Round 13
New Zealand Warriors 2 l. Melbourne Storm 4

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

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

One try enough for committed Storm
Sun June 10, 2007
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

A determined Melbourne Storm outlasted the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland today, overcoming difficult conditions to grind out a 4-2 victory. It was a game in stark contrast to yesterday's NRL action, with Jeremy Smith's 70th minute effort the only try scored.

The Storm's lead-up to the match was anything but ordinary. Nine players that would usually be in the Storm's 17 were absent though injury or on State-of-Origin duty. The reshuffled line-up featured 1999 Premiership-winning hard-hitter Matt Rua back in first grade and, after a mid-season transfer, Clint Newton took the field in the No.11 jersey. Newton, who raised his arms in triumph after the match, never left the field and played for the full 80 minutes for the first time since 2006.

Rain peppered the ground throughout the first half, the greasy conditions leading to plenty of dropped ball and no real sign of the attacking flair that the Storm and Warriors are capable of.

The Warriors got on the board early with a penalty goal in the ninth minute by former Storm star Tony Martin, and in the final ten minutes of the half, they seriously tested the Storm's resolve to win the game.

But Melbourne's players came up with full marks.

With two line drop-outs and a penalty, the Warriors had close to 20 tackles worth of play in the Storm's ten-metre zone, but failed to cross the line. James Aubusson and the returning Adam Blair, along with Newton, all put their hands up in defense to cover for the loss of the Storm's regular trio of tackling-machines in Cameron Smith, Dallas Johnson and Ryan Hoffman. Blair in particular ripped into the Warriors like a man starved of top-flight NRL action.

Throughout the half, Cooper Cronk and Aubusson had strong kicking games, but the Storm was still unable to mount any sustained pressure on New Zealand's line.

Melbourne left the field after the first 40 minutes with no points, but still very much in the game. With only 42% of the possession, being down by just two points was a credit to their commitment in defense and willingness to play for each other when the chips were down.

Rua provided some spark for the Storm when he arrived on the ground in the second half, unleashing two of his trademarks hits. The first rattled Manu Vatuvei's bones, the second knocked the ball loose from Lance Hohaia. The Storm, though, couldn't capitalise on the field possession the big man had provided.

With 60 minutes gone and no change in the half time score, the final quarter of the game was set to be a cliffhanger. New Zealand had the first chance to establish a meaningful lead after a Storm error, Hohaia failing to ground a Nathan Fein grubber kick after a desperate dive from Israel Folau provided a timely spoil.

Folau was in the action five minutes later when he contested an Aubusson bomb with Vatuvei. The Warriors' giant knocked-on and the Storm had six tackles up their sleeve and only ten metres between themselves and four points. Sam Tagataese got close, but was unable to offload cleanly and New Zealand regained possession.

Melbourne got a second chance minutes later when Warriors fullback Wade Mackinnon fumbled a Cronk grubber. Off the back of a Sika Manu run that three New Zealand players had trouble containing, Aubusson targeted Jeremy Smith who dived through three desperate defenders and scored.

It was nothing flashy, but it somehow fitted the game perfectly. To add to the drama, Steve Turner, who was superb at fullback all afternoon for the Storm, missed the conversion meaning that Melbourne was only up by two points.

The Storm then defended grimly for ten minutes and did enough to hold their opposition off. In a thrilling finish, the Warriors spread the ball across the park and then launched a high bomb. Three Storm players faced-off in a marking contest against three New Zealand players only metres away from Melbourne's line, but Captain Cronk was there to pick up the crumbs and ensure victory.

Melbourne will remain on the road this week, traveling straight to Townsville from Auckland to prepare for next Saturday's match against the Cowboys. Today, the team showed that even without its stars, it still had enough true grit and team spirit to reclaim the lead in the NRL Premiership and ensure that the Michael Moore trophy remained in Melbourne.

STORM 4 (Try: J. Smith) def. WARRIORS 2 (Goal: Martin)

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Special day for Swann as Warriors bring up 300
Sat June 9, 2007
Source: www.warriors.co.nz

Second rower Logan Swann will achieve a unique feat when the Vodafone Warriors take on the Melbourne Storm at Mt Smart Stadium tomorrow (Sunday).

It will be the club's 300th match since entering the competition in 1995 - and the 32-year-old Swann will have the distinction of appearing in the 100th, 200th and 300th milestone matches.

He was a starting second rower - and scored two tries - when the Vodafone Warriors marked their 100th game by beating Balmain 22-4 at Ericsson Stadium on June 26, 1999.

He was there again when the club's 200th match ended in a 12-34 loss to the Panthers at Penrith Stadium on May 31, 2003. Only two other players also appeared in those two landmark matches - halfback Stacey Jones and prop Jerry Seuseu.

But, four years later, Swann will be the only survivor when the Vodafone Warriors tick off their 300th game tomorrow. It'll be Swann's 158th career match for the club.

The encounter is the Vodafone Warriors' 12th of the season, marking the halfway mark of their 2007 campaign.

They're are set to complete their first 300 matches having used 135 different players. Of that number, 46 have represented New Zealand while playing for the club, two have played for Australia and three have been selected for the Queensland State of Origin side.

Of the 299 games so far, the Vodafone Warriors have had 137 wins, four draws and 158 losses (a winning rate of 45.81%). They've scored a total of 6413 points while conceding 6714, an average scoreline of 21.4-22.4.

The points scored have been made up of 1125 tries, 947 goals and 19 field goals.

In that time Stacey Jones has played the most games (238), scored the most tries (75), kicked the most field goals (12) and totalled the most points (654). Ivan Cleary has the record for most points in a season (242) and shares the record for most points in a game (28) with Gene Ngamu.

A breakdown of the club's first 100 matches shows 44 wins and 56 losses.

In the second hundred, the Vodafone Warriors won 50, drew four and lost 46.

And of the last 99 games, 43 have been won and 56 lost.

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS v MELBOURNE STORM
Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
4.00pm, Sunday, June 10
Referee: Ben Cummins

Vodafone Warriors

1 Wade Mckinnon
2 Patrick Ah Van
3 Tony Martin
4 Lance Hohaia
5 Manu Vatuvei
6 Michael Witt
7 Grant Rovelli
8 Ruben Wiki (c)
9 Nathan Fien
10 Sam Rapira
11 Simon Mannering
12 Logan Swann
13 Micheal Luck

Interchange:
14 George Gatis
15 Evarn Tuimavave
16 Epalahame Lauaki
17 Wairangi Koopu

Coach: Ivan Cleary

News sent by: www.warriors.co.nz

Sat June 9, 2007
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