Round 11
South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 l. Melbourne Storm 15

2008 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

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

Melbourne find a way to win
Sat May 24, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

A Cooper Cronk field goal with five minutes remaining in the game sealed victory for the Melbourne Storm tonight in a lacklustre affair against the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford.

The 15-10 win gave the Storm their sixth consecutive victory over the Rabbitohs, giving Matt Geyer something to celebrate in his 250th NRL game.

The lack of energy and enthusiasm from the Storm, particularly in the first-half, might not have been too surprising considering eight players were backing up from Wednesday's first State-of-Origin game, with Storm coach Craig Bellamy happy to concentrate on the positives.

"Some people just don't understand how hard it is to back up physically and mentally, and I thought their ability to defend tonight was great again," said Bellamy.

"You just can't play to your best all the time, especially after having so many guys back up again from an Origin game.

"Some of them were down a little physically, some were down a little mentally, but a real strength with this team is when they come back from rep games they aim up.

"They mightn't be at their peak, but they never let us down."

The first-half ended with the score 4-0 in Melbourne's favour, with only a Will Chambers try troubling the scorers, but it was the Rabbitohs who had the majority of field position and possession.

Melbourne's early point scoring form has become a trend in recent weeks, having scored just 16 first-half points in total in their past five matches.

"After Will scored our try I don't think we got back in their 20 (metres) again in the first-half so as soon as that happens you're going to be under a lot of pressure, but I thought or try-line defence was really good", said Bellamy.

"As for our first-half scoring record, I don't really care what the scoreboard says at half-time."

While the second-half didn't reach too many greater heights, a converted penalty by Cam Smith and a Jeremy Smith try extended Melbourne's lead out to 12-points, a late Nigel Vagana try gave South Sydney a glimmer of hope.

However, with the Storm leading by six, Cronk settled the matter with his late field goal, and while Cam Smith converted another penalty afterwards, and Vagana scored his second try of the night with less than a minute to go, the result never looked in doubt.

"At the end of the day we found a way to win," said Bellamy.

"What we did might not have been pretty at times, but it was effective, and that's what this team's becoming good at."

STORM 15 (Tries: Chambers, J. Smith; Goals: C. Smith 2, Field Goals: Cronk) def. RABBITOHS 12 (Tries: Vagana 2; Goals: Luke) at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford.

Report Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au


Storm Round 11 v Rabbitohs Game Notes
Fri May 23, 2008
Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Melbourne, with nine players missing on origin duty, suffered a 36-12 loss to the St George-Illawarra Dragons last week at ANZ Stadium. The loss sent the Storm from top spot down to 4th on the NRL ladder.

South Sydney were soundly beaten 38-10 by the Canberra Raiders on Monday night, leaving them rooted to the foot of the NRL ladder.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v South Sydney Rabbitohs
WHAT: Round 11 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
WHEN: Saturday, May 24th @ 7:30pm
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE ? 7.30pm
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

FAST FACTS
* Melbourne has beaten South Sydney in their past five clashes
* South Sydney has one draw and four losses in their last five games at Bluetongue Stadium
* Melbourne has only scored a total of 12 first-half points in their past four games

DID YOU KNOW?
Matt Geyer will play his 250th NRL game this weekend. It will be his 244th Storm game, having played six games for the now defunct Perth Reds.

Jeremy Smith will play his 50th NRL game.

KEY MATCH UP
Given the history, and the situation the Rabbitohs find themselves in, the battle in the forwards could be very willing. Former Storm player David Kidwell will want to put in a massive performance against his former team, while Michael Crocker will be looking to extend his amazing winning streak in a Storm jersey.

Kidwell is one of the tougher characters in the NRL and when he is on song, usually his teammates follow. He is the kind of player who can single-handedly lift those around him to greater heights with acts of courage and hardness. He missed out on selection in the Kiwi Centenary Test team, and with Stephen Kearney looking on from the opposition coaching box, he'll be looking to impress the national team coach.

Crocker is cut from the same cloth as Kidwell. He is hard, tough and doesn't take a backward step. There's a reason he's never been on a losing Melbourne Storm team ? when he plays his teammates grow in stature. His enthusiasm for the game and the energy he brings is infectious, and he is as vital a cog in the well-oiled Storm machine as anyone else in the squad.

