Round 7
Brisbane Broncos 18 l. Melbourne Storm 28

2007 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Slater double delivers Storm victory
Fri April 27, 2007
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

A tremendous second half performance by the Melbourne Storm gave the visitors their seventh win in a row to start the 2007 season, getting over the Brisbane Broncos 28-18 in front of their own fans at Suncorp Stadium.

Storm five-eighth Greg Inglis was passed fit and took his place in the halves, with Matt Geyer shifting to the centres and Anthony Quinn starting on the bench.

Ryan Hoffman got the Storm off to the perfect start in the third minute, a short pass from Inglis putting the second-rower through a gaping hole in Brisbane's defence.

The lead was short lived with confusion between Billy Slater and Steve Turner gifting Greg Eastwood a try. A huge bomb by Darren Lockyer saw both Storm players get in each other;s way, the spilled ball falling nicely for the Brisbane centre to score.

Slater made amends only minutes later with Cooper Cronk putting the flying fullback in behind the Brisbane defence with a perfectly weighted grubber kick.

Another superb Cronk kick led to Storm extending their lead. A crossfield drop punt saw Steve Turner, the smallest player in the Storm line-up, outmark his opponent and put the ball down, stretching the Storm's lead to 16-6.

However, with the Storm giving up possession 10 metres out from their own try-line, Ben Hannant made Melbourne pay dearly. With the ball tucked under his arm, Hannant barged his way through a retreating Melbourne defence to score under the posts, giving the Broncos a much needed confidence boost leading into half-time.

The second half could not have begun any better for Melbourne.

Again it was a Cronk kick in the 45th minute that found Slater on the fly, the fullback's second try of the game giving the Storm a 22-12 lead.

Inglis stamped his authority on the game minutes later, breaking the line 20 metres from his own try-line, before being run down with only 20 metres to go. From the resultant set of six, the ball was switched out to Israel Folau on the opposite wing who kept his incredible try scoring tally on the rise, crossing to give Melbourne a commanding 28-12 lead.

David Stagg scored late to add some respectability to the scoreline for the Broncos, but it was too late to give the home fans any hope of a late revival.

Although Melbourne's second half performance was good, there were moments in the first half when coach Craig Bellamy would have been worried.

"I was really pleased how we played in the second half, but I wasn't quite sure how that last 15 minutes of the first half was going to affect us emotionally or mentally," said Bellamy.

"We spoke about a couple of things at half time that were important for us to do in the second half, and basically everything else rolled on from that."

STORM 28 (Tries: Slater 2, Hoffman, Turner, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 4) def. BRONCOS 18 (Tries: Eastwood, Hannant, Stagg; Goals: Lockyer 3)

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Round 7 Storm Game Notes v Broncos
Thu April 26, 2007
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne Storm defeated the Penrith Panthers 30-20 in Round 6 action at Olympic Park.

The win extended its winning sequence to six for the 2007 season.

After backing up from playing for the Kangaroos in the Test match against New Zealand the night before, Cam Smith amassed 39 tackles, two tries and five goals. He was subsequently voted the players'-player-of-the-week.

The Brisbane Broncos enjoyed an impressive victory over the Newcastle Knights, 20-16, at Energy Australia Stadium.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v Brisbane Broncos
WHAT: Round 7 of the 2007 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
WHEN: Friday, April 27th @ 7:30pm
ON TV: Channel 9 ? QLD: LIVE, NSW: 9:30pm, VIC: 11:45pm
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

INS AND OUTS
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has named a 19-man squad for this Friday night's Round 7 Grand Final replay against the Brisbane Broncos. The game will be played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane from 7:30pm.

Bellamy has made one change to the starting line-up that took the field against the Panthers on Saturday.

Michael Crocker returns to the team having recovered from a shoulder injury and a lacerated shin. He will start in the second row with Antonio Kaufusi returning to the front-row.

Ian Donnelly has been promoted to the first-grade squad and will start on the bench in place of the injured Ben Cross.

Front-rower Scott Anderson and winger Will Chambers are 18th and 19th men respectively.

FAST FACTS
* Melbourne has won five of its past seven clashes against Brisbane
* Brisbane has lost seven of its past nine games at Suncorp Stadium
* Melbourne has not lost a home and away game since Round 11, 2006
* Brisbane has not won consecutive games in 2007

DID YOU KNOW?
* Matt Rua and his wife are expecting their first child in August

KEY MATCH-UP
At the back, Billy Slater has been the Storm's best player this season, and his battle with Bronco custodian Karmichael Hunt may determine more than the outcome of this blockbuster.

Slater has always been fast, but if it's possible, he may have actually found another yard or two in speed. For the first time in three seasons Slater managed to get through a full pre-season unscathed and that has set him in good stead for a stellar 2007.

His impressive ball handling skills have become a feature of his game, and his kick returns are second to none in the competition.

On the other hand, Hunt is a quality fullback. He is the current Queensland and Kangaroo fullback and hasn't put a foot wrong this season. His performance in the Anzac Test against the Kiwis was exceptional and he took that form into the Broncos' great win against the Knights in Newcastle last weekend.

