The NRL and Rugby League is losing out to other Sports

By John
(HateQLD)
www.nrlnews.com

NRL Season 2008 was starting to take shape for the race to the finals , with a lot of good quality games over the week end . Canberra , Penrith and Newcastle gathering good momentum.St George Illawarra although the score board showed a big losing margin , it did not reflect how they performed against a very tough Melbourne side , with the Dragons one man down for most of the game.

Canberra in particular have been very impressive with their win in recent weeks , they  put the sword to one of the competition favourites the Sydney Roosters , and at one stage leading 24 - 0.

Canberra is a side, with  no big name stars in their line up.Alan Tongue and Todd Carney being the most two recognised players in the ranks , a few more names are starting to emerge as future household names .
Todd Carney is the one who is recognised the most down in the ACT .

The controversy of Monday's nights game , with the all in brawl , and the unwarranted sending off Jason Ryles was a talking point of the weekends clashes.

All the league talk of the weekends games was quickly forgotten when all the off field dramas raised its ugly head again .The incidents which allegedly took place involved the same players and players from the same club who have had trouble in the past . All these troubles are alcohol related . The players involved are young men who want to have a good time which they are entitled to do, but end up losing focus and cause problems.Players will be in the public eye and the media scrutiny and any bad behaviour will be pounced on by the media .Players are an easy prey for the public to target as some members of the public will try and prove their toughness against footballers .They will target the players who have a bad reputation .

The likes of Brett Hodgson , Steve Menzies, Hazem El Masri , Darren Lockyer , and many others are heroes amongst fans and they are always in the headlines for the right reasons.

Canberra is on the verge of a semi final berth for quite some years, has had their club name tarnished by Todd Carney and Bronx Goodwin. Both of these players have not respect for themselves , for they fans and their team mates . All of their team mates are putting the hard yards with Captain Alan Tongue playing with a painful rib injury .

Canterbury Bankstown have being in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.First the salary cap scandal in 2002, followed by the incident on a pre season trip to Coffs Harbour, and not to mention the loud fire cracker which was lit at the ANZ stadium , many believing it was a Bulldogs supporter.With all the internal trouble and club executive leaving , the club had a very bad name amongst many other club supporters .Going to a bulldogs game became very uncomfortable , many people wanted the club kick out of the competition.This year alone the Bulldogs have had bad publicity .Outspoken player Willie Mason who  brought unwanted attention to the club , left the club on bad terms . This year the Sonny Bill Williams dramas unfolded , and Reni Maitua stood down for disciplinary reasons and now Ben Roberts and Lee Ta Mari has again given the club a bad name.Ben Roberts has already being in trouble this year , it could not came at a worst time for the bulldogs , one of their worst season record for a while,with the wooden spoon in sight.
Hazem El Masri is on the verge of breaking the top point scoring record but it could go unnoticed due to stupid actions of his team mates.

All these actions has made the Bulldogs the most hated side in the competition , many will not attend a bulldogs match .With a club with so much history it is a shame all these disruptions are bring the club to its knees

These two clubs have had many great heroes come through the clubs and all their action was on the field.Both club stood by Ben Roberts of the Bulldogs and Todd Carney of the Raiders .Both Carney and Roberts have had second chances given to them, only to have those two players disrespect their club and their team mates.most of these incidents have been alcohol related.

How would the great players of the past from both clubs feel today with all the issues surrounding the club they all once proudly represented . The current good players from both clubs who will be on the receiving end of a constant abuse from rival fans .

Our great game is drowning in a bowl .Both the NRL and the clubs have to take a tougher stand and suspend the offending players for long periods , send them out to the work force to make them realise that they are not bigger then the game.The actions taken by the players of the past week may turn kids away from the league to play other sports.Other sports do have issues as well,but not as much as the league has suffered since the salary cap scandal.

It is unfortunate the good players of the game will not be recognised as the bad will out weight the good .

Hate Qld
John

Melbourne Storm NZ Warriors NRL Round 20

The NRL Table topping Melbourne Storm face the NZ Warriors this week in what should be a great Rugby League contest. The New Zealand Warriors are at home and on a nice hot streak of 3 games, the Storm fresh from their fight night against St George Illawarra last Monday and will be without Billy Slater.

WHO: Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors
WHAT: Round 20 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
WHEN: Sunday, July 26^th @ 2.00pm (NZST)
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE – 12.00pm (AEST)
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 proved too strong for the Dragons on Monday night, keeping the visitors scoreless on their way to a 26-0 victory. The win kept the Storm in second spot on the NRL ladder.

