first half, the Storm and the Cowboys traded tries in what was a predictably tight start to the contest.

Inglis started at centre and Cameron Smith at five-eighth, and it wasn't long before Inglis broke the game open, again.

The giant centre pounced on a fumbled pass from Bowen and ran almost the length of the ground to put it under the posts for an easy conversion.

The Cowboy's responded in the 17th minute as Scott Bolton scored an opportunistic try, confirmed by the video referee.

It wasn't long before Slater got the upper hand in the battle of the fullbacks by selling a dummy near halfway and breaking the line.

Cooper Cronk ran hard to support Slater and he was rewarded by scoring the Storm's second try in the 22nd minute.

Bowen stepped up soon after by throwing a cut-out pass to John Williams in the corner and the Cowboys evened up the scores.

The match-up between the two classy fullbacks was never going to disappoint.

Inglis didn't get much of the ball but made an impact when he did. Ryan Hoffman put him through a hole and again strong support running from the Storm resulted in a try to Anthony Quinn.

Storm lead 18-12 at half time.

The second half began much the same as the first with the defences dominating.

There were numerous uncharacteristic errors from both teams resulting in turnovers and a lack of try scoring opportunities.

Smith put the first points on the board for the second half by converting a penalty but the Storm attack couldn't be contained for long.

The forwards were still without Sika Manu who hadn't recovered from a hamstring strain, but they still managed to dent the big Cowboy forwards. They switched on in the 55th minute and had the Cowboys on the back foot, but it was again the brilliance of Slater that resulted in a try.

Slater maintained his balance in a tackle to find Steve Turner unmarked on the wing. Turner dived over for a try and Smith made the tough kick from the sideline to lead 26-12 in the 58th minute.

The Storm was in no mood to relax with their 14 point lead and rushed the Cowboy's offensive line.

The Cowboy's looked panicky and out of ideas in the face of tough defence and only occasionally had the Storm mildly concerned in the second half.

The Storm won fairly easily and it was a relief to Storm fans to see the scoreboard ticking over and the big names firing.

The performances of new recruits Wairangi Koopu and Ryan Hinchcliffe as well as relatively untested Joseph Tomane were also heartening.

The Storm is back home next Saturday to take on the Gold Coast Titans.

Storm 26 (Tries: Inglis, Cronk, Quinn, Turner; Goals: Smith 5) def. Cowboys 12 (Tries: Bolton, Williams; Goals: Thurston 2) at Dairy Farmers Stadium.


Preview: Cowboys v Storm - 2009 NRL Round 3 (Inc Audio)
Sat March 28, 2009
Changes to the game brought about by the new dual-refereeing system should be distinctly apparent when these teams clash at Dairy Farmers Stadium on Saturday night.

The strength of the Storm over the past few years has been their dominance of the ruck and their ability to send three and four defenders into every tackle. This style has stymied the Cowboys, who are seen at their best when their little men like Bowen and Thurston wrong-foot the defence in second-phase play.

Now with faster play-the-balls and the diminishing importance of wrestling in the tackle, the Cowboys should again come into their own. They little men were crucial figures against the Tigers last Saturday night, but rather than Bowen and Thurston running the show it was five-eighth Travis Burns and hooker Aaron Payne who worried the life out of their opponents with their sharp footwork close to the line.

Melbourne will again attempt to dominate at the ruck but the Cowboys should enjoy greater freedom to attack. It should make for an absorbing contest.

Look to a Cowboys try as First Scoring Play ($2-15) and a Cowboys/Storm ($6-50) or Storm/Cowboys ($6-50) outcome in the Half/Full Double.

First Tryscoring hopefuls include Matt Bowen ($9), Ty Williams ($15) and Ben Farrar ($13) for the Cowboys or Billy Slater ($9), Anthony Quinn ($13) or Steve Turner ($13) for the Storm.

