Round 18
Melbourne Storm 44 d. Newcastle Knights 0

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

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

Storm keep Knights scoreless in dominant display
Tue July 17, 2007
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne Storm extended its lead at the top of the NRL table to four points at Olympic Park tonight with a commanding 44-0 win over the Newcastle Knights in front of 10,223 fans.

Melbourne enjoyed a nine day break between games and Storm coach Craig Bellamy acknowledged after the game it had helped his team recover from a difficult Origin period.

"It came at a good time for us," said Bellamy.

"These guys that played Origin didn't come back until Thursday, and the other guys had a couple of days off early in the week so it was a good opportunity for us to freshen up a bit.

"The longer break helped, we used that to our advantage and I think we saw the results of that tonight."

The teams had averaged 55 points between them at Olympic Park in past encounters, and they almost got there again, although the make-up of the scores wouldn't have been predicted by even the most one-eyed Storm fan.

Extending their imposing Olympic Park record to 25 wins from their past 26 home games, the Storm were in control from the moment Matt Geyer gave Steve Turner an armchair ride to the try-line in the fifth minute.

Former Newcastle winger Anthony Quinn made it 10-0 in the 14th minute before Hoffman added another four-pointer. And, it was that man again Geyer, filling in at five-eighth for Greg Inglis, playing provider for both.

Billy Slater added to the early rout three minutes later after becoming the extra man in attack, this time Cam Smith rolling out the red carpet to send the Storm in 20-0 leaders at half-time.

The second-half started in much the same fashion as the first-half had transpired, with Melbourne in complete control.

Matt King added to the half-time lead when Cam Smith sent a grubber kick behind the Knights defence, before Israel Folau showed a glimpse of his potential.

Picking up the ball 80-metres from home, Folau shrugged off a couple of Knights defenders, then breaking the line before sending Slater on his way with 60 metres of clear grass in front of him.

The job got a lot harder for the Knights when Steve Simpson, 30 seconds after captain Danny Buderus had been warned of his team's conduct, was sent off for holding in the tackle.

The very next play, quick hands involving Geyer, Slater and Folau gave Quinn his second for the night.

If Quinn scoring a double against his old team wasn't bad enough for Newcastle, Clint Newton rubbed salt into the wounds with eight minutes remaining, crossing for the easiest try of his NRL career.

Another Folau line-break gave Storm great field position, and Turner was the lucky recipient, scoring his second of the game.

After the game, Storm coach Craig Bellamy, although happy with the result, knows there are areas of his team's game to improve on.

"I thought we had a few flat periods, I wasn't particularly happy with our start again," said Bellamy.

"They were probably a bit unlucky they didn't score a couple of tries, they had a couple disallowed down our right hand side."

Melbourne's next assignment is against the Canberra Raiders at Olympic Park this Saturday night from 7:30pm.

STORM 44 (Tries: Slater 2, Quinn 2, Turner 2, Hoffman, King, Newton; Goals: C. Smith 3, Turner) def. KNIGHTS 0

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Round 18 Storm v Knights Game Notes
Fri July 13, 2007
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Round 18 Storm v Knights Game Notes.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v Newcastle Knights
WHAT: Round 18 of the 2007 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Olympic Park, Melbourne
WHEN: Monday, July 16th
ON TV: Fox Sports 3 - 7:00pm

ON RADIO: Triple M - 6:30pm LIVE into Melbourne
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

IN BRIEF
Melbourne grafted a hard fought 12-8 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs to maintain their four point lead at the head of the Telstra NRL Premiership ladder.

Jeremy Smith, who has forced his way into the starting line-up for the Knights game after several impressive performances in recent weeks, was named the Storm's players'-player-of-the-week against the Rabbitohs.

On the other hand, the Knights had an impressive 34-10 win over the Eels at Parramatta Stadium to move up to ninth on the NRL ladder.

INS AND OUTS
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has named a 19-man squad for this Monday's clash against the Newcastle Knights.

Israel Folau returns to the starting line-up after his heroics gave Melbourne the two points against South Sydney. He will take his place on a wing.

Matt Geyer will continue to deputise for Greg Inglis at five-eighth. Inglis is still feeling the effects of the knee injury he sustained in State-of-Origin III.

Cooper Cronk has been handed back his No. 7 jersey after recovering from the ankle injury he picked up against the Cowboys in Round 14. James Aubusson, who had been filling in for Cronk, will take his place on the bench.

Jeremy Smith has been rewarded for his outstanding performances in recent weeks with a starting place in the backrow, with Clint Newton coming off the bench.

Dallas Johnson, after missing the Rabbitohs game with concussion from the third State-of-Origin game, will start at lock, while Ben Cross has also returned to the starting line-up and will partner Brett White in the front-row.

Sam Tagataese and Garret Crossman have been named as 18th and 19th men respectively.

FAST FACTS
* Melbourne has beaten the Knights in five of their past six encounters
* Melbourne has won 24 of their past 25 games at Olympic Park
* When these teams meet at Olympic Park they average 55 points per game
* Melbourne has an amazing second-half record conceding 4.7 per game on average, and scoring 13.4
* Melbourne has only conceded 13 second-half points in their last seven games

DID YOU KNOW?
* Triple M will once again broadcast the game LIVE into Melbourne on Monday night, with Michael Crocker providing special comments during the pre-game build-up. The telecast begins at 6:30pm.

