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globalrugbyleague - Sun, 09 Sep 2007 22:34:00 GMTThe Melbourne Storm are one game away from returning to the Grand Final after slaughtering reigning premiers Brisbane 40-0 at Olympic Park on Sunday.
The 40-0 victory books the Storm a home preliminary final in two weeks time at the Telstra Dome against the winner of next week’s clash between Parramatta and the Canterbury Bulldogs.
The game was a good as over at half-time when the Storm led 28-0 after six tries electrified the 15,552 fans in attendance.
Melbourne's shock and awe approach payed dividends for its right-hand side pairing of Steve Turner and Israel Folau. Their dream run featured Folau setting up three tries and Turner scoring the same.
While the Broncos in recent months had been hit by injuries to some of its biggest stars, the Storm had two late withdrawals from the side named on Tuesday. Ben Cross could not overcome his hamstring injury, Garret Crossman taking his place.
The surprise omission, though, was Greg Inglis, who succumbed to a corked back during a training session on Saturday. Matt Geyer went from the bench to five-eighth and James Aubusson got a chance to experience finals football.
Coach Craig Bellamy was happy with the performance.
"I rated it really highly. We started off the way we wanted to start off. We stuck to what we wanted to do and what we do well. I was really proud of them today, actually," said Bellamy.
"We had a couple of setbacks during the week and we've got enough good players to cover that, but we lost Greg halfway through our session yesterday and sometimes that can shock you. But these guys responded really well."
The Storm's first try was as conventional as they come, quick hands from Cronk to King and then Anthony Quinn creating an overlap for the winger to score. In a sign that the Storm were very much 'on' today, every Storm player flocked to Quinn in a celebration usually reserved for the end of a game, not the fifth minute.
Turner and Folau then stepped into the spotlight. The centre producing a flick pass to 'Zapper', who tiptoed down the Western touchline and placed the ball down.
The points kept coming when Matt Geyer found enough time to kick for the Storm's prime aerial target in Folau. The Broncos, however, had him marked out of the equation and the ball eluded all players in the contest, falling safely in the hands of Steve Turner for the easiest of touchdowns.
Folau was in the action again when he floated across the field, toying with defenders before flicking the ball on to Cam Smith. The Storm's captain then produced his own bit of magic, eluding a pack of Brisbane players before reaching out and planting the ball on the line.
Minutes later, Brisbane debutant Alwyn Simpson got a taste of finals football when he was met by a bone-rattling tackle by Ryan Hoffman, losing the ball in the process. Michael Crocker picked up the crumbs and offloaded to Geyer who scored under the black dot.
The final try of the half was all-class as the Storm ripped downfield through a Smith break, before Slater linked with Cronk, who finally floated a ball to Turner for his hat-trick.
The second half featured more points for the home team, along with some stoic defence that gave Brisbane no respite.
Billy Slater nabbed his 70th career try in classic fashion, coming from nowhere and streaming onto a Cooper Cronk stab kick. It capped off a strong all-round display by the Storm's fullback, who was more secure than the APEC red zone in defence and more than a handful with ball in hand - twice producing line-breaks that delivered Melbourne point-scoring opportunities.
Matt King's final night playing at Olympic Park was memorable, but perhaps not for him, having left the field early in the second half after copping a knee to the head. On his return in the 74th minute of the match, the fan-favourite's first touch of the ball provided Melbourne with its final try after a rampaging Ryan Hoffman run created an opening.
It was the third big win in succession for Melbourne and everything is falling into place for Bellamy.
"Some experts say that you're better off playing every week to keep the momentum going," he said.
"The Broncos did that last year; they were beaten in the first semi and then got some real momentum by playing every week. But I must say that I much prefer a week off to freshen people up."
The Storm might have finally buried their demons from last year's Grand Final loss to Brisbane and they will be in for a fight in a fortnight when they play the winner of next week's Bulldogs v Parramatta clash.
