Round 22
Melbourne Storm 14 d. Brisbane Broncos 6

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

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

Storm takes care of Brisbane business
Sun August 12, 2007
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

The Melbourne Storm continued its post-2006 Grand Final dominance of the Brisbane Broncos, with a tough 14-6 win at Olympic Park today. A crowd of 13,508 witnessed an old-fashioned encounter highlighted by the gritty defence of both sides.

The difference in the end was the Storm's ability to turn field position into points. Packing close to its strongest possible line-up, and against a Brisbane side crippled with injuries, the Storm had the firepower out wide to buck the Broncos when it counted.

Coach Craig Bellamy praised his team in grinding out another win.

"That was another level to the grind to be honest. I thought that our defence was really good," said Bellamy.

"I said to the players this week that they're a big team and they're going to keep coming. But I was happy with how we defended and we were pretty consistent the whole game and pretty effective with our contact.

"Teams are coming after us and ripping into us and hunting us and we're obviously aware of that. They're the sort of games that are what semi-finals are like.

"I wasn't ecstatic with our performance today, but I thought our defence was great and that's what we need to have on song in three weeks time and we took a couple of real steps forward today."

Melbourne were close to scoring early in the encounter after a mess of players tried to pick up a Ryan Hoffman offload at the Broncos' ten metre line. Matt Geyer got to it first and in the confusion managed to cross the line. However, the video referee ruled that the winger had knocked the ball on in attempting to gain possession and Brisbane was off the hook.

Neither side was able to gain any meaningful dominance, with close calls coming for the Storm when the Broncos missed a penalty attempt and also failed to make the most of a loose ball near the Storm's line.

Greg Inglis brought the game alive with a try of individual brilliance that only a handful of players would even dream of attempting. After receiving the ball from a scrum on the western touchline, he ran across field, dummying, fending and taunting Brisbane's defensive line. He eventually accelerated around the last of them in Craig Frawley and grounded the ball.

Minutes later, after Cooper Cronk's deft kick was forced into touch by Frawley the Storm had the ball again. This time it was spread east to west by hand. It eventually reached Israel Folau, who had no real trouble in surging for the line and planting the ball.

It was two tries in five minutes for the Storm, but the difficult conversion attempts were not hit by Cameron Smith.

The second half opened with the Storm on top and it didn't take long for the lead to extend.

Folau again received the ball and as two defenders homed in on him, he flicked the ball to Geyer who dived over the line. Although he had three Broncos players attempting to push him into the corner post, Referee Sean Hamstead awarded the try. Replays suggested that perhaps 'Boofa' might not have grounded the ball cleanly, but Melbourne gladly accepted the points.

Brisbane hit back quickly when Nick Emmett skated down the eastern touchline to score a good try and reduce the Storm's lead to eight. The Broncos then lifted a gear, striving for a further advantage.

The Storm's defence matched Brisbane's and penalties flowed as both teams pushed their tackling to the limit.

"They were really going after us," said Storm captain Cameron Smith.

"We didn't really help our cause when we were slipping into what they wanted to do. We put down a couple of balls and went away from how we wanted to play and that's something we'll have to work on.

"They had a very big team today and they tried to put us off our game with their physicality. But we held strong and kept them out."

No more points came and Melbourne secured a further two points on the NRL ladder, maintaining a two-point buffer over Manly.

Round 23 NRL action will again come from Olympic Park as Parramatta make the trip down south for a dose of Friday night football. Kick-off is at 7:30pm and the Storm will be looking to continue their unbeaten 2007 home-ground record.

Storm 14 (Tries: Inglis, Folau, Geyer; Goals: Smith) def. Broncos 6 (Tries: Emmett; Goals: Parker).

Report sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Storm Round 22 v Broncos Game Notes
Fri August 10, 2007
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne got back to the winners circle, albeit just, with a 17-16 win against the Cronulla Sharks at Toyota Park on Monday night.

The win gave Melbourne a two point buffer at the top of the NRL table.

Matt Geyer was sensational filling in at hooker in the absence of Cam Smith, and was voted Storm's players'-player-of-the-week.

Brisbane were beaten 21-8 against the Manly Sea Eagles at Suncorp Stadium to leave them in sixth position on the ladder.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v Brisbane Broncos
WHAT: Round 22 of the 2007 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Olympic Park, Melbourne
WHEN: Sunday, August 12th
ON TV: Fox Sports 3 ? 6:00pm, Channel 9 ? 11:30pm (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

INS AND OUTS
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has named an 18-man squad for this Sunday's clash against the Brisbane Broncos.

Storm captain Cam Smith returns from his week's rest to the hooker's role, with his understudy James Aubusson named as 18th man.

Steve Turner will also return from his week off on the wing, with Anthony Quinn moving to the bench.