Saturday March 28, 2009
North Queensland Cowboys vs Melbourne Storm at Dairy Farmers Stadium, Kirwan, Townsville (QLD)

North Queensland Cowboys
1 Matt Bowen, 2 John Williams, 3 Ashley Graham, 4 Ty Williams, 5 Ben Farrar, 6 Travis Burns, 7 Johnathan Thurston [c], 8 Shane Tronc, 9 Aaron Payne, 10 Antonio Kaufusi, 11 Carl Webb, 12 Ben Harris, 13 Luke O'Donnell. Subs: 14 Grant Rovelli, 15 Scott Bolton, 16 Matt Scott, 17 Manase Manuokafoa, 18 Clint Amos, 19 Shannon Hegarty (two to be omitted).

Melbourne Storm
1 Billy Slater, 2 Steve Turner, 3 Will Chambers, 4 Willie Isa, 5 Anthony Quinn, 6 Greg Inglis, 7 Cooper Cronk, 8 Jeff Lima, 9 Cameron Smith [c], 10 Adam Blair, 11 Wairangi Koopu, 12 Ryan Hoffman, 13 Dallas Johnson. Subs: 14 Ryan Hinchcliffe, 15 Kevin Proctor, 16 Aiden Tolman, 17 Scott Anderson, 18 Sika Manu, 19 Joseph Tomane (two to be omitted).

Date: Sat March 28 2009, 8:30PM AEST GMT+10 [Sat March 28 2009, 9:30PM AEDT GMT+11]
[Sat March 28 2009, 10:30AM GMT]
Referee: Shayne Hayne, Gerard Sutton

Predictions:
Matthew O'Neill: Cowboys by 6
Paul Booth: Cowboys by 10

OVERALL:
Total Games: 18
North Queensland Cowboys wins: 5. [Pts: 352]
Melbourne Storm wins: 13. [Pts: 484]
Draws: 0

Biggest wins:
North Queensland Cowboys: 32 pts: 2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 3 - [View] Sat: Cowboys 40 d. Storm 8 [Crowd: 21346]
Melbourne Storm: 46 pts: 2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 14 - [View] Sat: North Queensland Cowboys 12 l. Melbourne Storm 58

Biggest Crowd: 1998 National Rugby League - Round 15 - [View] Sat Jun 20: Cowboys 8 l. Storm 10 [Crowd: 24464]

Last 50 games against each other form line (most recent matches at end of line):
North Queensland Cowboys: LLLLWLLLWLLWWWLLLL
Melbourne Storm: WWWWLWWWLWWLLLWWWW

Last 10 games:
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 15 - [View] Sat: Melbourne Storm 48 d. North Queensland Cowboys 20 [Crowd: 10880]
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 7 - [View] Sat: North Queensland Cowboys 10 l. Melbourne Storm 12 [Crowd: 24053]
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 14 - [View] Sat: North Queensland Cowboys 12 l. Melbourne Storm 58
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 10 - [View] Sat: Storm 18 d. Cowboys 6 [Crowd: 10830]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 3 - [View] Sat: Cowboys 40 d. Storm 8 [Crowd: 21346]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Finals Week Two - [View] Sat: Storm 16 l. Cowboys 24 [Crowd: 16810]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 26 - [View] Sat: Cowboys 30 d. Storm 24 [Crowd: 22471]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 7 - [View] Sat Apr 24: Storm 28 d. Cowboys 6 [Crowd: 6875]
2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 18 - [View] Sat Jul 12: Storm 22 d. Cowboys 16 [Crowd: 7643]
2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 7 - [View] Sat Apr 26: Cowboys 32 d. Storm 12 [Crowd: 12023]

AUDIO LINKS
Cowboys Coach Neil Henry
Cowboys Forward Antonio Kaufusi

NRL Live Scores & Stats: Cowboys v Storm
NYC Live Scores & Stats: Cowboys v Storm
Cowboys v Storm Discussion Thread

Thu March 26, 2009
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Tue March 24, 2009
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