There's no doubt Maroon selectors will be watching this game closely, and if either has a massive game, they may well tie up the number one Queensland jersey come State-of-Origin time.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 19, Storm: 9, Broncos: 9, Draw: 1
At Suncorp Stadium: Played: 5, Storm: 3, Broncos: 2

FOR AND AGAINST 2007
Points for: Storm: 156, Broncos: 126
Points against: Storm: 86, Broncos: 130
Tries for: Storm: 29, Broncos: 23
Points differential: Storm: +70, Broncos: -4

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm: def. Panthers 30-20 @ Olympic Park, Melbourne
Broncos: def. Knights 20-16 @ Energy Australia Stadium, Newcastle

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2006 Broncos def. Storm 15-8 @ Telstra Stadium
2006 Storm def. Broncos 18-12 @ Suncorp Stadium
2006 Storm def. Broncos 10-4 @ Olympic Park
2005 Storm def. Broncos 24-18 @ Suncorp Stadium
2005 Broncos def. Storm 28-15 @ Suncorp Stadium
2005 Storm def. Broncos 50-4 @ Olympic Park
2004 Storm def. Broncos 31-14 @ Suncorp Stadium
2004 Broncos def. Storm 34-26 @ Suncorp Stadium

THE STORM STORY SO FAR
ROUND 1: Storm 18 (Tries: J. Smith, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Wests Tigers 16 (Tries: Moodie, Harrison, Whatuira; Goals: Marshall 2) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 2: Storm 32 (Tries: White 2, Folau 2, Slater, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith 4) def. Raiders 16 (Tries: Carney, Graham, Best; Goals: Dobson 2) @ Canberra Stadium
ROUND 3: Storm 30 (Tries: Slater 2, Folau 2, Hoffman, King; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Warriors 12 (Tries: Vatuvei, Rapira; Goals: Martin 2) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 4: Storm 22 (Tries: Folau 2, King, Quinn; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Knights 12 (Tries: Simpson, Abraham; Goals: Gidley 2) @ Energy Australia Stadium
ROUND 5: Storm 24 (Tries: Turner 2, Quinn, Folau, King; Goals: C. Smith, Turner) def. Dragons 10 (Tries: Morris, Naiqama; Goal: Naiqama) at Oki Jubilee Stadium
ROUND 6: Storm 30 (Tries: Cronk 2, C. Smith 2, Hoffman; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Panthers 20 (Tries: Lewis, Pritchard, Jennings; Goals: Gordon 4) at Olympic Park

2007 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Folau 8, Slater 3, King 3, Hoffman 3, White 2, Turner 2, Quinn 2, Cronk 2, C. Smith 2, J. Smith, Geyer

2007 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 19, Turner

2007 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
N/A

2007 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 46, Folau 32, Slater 12, King 12, Hoffman 12, White 8, Turner 8, Quinn 8, Cronk 8, J. Smith 4, Geyer 4

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Danny Vaughan: Season (ACL)
Garret Crossman: 4 weeks (Knee)
Jeremy Smith: 2 weeks (Fibula)
Ben Cross: 2 weeks (Hamstring)

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 8: Saturday, May 5th v Wests Tigers @ Blue Tongue Stadium, 7:30pm
Round 9: Monday, May 14th v Bulldogs @ Venue TBC, 7:00pm
Round 10: Saturday, May 19th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7:30pm
Round 11: Saturday, May 26th v Sea Eagles @ Brookvale Oval, 5:30pm
Round 12: Saturday, June 2nd v Rabbitohs @ Olympic Park, 7:30pm
Round 13: Sunday, June 10th v Warriors @ Mt Smart Stadium, 2:00pm (AEST)
Round 14: Saturday, June 16th v Cowboys @ Dairy Farmers Stadium, 7:30pm
Round 15: Sunday, June 24th v Dragons @ Olympic Park, 3:00pm
Round 16: BYE
Round 17: Saturday, July 7th v Rabbitohs @ Bluetongue Stadium, 5:30pm

2007 TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1. Sea Eagles 12
2. Storm 12
3. Rabbitohs 8
4. Cowboys 8
5. Warriors 8
6. Sharks 6
7. Bulldogs 6
8. Eels 6
9. Titans 6
10. Knights 6
11. Broncos 4
12. Panthers 4
13. Tigers 4
14. Raiders 4
15. Dragons 4 (already played Round 7 game)
16. Roosters 4 (already played Round 7 game)

SQUAD FOR FRIDAY'S GAME
Starting team:
1. Billy Slater
2. Steve Turner
3. Matt King
4. Anthony Quinn
5. Israel Folau
6. Matt Geyer
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Antonio Kaufusi
9. Cameron Smith
10. Brett White
11. Michael Crocker
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange:
14. Sam Tagataese
15. Jeff Lima
16. Ian Donnelly
17. James Aubusson
18. Scott Anderson
19. Will Chambers
(two to be omitted)

Coach: Craig Bellamy

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Tue April 24, 2007
• Storm names 19-man squad for Broncos clash
  

Advanced Search