 

New Zealand won their third game in a row, this time downing the Bulldogs 40-22 at ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The win leaves the Warriors one point outside the top eight in ninth position.

 

FAST FACTS
• New Zealand has scored the first try in their past four games
• Melbourne has won five of their last six games against New Zealand
• New Zealand hasn’t won four games straight since Rounds 22-25, 2006

 

DID YOU KNOW?
While he may be the king of taking the big grabs in the NRL, centre Israel Folau is actually afraid of heights!

 

KEY MATCH UP
An interesting side-story to the clash will be the fact Stephen Kearney, Storm’s assistant coach and New Zealand head coach, will be able to run the rule over many of his national team players leading into the end-of-year World Cup. There will be a few personal duels between Kiwis from both sides, but none more potentially explosive than in the front-row between Jeff Lima and Wiki.

 

Lima is part the new guard of front-rowers in the Kiwi national set-up, and his performances for Melbourne over the past 18 months have been astounding. Lima arrived at the club two-and-a-half years ago after a stint in French rugby league overweight and far from becoming a regular first-grade Storm player. Fast forward to the current day, and Lima has not only forced his way into the Storm squad, he is now one of the first names on coach Craig Bellamy’s team sheets. His fitness levels are as good as anyone at the club let alone the forwards, and he can be relied upon to do the tough stuff required of a front-rower each and every week.

 

While Wiki could be regarded as part of the old guard of Kiwi front-rower, he is still the benchmark by which all other New Zealand front-rowers measure themselves. He’s an inspiration to all Kiwi players who pull on their national jersey and they look up to him as their leader. He doesn’t seem to be slowing down with age, and his front-row partnership with Price, another aging warhorse who doesn’t seem to be slowing down either, is as fierce and uncompromising as any in the NRL.

 

If Lima can take the points in this head-to-head battle, he may just secure his World Cup spot in the Kiwis line-up come season’s end.

 

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 20, Storm: 11, Warriors: 8, Draw: 1
At Mt Smart Stadium: Played: 10, Storm: 5, Warriors: 5

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 390, Warriors: 368
Points against: Storm: 227, Warriors: 467
Tries for: Storm: 69, Warriors: 65
Points differential: Storm: +163, Warriors: -99

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. Dragons 26-0 @ Olympic Park, Melbourne
Warriors def. Bulldogs 40-22 @ ANZ Stadium, Sydney

 

LAST EIGHT CLASHES

YEAR	RESULT	VENUE
2008	Storm def. Warriors 32-18 @	Telstra Dome
2007	Storm def. Warriors 4-2 @	Mt Smart Stadium
2007	Storm def. Warriors 30-12 @	Olympic Park
2006	Warriors def. Storm 24-20 @	Olympic Park
2006	Storm def. Warriors 24-16 @	Mt Smart Stadium
2005	Storm def. Warriors 22-10 @	Olympic Park
2005	Warriors def. Storm 24-16 @	Mt Smart Stadium
2004	Storm def. Warriors 42-6 @	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
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

 

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 10, Inglis 10, Folau 9, Quinn 6, Turner 6, Manu 5, J. Smith 4, Geyer 4, Chambers 3, Hoffman 2, Cronk 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, C. Smith, Crocker, Tomane, Lima

 

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 50, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk

 

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2

 

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 104, Slater 40, Inglis 40, Folau 36, Quinn 24, Turner 24, Manu 20, J. Smith 18, Geyer 16, Chambers 12, Cronk 12, Hoffman 8, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Crocker 4, Tomane 4, Lima 4

 

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Sam Tagataese (shoulder): 1 week
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season

 

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 21: Friday, August 1^st v Titans @ Olympic Park, 7.45pm
Round 22: Friday, August 8^th v Sea Eagles @ Brookvale Oval, 7.45pm
Round 23: Friday, August 15^th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7.35pm

 

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER

POSITION	CLUB	POINTS
1	Sea Eagles	30
2	Storm	28
3	Sharks	28
4	Roosters	26
5	Broncos	23
6	Dragons	22
7	Titans	22
8	Panthers	21
9	Raiders	20
10	Tigers	20
11	Warriors	20
12	Knights	18
13	Eels	18
14	Rabbitohs	16
15	Bulldogs	14
16	Cowboys	10

 

SQUAD FOR SUNDAY'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.