KEY MATCH-UP
The battle everyone will want to see is Cam Smith versus Danny Buderus. These two superstars of the game have built a strong rivalry in recent years in club and state encounters. When Buderus decided not to play for Australia to be at the birth of his child last year, he relinquished his jersey to Smith who has since refused to give it back. Both players were unbelievable for their respective states in the recent State-of-Origin series, with Smith taking out the player-of-the-series award to add to his growing list of personal accolades.

Buderus is a leader in the truest sense of the word. He leads by example and when the hard work needs to be done, he will be at the forefront. He's an 80-minute player who will drive his teammates on to the end, and he will leave no stone unturned in his pursuit of a finals berth.

Where Buderus is vocal and animated in his leadership, Smith is calm and unerringly consistent. He leads by actions. He rarely gets unnerved and always appears in control of both himself and the game going on around him. His precision kicking game, both during the game and when converting tries, has been the difference between the Storm and their
opponents on many occasions in recent seasons. Like Buderus, he will be out on the field for 80-minutes, and if given time and space to pick and choose his passes, the Knights will in for a torrid evening.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 18, Storm: 8, Knights: 10
At Olympic Park: Played: 7, Storm: 5, Knights: 2

FOR AND AGAINST 2007
Points for: Storm: 400, Knights: 315
Points against: Storm: 201, Knights: 418
Tries for: Storm: 72, Knights: 57
Points differential: Storm: +199, Knights: -103

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm: def. Rabbitohs 12-8 @ Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
Knights: def. Eels 34-10 @ Parramatta Stadium, Sydney

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
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
2004 Knights def. Storm 36-26 @ Olympic Park
2003 Storm def. Knights 46-6 @ Olympic Park

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) @ 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) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 7: Storm 28 (Tries: Slater 2, Turner, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 4) def. Broncos 18 (Tries: Hannant, Stagg, Eastwood; Goals: Lockyer: 3) @ Suncorp Stadium
ROUND 8: Storm 12 (Tries: King, Johnson; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Tigers (Tries: Lawrence 2, Galea, Farah; Goals: Collis 7) @ Bluetongue Stadium
ROUND 9: Storm 38 (Tries: Cronk 2, King 2, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 7) def. Bulldogs 14 (Tries: El Masri, Maitua, Millard; Goals: 1) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 10: Storm 26 (Tries: Hoffman, Folau, Slater, Lima, Chambers; Goals: Turner 3) def. Roosters 2 (Goal: Fitzgibbon) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 11: Storm 12 (Tries: Folau, King; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Sea Eagles 13 (Tries: Watmough, Hicks; Goals: Lyon 2; Field Goal: Orford) @ Brookvale Oval
ROUND 12: Storm 26 (Tries: Turner, King, Geyer, Inglis; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Rabbitohs 10 (Tries: Widders, Hegarty; Goal; Merritt) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 13: Storm 4 (Try: J. Smith) def Warriors 2 (Goal: Martin) @ Mt Smart Stadium
ROUND 14: Storm 58 (Tries: King 2, Inglis 2, Geyer, J. Smith, Newton, Cronk, Tagataese, Turner; Goals: C. Smith 9) @ Dairy Farmers' Stadium
ROUND 15: Storm 24 (Tries: King, Newton, Turner, Hoffman, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. Dragons 6 (Try: Scott; Goal: Soward) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 16: BYE
ROUND 17: Storm 12 (Tries: King, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. Rabbitohs 8 (Tries: Gordon, Merrit) @ Bluetongue Stadium

2007 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Folau 13, King 12, Slater 6, Hoffman 7, Turner 6, Cronk 5, Geyer 4, Inglis 3, J. Smith 3, Newton 3 (Newcastle 1), White 2, Quinn 2, C. Smith 2, Johnson, Chambers, Lima, Tagataese

2007 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 52, Turner 4

2007 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
N/A

2007 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 112, Folau 52, King 48, Turner 32, Hoffman 28, Slater 24, Cronk 20, Geyer 16, J. Smith 12, Inglis 12, Newton 12 (Newcastle 4), White 8, Quinn 8, Johnson 4, Chambers 4, Lima 4, Tagataese 4.

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Antonio Kaufusi: Season (Patella Tendon)
Danny Vaughan: Season (ACL)
Michael Crocker: 8 weeks (Shoulder)
Greg Inglis: 2 weeks (Knee)

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 19: Saturday, July 21st v Raiders @ Olympic Park, 7:30pm
Round 20: Friday, July 27th v Roosters @ Aussie Stadium, 7:30pm
Round 21: Monday, August 6th v Sharks @ Toyota Park, 7:00pm
Round 22: Sunday, August 12th v Broncos @ Olympic Park, 3:00pm
Round 23: Friday, August 17th v Eels @ Olympic Park, 7:30pm

2007 TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1. Storm 30
2. Sea Eagles 26
3. Cowboys 22
4. Eels 20
5. Wests Tigers 20
6. Broncos 18
7. Bulldogs 18
8. Titans 18
9. Knights 18
10. Sharks 16
11. Warriors 16
12. Rabbitohs 16
13. Raiders 14
14. Dragons 14
15. Roosters 12
16. Panthers 10

Squad for Monday'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. Ben Cross
9. Cam Smith
10. Brett White
11. Jeremy Smith
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson
Interchange:
14. Jeff Lima, 15. Adam Blair, 16. Clint Newton, 17. James Aubusson, 18.
Sam Tagataese, 19. Garret Crossman

Coach: Craig Bellamy.

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Thu July 12, 2007
• Triple M to broadcast Storm versus Knights LIVE into Melbourne
  
Tue July 10, 2007
• Cronk and Johnson return for Storm, Inglis still out
  

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