Round 22 v Sea Eagles Game Notes
WHO: Melbourne Storm v Manly Sea Eagles
WHAT: Round 22 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Brookvale Oval, Sydney
WHEN: Friday, August 8th @ 7.35pm
ON TV: Channel Nine (Melbourne) midnight, Fox Sports 2 @ 11.30pm
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
IN BRIEF
Melbourne returned to the winner’s circle last week with an emphatic 44-4 win over the Gold Coast Titans at Olympic Park. The win kept them at second spot on the NRL ladder.
Manly were also impressive last Friday night, disposing of the Penrith Panthers 30-10 at Brookvale Oval to keep them at the top of the NRL ladder.
FAST FACTS
• Melbourne has got three of the past four NRL Results against Manly
• Manly has beaten the Storm in their past five clashes at Brookvale Oval
DID YOU KNOW?
The players’ annual comedy day will take place on Sunday, August 17th at the Comics Lounge in Errol Street, North Melbourne. Starting at 3.00pm and going on well into the night, the event will feature 10 of Melbourne’s best comedians, and will be hosted by Storm Ambassador and comedian Marty Fields.
Tickets are $30 each and are available before the day at the Melbourne Storm (03 8412 4900) or at the Comics Lounge (03 9348 9488), or on the door on the day (although these tickets will be limited).
KEY MATCH UP
The match-ups in this game are incredible:
Israel Folau v Steve Matai
Greg Inglis v Steve Menzies
Cooper Cronk v Matt Orford
Brent Kite v Brett White
Glenn Stewart v Dallas Johnson
The list goes on. But the individual match-up that has everyone talking are the fullbacks, Billy Slater against Brett Stewart.
Slater has had a season like no other. He remains the most elusive player in the comp with 18 line breaks – five more than the next best player. He also averages more metres than any player on kick-returns – 13.7. He was sorely missed in the 8-6 loss against the Warriors a fortnight ago in Auckland, and upon his return last week against the Titans, he was back to his destructive best. He ran for a game-high 176 metres from 13 hit-ups, and set up a sensational try with one of his customary line-breaks.
Stewart bagged his 13th four-pointer for the season last week (second in the NRL try-scorer’s list) and provided a wonderful try assist for winger Michael Robertson’s 80-metre run to the line. Stewart has beautiful skills and makes things happen on the spur of the moment, even when nothing looks to be ‘on’. One of the most instinctive players in the game, the Storm defence will need to get up on him quickly.
Slater took Stewart’s Kangaroo Test jumper from him for the Centenary Test in May, and will be looking to try and win it back with the World Cup just around the corner.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 12, Storm: 7, Sea Eagles: 5
At Brookvale Oval: Played: 6, Storm: 1, Sea Eagles: 5
FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 440, Sea Eagles: 493
Points against: Storm: 239, Sea Eagles: 257
Tries for: Storm: 79, Sea Eagles: 90
Points differential: Storm: +201, Sea Eagles: +236
LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. Titans 44-4 @ Olympic Park, Melbourne
Sea Eagles def. Panthers 30-10 @ Brookvale Oval
LAST EIGHT CLASHES
| YEAR | RESULT | VENUE |
| 2008 | Storm def. Sea Eagles 26-4 @ | Olympic Park |
| 2007 | Storm def. Sea Eagles 34-8 @ | ANZ Stadium |
| 2007 | Sea Eagles def. Storm 13-12 @ | Brookvale Oval |
| 2006 | Storm def. Sea Eagles 30-20 @ | Olympic Park |
| 2006 | Sea Eagles def. Storm 34-12 @ | Brookvale Oval |