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 12, Storm: 10, Rabbitohs: 2
At Bluetongue Stadium: Played: 1, Storm: 1, Rabbitohs: 0

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 173, Rabbitohs: 132
Points against: Storm: 123, Rabbitohs: 241
Tries for: Storm: 30, Rabbitohs: 24
Points differential: Storm: +50, Rabbitohs: +109

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. by Dragons 36-12 @ ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Rabbitohs def. by Raiders 38-10 @ Canberra Stadium

LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2007 Storm def. Rabbitohs 12-8 @ Bluetongue Stadium
2007 Storm def. Rabbitohs 26-10 @ Olympic Park
2006 Storm def. Rabbitohs38-14 @ ANZ Stadium
2005 Storm def. Rabbitohs 48-6 @ Olympic Park
2005 Storm def. Rabbitohs 38-12 @ Sydney Football Stadium
2004 Rabbitohs def. Storm 28-26 @ Sydney Football Stadium
2004 Storm def. Rabbitohs 50-4 @ Olympic Park
2003 Storm def. Rabbitohs 24-6 @ Olympic Park

THE STORM STORY SO FAR
WORLD CLUB CHALLENGE: STORM 4 (Try: Hoffman) def. by RHINOS 11 (Try: Donald; Goals: Sinfield 3; Field Goal: Sinfield) at Elland Road, Leeds
ROUND 1: STORM 32 (Tries: Slater 3, Johnson, Tagataese; Goals: C. Smith 5, Turner) def. WARRIORS 18 (Tries: Vatuvei 2, Ropati; Goals: Witt 3) at Telstra Dome, Melbourne
ROUND 2: STORM 16 (Tries: Aitken, White, Falou; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by SHARKS 17 (Tries: Kearney, Gallen, Simmons; Goals: Covell 2; Field Goals: Kimmorley) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 3: Storm (Try: Slater; Goal: C. Smith) def. by ROOSTERS (Try: Kenny-Dowell; Goals: FitzGibbon 3) at Sydney Football Stadium
ROUND 4: STORM 28 (Tries: Quinn 3, Folau, Hoffman; Goals: Smith 4) def. BRONCOS 8 (Tries: Robinson, Stagg) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 5: STORM 26 (Tries: Slater 2, Inglis, Quinn, Hoffman; Goals: Smith 3) def. SEA EAGLES 4 (Try: Barney) at Olympic Park
ROUND 6: STORM 23 (Tries: Chambers, Turner, Slater, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 3; Field Goal: Cronk) def. RAIDERS 16 (Tries: Best, Plum, Purtell; Goals: Carney 2) at Canberra Stadium
ROUND 7: STORM 12 (Tries: Inglis, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. COWBOYS 10 (Tries: Williams 2; Goals: Thurston) at Dairy Farmer's Stadium
ROUND 8: BYE
ROUND 9: STORM 18 (Tries: Folau 2, Quinn; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. KNIGHTS 4 (Try: Mullen) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 10: STORM 12 (Tries: Chambers, Manu; Goals: Smith, Turner) def. by DRAGONS 36 (Tries: Nightingale 2, B. Morris, J Morris, Lett, Soward; Goals: Soward 6) at ANZ Stadium

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 7, Folau 6, Quinn 5, Hoffman 2, Inglis 2, Chambers 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White , Turner, Manu

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 23, Turner 2, J. Smith

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 46, Slater 28, Folau 24, Quinn 20, Hoffman 8, Inglis 8, Chambers 8, Turner 8, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Manu 4, J. Smith 2

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Aidan Guerra (ankle): 1 week
Adam Blair (eye): Indefinite
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 12: Saturday, May 31st v Bulldogs @ Olympic Park, 5:30pm
Round 13: Monday, June 9th v Titans @ Skilled Park, 7:00pm
Round 14: BYE
Round 15: Saturday, June 21st v Cowboys @ Olympic Park, 7:30pm
Round 16: Sunday, June 29th v Eels @ Parramatta Stadium, 3:00pm
Round 17: Sunday, July 6th v Raiders @ Olympic Park, 2:00pm
Round 18: Monday, July 14th v Wests Tigers @ Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Round 19: Saturday, July 19th v Dragons @ Olympic Park, 5:30pm

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
1 Titans 16
2 Manly 14
3 Roosters 14
4 Storm 14
5 Sharks 14
6 Broncos 12
7 Panthers 12
8 Wests Tigers 12
9 Knights 10
10 Raiders 10
11 Eels 10
12 Warriors 10
13 Dragons 8
14 Bulldogs 8
15 Cowboys 6
16 Rabbitohs 4

SQUAD FOR SATURDAY'S GAME
Starting team:
1. Billy Slater
2. Steve Turner
3. Will Chambers
4. Israel Folau
5. Anthony Quinn
6. Greg Inglis
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Jeff Lima
9. Cam Smith (c)
10. Brett White
11. Michael Crocker
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange:
14. Matt Geyer, 15. Antonio Kaufusi, 16. Jeremy Smith, 17. Aiden Tolman

Coach: Craig Bellamy

News Source: www.melbournestorm.com.au

Tue May 20, 2008
• Rabbitohs unchanged for Storm clash
  
Tue May 20, 2008
• Storm names 17-man squad for Rabbitohs game
  

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