FAST FACTS
* Melbourne has won six of their past eight games against the Broncos
* Brisbane has won their past three games away from home
* Brisbane has not won at Olympic Park since a golden-point win in Round 19, 2003

DID YOU KNOW?
* Cam Smith recently bleached his hair blonde. After being late for a team meeting, he was forced to roll the dice, a way the players have of punishing players who break team rules. The number Cam rolled corresponded with the "BLEACH HAIR" punishment. He will return his hair to it's natural colour tomorrow (Friday).

KEY MATCH-UP
Israel Folau's first season in the NRL has exceeded everyone's wildest dreams. He sits second on the top try-scorers list with 16, two behind North Queensland's Matt Bowen. His brute strength has got him over the try-line plenty of times, often dragging older and bigger defenders with him. His aerial ability is second to none in the competition, and he wouldn't look out of place in a green and gold high jumper's outfit at next year's Beijing Olympics.

His battle in the centres with Justin Hodges will be particularly interesting.

Hodges is a class act and when given space to move, he is a difficult man to stop. For a big man he has a wonderful step, and he has enough strength to get himself across the try-line from close range, regardless of who's in front of him. Given the Broncos' lack of experience in the backrow due to their lengthy injury list, he will need to step up to the plate on Sunday. It may just be the type of challenge he rises for.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 20, Storm: 10, Broncos: 9, Drawn: 1
At Olympic Park: Played: 6, Storm: 4, Broncos: 2

FOR AND AGAINST 2007
Points for: Storm: 511, Broncos: 429
Points against: Storm: 249, Broncos: 350
Tries for: Storm: 93, Broncos: 75
Points differential: Storm: +262, Broncos: +79

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm: def. Sharks 17-16 @ Toyota Park, Sydney
Broncos: def. by Sea Eagles 21-8 @ Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2007 Storm def. Broncos 28-18 @ Suncorp Stadium
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

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
ROUND 18: Storm 44 (Tries: Slater 2, Quinn 2, Turner 2, Hoffman, King, Newton; Goals: C. Smith 3, Turner) def. Knights 0 @ Olympic Park
ROUND 19: Storm 34 (Tries: Inglis 2, Geyer, Folau, King, S. Turner; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Raiders 6 (Try: G. Turner; Goals: Dobson) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 20: Storm 16 (Tries: Folau, Cronk, Aubusson; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Roosters 26 (Tries: Williams 2, Tupou, Harrison; Goals: FitzGibbon 4, Roberts) @ Aussie Stadium
ROUND 21: Storm 17 (Tries: King, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: Folau 2, Field Goal: Cronk) def. Sharks (Tries: Perenara, Pomeroy; Goals: Covell 4) @ Toyota Park

2007 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Folau 16, King 15, Turner 9, Hoffman 9, Slater 8, Cronk 6, Geyer 5, Inglis 5, Newton 4 (Newcastle 1), Quinn 4, J. Smith 3, White 2, C. Smith 2, Johnson, Chambers, Lima, Tagataese, Aubusson

2007 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 62, Turner 5, Folau 2

2007 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk

2007 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 132, Folau 68, King 60, Turner 46, Hoffman 36, Slater 32, Cronk 25, Geyer 20, Inglis 20, Newton 16 (Newcastle 4), Quinn 16, J. Smith 12, White 8, Johnson 4, Chambers 4, Lima 4, Tagataese 4, Aubusson 4

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Antonio Kaufusi: Season (Patella Tendon)
Danny Vaughan: Season (ACL)
Pale Ale: Season (Back)

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 23: Friday, August 17th v Eels @ Olympic Park, 7:30pm
Round 24: Friday, August 24th v Bulldogs @ Telstra Stadium, 7:30pm
Round 25: Sunday, September 2nd v Titans @ Olympic Park, 7:00pm

2007 TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1. Storm 36
2. Sea Eagles 34
3. Eels 26
4. Cowboys 24
5. Warriors 23
6. Broncos 22
7. Bulldogs 22
8. Wests Tigers 22
9. Rabbitohs 20
10. Titans 20
11. Roosters 19
12. Dragons 18
13. Raiders 18
14. Knights 18
15. Sharks 16
16. Panthers 14

SQUAD FOR SUNDAY'S GAME
Starting team:
1. Billy Slater
2. Matt Geyer
3. Matt King
4. Israel Folau
5. Steve Turner
6. Greg Inglis
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Ben Cross
9. Cam Smith (c)
10. Brett White
11. Clint Newton
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange:
14. Jeremy Smith
15. Adam Blair
16. Garret Crossman
17. Anthony Quinn
18. James Aubusson
(one to be omitted)

Coach: Craig Bellamy

News sent by: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Tue August 7, 2007
• Smith back as Bellamy names 18-man squad for Broncos clash
  

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