| 2005 | Sea Eagles def. Storm 25-18 @ | Brookvale Oval |
| 2004 | Sea Eagles def. Storm 30-28 @ | Brookvale Oval |
| 2003 | Storm def. Sea Eagles 40-10 @ | 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
ROUND 11: 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
ROUND 12: STORM 46 (Tries: Geyer 2, C. Smith, Folau, Turner, J. Smith, Crocker, Cronk; Goals: C. Smith 7) def. BULLDOGS 0 at Olympic Park
ROUND 13: STORM 0 def. by TITANS 18 (Tries: Delaney, Meyers, Jeffrey; Goals: Rogers 3) at Skilled Park
ROUND 14: BYE
ROUND 15: STORM 48 (Tries: Inglis 3, Turner 2, J Smith, Slater, Geyer, Folau; Goals: C Smith 6) def. COWBOYS 20 (Tries: Henry, Williams, Webb, Cashmere; Goals: Thurston 2) at Olympic Park
ROUND 16: STORM 22 (Tries: Manu 2, Tomane, Cronk; Goals: Turner 2, Cronk) def. by EELS 24 (Tries: Tautai, Williams, Reddy, Inu; Goals: Burt 4) at Parramatta Stadium
ROUND 17: STORM 30 (Tries: Inglis 2, Slater, Manu, Quinn, Turner; Goals: Smith 3) def. RAIDERS 14 (Tries: Monaghan, Carney, Chalk; Goals: Carney) at Olympic Park
ROUND 18: STORM 30 (Tries: Inglis 3, Slater, Manu; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. TIGERS 18 (Tries: Tuiaki, Hodgson, Ryan; Goals: Hodgson 3) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium
ROUND 19: STORM 26 (Tries: J Smith, Lima, Geyer, Turner, Folau; Goals: C Smith 3) def. DRAGONS 0 at Olympic Park
ROUND 20: STORM 6 (Try: Manu; Goal: C Smith) def. by WARRIORS 8 (Try: Fai; Goals: Hohaia 2) at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
ROUND 21: STORM 44 (Tries: Folau 2, Inglis 2, Turner, Quinn, Hoffman, Geyer, J Smith; Goals: Cam Smith 4) def. TITANS 4 (Try: Ropana) at Olympic Park
2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Inglis 12, Folau 11, Slater 10, Turner 7, Quinn 7, Manu 6, Geyer 5, J. Smith 5, Chambers 3, Hoffman 3, Cronk 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, C. Smith, Crocker, Tomane, Lima
2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 55, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk
2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2
2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 114, Inglis 48, Folau 44, Slater 40, Quinn 28, Turner 28, Manu 24, J. Smith 22, Geyer 20, Chambers 12, Cronk 12, Hoffman 12, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Crocker 4, Tomane 4, Lima 4
MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season
THE STORM AHEAD
Round 23: Friday, August 15th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7.35pm
Round 24: Monday, August 25th v Panthers @ CUA Stadium, 7.00pm
Round 25: Saturday, August 30th v Knights @ EnergyAustralia Stadium, 5.30pm
TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
| POSITION | CLUB | POINTS |
| 1 | Sea Eagles | 32 |
| 2 | Storm | 30 |
| 3 | Roosters | 30 |
| 4 | Sharks | 30 |
| 5 | Broncos | 27 |
| 6 | Dragons | 24 |
| 7 | Panthers | 23 |
| 8 | Knights | 22 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 22 |
| 10 | Raiders | 22 |
| 11 | Titans | 22 |
| 12 | Warriors | 22 |
| 13 | Eels | 20 |
| 14 | Rabbitohs | 18 |
| 15 | Bulldogs | 14 |
| 16 | Cowboys | 10 |
SQUAD FOR FRIDAY'S GAME
Starting team:
1. Billy Slater
2. Steve Turner
3. Matt Geyer
4. Israel Folau
5. Anthony Quinn
6. Greg Inglis
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Jeff Lima
9. Cam Smith
10. Brett White
11. Michael Crocker
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson
Interchange:
14. Jeremy Smith, 15. Adam Blair, 16. Sika Manu, 17. Antonio Kaufusi.
Coach: Craig Bellamy.