Melbourne Storm Billy Slater beats NRL Charge

  Leading NRL and Melbourne Storm fullback Billy Slater tonight successfully had his Grade 2 Contrary Conduct charge reduced to a Grade 1 offence, therefore only missing one week instead of two. Put on the chopping block after going the biff with Jason Nightingale from the St George Illawarra Dragons - Slater claimed his reactions were in self defence and the NRL judiciary agreed, taking 1 week off an initial 2 week black ban. 

Slater will miss this weekend’s Round 20 clash against the New Zealand Warriors in Auckland, but will be available for Melbourne’s Round 21 home clash against the Gold Coast Titans next Friday night.

Melbourne Storm fight night with St George Dragons

Melbourne Storm tonight overcame rain, wind and a fiery opposition to defeat the St George Illawarra Dragons 26-0 at Olympic Park in front of 9,335 brave fans.

The miserable conditions set the stage for what was predicted to be one of the best clashes of the round. The Storm and the Dragons have had a history of great matches, and with both teams battling for a top four finish, Melbourne’s winter weather was unlikely to hold anyone back.

This match was no exception with the opening half providing two tries to Melbourne, three players sent to the sin, another sent off, and a heavy rain fall all in the mix.

Travelling to Melbourne in recent times has not brought St George Illawarra much luck having lost their past five matches at ‘The Graveyard’.

The Storm opened the proceedings in spectacular fashion with Israel Folau leaping over his opponent to catch the ball, before dragging a couple of would-be tacklers across the line to score Melbourne’s first try.

Folau demonstrated why he was rated as one of league’s “greatest jumpers” by the Dragons coach Nathan Brown mid-week, with his try showing that he is an unstoppable force when in full flight.

The Storm pushed forward for their second try with Steve Turner diving over the line, however they were denied by the video referee due with the Dragon’s Jason Nightingale forcing Turner out of the field.

Tensions were high, and not long after Turner’s disallowed try the two teams’ frustrations boiled over and an all-in brawl erupted resulting in Billy Slater, Adam Blair and the Dragons’ Jamie Soward given a 10-minute spell on the sidelines to cool down.

Rather than the Dragons capitalising on their numerical advantage on field, a rogue kick from front-rower Jason Ryles at Jeff Lima in the scrum saw him being sent off the field, this time for the remainder of the game.

With Melbourne’s full compliment of players back on the field, and St George one man down, the Storm ramped up the pressure having an immediate effect.

On the stroke of half-time, Lima stormed through a number of Dragon’s defenders to put the ball over the line for Melbourne’s second try of an eventful opening half, sending his team in at the break 10-0 up.

Without dampening the Storm’s drive pushing forward, this time with Jeremy Smith breaking free from the Dragons defenders to secure Storm’s third try. Instead of celebrating the try, Smith reacted to another late tackle, catalysing yet another scuffle between the two teams.

Minutes later an offload in the tackle from Israel Folau found Sika Manu on the run.  The young backrower took off streaming down field leaving several Dragons in his wake, timing an immaculate pass off to Turner out wide.

The Storm were unstoppable, following another Dragons error Melbourne took advantage to see a penalty awarded cementing Matt Geyer’s customary try for the evening.

STORM 26 (Tries: J Smith, Lima, Geyer, Turner, Folau; Goals: C Smith 3) def. DRAGONS 0 at Olympic Park

Melbourne Storm turn to rockclimbing in recovery

Melbourne Storm players will use indoor rock climbing as a training and recovery tool this week after they take on the Dragons in Monday Night Football (NRL) 2008. All sessions will take place at MC Labour Park unless otherwise stated.

Monday, July 21^st:
7.00pm: STORM v DRAGONS (Olympic Park)

Tuesday, July 22^nd:
11.00am: Recovery Session (Hard Rock indoor rock climbing centre, 501 Swanston Street, Melbourne)

Wednesday, July 23^rd:
11.30am: Skills Session

Thursday, July 24^th:
9.00am - 11.15am: Weights
1.00pm: Speed and Ballwork Session

Friday, July 25^th:
10.55am: Flight from Melbourne to Auckland, arriving at 4.15pm (NZST)

Saturday, July 26^th:
10.30am (NZST): Ballwork Session (Venue TBC)

Sunday, July 27^th:
2.00pm (NZST): STORM v WARRIORS (Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland)

Monday, July 28^th:
9.30am (NZST): Recovery Session (Venue TBC)
4.15pm (NZST): Flight from Auckland to Melbourne arriving at 6.15pm

NRL Melbourne Storm vs St George Illawarra Game Notes

WHO: Melbourne Storm v St George Illawarra Dragons
WHAT: Round 19 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Olympic Park, Melbourne
WHEN: Monday, July 21st @ 7.00pm
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE – 7.00pm
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 were too strong for Wests Tigers last Monday night, defeating them 30-18 at Campbelltown Sports Stadium with Greg Inglis scoring a memorable hat-trick.