Melbourne 40 (Tries: Turner 3, Quinn, Smith, Geyer, Slater, King; Goals: Smith 3, Folau) defeat Brisbane 0 Referee: Steve Clark. - Read More, Here
The 40-0 victory books the Storm a home preliminary final in two weeks time at the Telstra Dome against the winner of next week’s clash between Parramatta and the Canterbury Bulldogs.
The game was a good as over at half-time when the Storm led 28-0 after six tries electrified the 15,552 fans in attendance.
Melbourne's shock and awe approach payed dividends for its right-hand side pairing of Steve Turner and Israel Folau. Their dream run featured Folau setting up three tries and Turner scoring the same.
While the Broncos in recent months had been hit by injuries to some of its biggest stars, the Storm had two late withdrawals from the side named on Tuesday. Ben Cross could not overcome his hamstring injury, Garret Crossman taking his place.
The surprise omission, though, was Greg Inglis, who succumbed to a corked back during a training session on Saturday. Matt Geyer went from the bench to five-eighth and James Aubusson got a chance to experience finals football.
Coach Craig Bellamy was happy with the performance.
"I rated it really highly. We started off the way we wanted to start off. We stuck to what we wanted to do and what we do well. I was really proud of them today, actually," said Bellamy.
"We had a couple of setbacks during the week and we've got enough good players to cover that, but we lost Greg halfway through our session yesterday and sometimes that can shock you. But these guys responded really well."
The Storm's first try was as conventional as they come, quick hands from Cronk to King and then Anthony Quinn creating an overlap for the winger to score. In a sign that the Storm were very much 'on' today, every Storm player flocked to Quinn in a celebration usually reserved for the end of a game, not the fifth minute.
Turner and Folau then stepped into the spotlight. The centre producing a flick pass to 'Zapper', who tiptoed down the Western touchline and placed the ball down.
The points kept coming when Matt Geyer found enough time to kick for the Storm's prime aerial target in Folau. The Broncos, however, had him marked out of the equation and the ball eluded all players in the contest, falling safely in the hands of Steve Turner for the easiest of touchdowns.
Folau was in the action again when he floated across the field, toying with defenders before flicking the ball on to Cam Smith. The Storm's captain then produced his own bit of magic, eluding a pack of Brisbane players before reaching out and planting the ball on the line.
Minutes later, Brisbane debutant Alwyn Simpson got a taste of finals football when he was met by a bone-rattling tackle by Ryan Hoffman, losing the ball in the process. Michael Crocker picked up the crumbs and offloaded to Geyer who scored under the black dot.
The final try of the half was all-class as the Storm ripped downfield through a Smith break, before Slater linked with Cronk, who finally floated a ball to Turner for his hat-trick.
The second half featured more points for the home team, along with some stoic defence that gave Brisbane no respite.
Billy Slater nabbed his 70th career try in classic fashion, coming from nowhere and streaming onto a Cooper Cronk stab kick. It capped off a strong all-round display by the Storm's fullback, who was more secure than the APEC red zone in defence and more than a handful with ball in hand - twice producing line-breaks that delivered Melbourne point-scoring opportunities.
Matt King's final night playing at Olympic Park was memorable, but perhaps not for him, having left the field early in the second half after copping a knee to the head. On his return in the 74th minute of the match, the fan-favourite's first touch of the ball provided Melbourne with its final try after a rampaging Ryan Hoffman run created an opening.
It was the third big win in succession for Melbourne and everything is falling into place for Bellamy.
"Some experts say that you're better off playing every week to keep the momentum going," he said.
"The Broncos did that last year; they were beaten in the first semi and then got some real momentum by playing every week. But I must say that I much prefer a week off to freshen people up."
The Storm might have finally buried their demons from last year's Grand Final loss to Brisbane and they will be in for a fight in a fortnight when they play the winner of next week's Bulldogs v Parramatta clash.
Melbourne 40 (Tries: Turner 3, Quinn, Smith, Geyer, Slater, King; Goals: Smith 3, Folau) defeat Brisbane 0 Referee: Steve Clark. - Read More, Here