The win elevated the Storm into second place on the NRL ladder.

St George Illawarra suffered their first defeat in eight weeks last week, going down to Canberra in Wollongong 19-12. The loss left them in fifth position on the NRL ladder.

FAST FACTS
• St George Illawarra have lost their past five matches at Olympic Park
• Melbourne has won seven of their eight home games this year
• St George Illawarra has won their past six night games
• Melbourne has conceded less than 11 points per game on average at home this year

DID YOU KNOW?
The players’ annual comedy day will take place on Sunday, August 17th at the Comics Lounge in 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 or at the Comics Lounge, or on the door on the day.

KEY MATCH UP
Could Greg Inglis’ duel with Mark Gasnier be the individual duel of the year? Gasnier clearly got the better of Inglis in Game I of the State-of-Origin series while Inglis returned the favour in Game II in one of the most dominant individual displays in Origin history. Showdown III between these two may go along way to deciding who really is the best centre in the world.

Gasnier is the Dragons’ leader, and had he not been heading to France next year, would probably be captain of the New South Wales State-of-Origin team next year if recent comments from Blues coach Craig Bellamy are anything to go by. He is the complete package when it comes to centres – strong, powerful, quick and is equally adept at scoring tries or setting them up for teammates. There isn’t much he can’t do and he’ll be looking to leave the Red V with some fond memories, starting with a five star performance in Melbourne against Inglis.

During the week Inglis became the youngest player ever to be named the game’s best player in the coveted Rugby League Week players’ poll. In his past three club games he has scored eight tries, most of them spectacular, and probably scored nine Dally M votes as well. While Inglis has been accused of playing a good game one week and then going missing for a fortnight, he’s really started to put together best-on-ground performances on a regular basis. There’s no doubt he’s the most talented player in the NRL, but if he can produce what he’s capable of week-in week-out, there’s no doubt he will go down in history as one of the game’s greats. And let’s not forget, he is only 21.

HEAD-TO-HEAD NRL RESULTS
Total: Played: 20, Storm: 14, Dragons: 5, Draw: 1
At Olympic Park: Played: 7, Storm: 5, Dragons: 2

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 364, Dragons: 339
Points against: Storm: 227, Dragons: 271
Tries for: Storm: 64, Dragons: 58
Points differential: Storm: +137, Dragons: 68

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. Wests Tigers 30-18 @ Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney
Dragons def. by Raiders 19-12 @ WIN Stadium, Wollongong

LAST EIGHT CLASHES

YEAR	RESULT	VENUE
2008	Dragons def. Storm 36-12 @	ANZ Stadium
2007	Storm def. Dragons 28-6 @	Olympic Park
2007	Storm def. Dragons 26-10 @	Oki Jubilee Stadium
2006	Storm def. Dragons 24-10 @	ANZ Stadium
2006	Storm def. Dragons 34-24 @	Oki Jubilee Stadium
2006	Storm def. Dragons 24-10 @	Olympic Park
2005	Storm def. Dragons 24-16 @	Olympic Park
2005	Storm def. Dragons 46-12 @	WIN Stadium

 

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

 

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 10, Inglis 10, Folau 8, Quinn 6, Turner 5, Manu 5, Chambers 3, J. Smith 3, Geyer 3, Hoffman 2, Cronk 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, C. Smith, Crocker, Tomane

 

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 47, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk

 

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2

 

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 98, Slater 40, Inglis 40, Folau 32, Quinn 24, Turner 20, Manu 20, J. Smith 14, Chambers 12, Geyer 12, Cronk 12, Hoffman 8, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Crocker 4, Tomane 4

 

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Sam Tagataese (shoulder): 1 week
Aidan Guerra (ankle): 2 weeks
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season

 

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 20: Sunday, July 27th v Warriors @ Mt Smart Stadium, 2.00pm (AEST)
Round 21: Friday, August 1st v Titans @ Olympic Park, 7.45pm
Round 22: Friday, August 8th v Sea Eagles @ Brookvale Oval, 7.45pm
Round 23: Friday, August 15th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7.35pm

 

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP NRL LADDER

POSITION	CLUB	POINTS
1	Sea Eagles	28
2	Storm	26
3	Roosters	26
4	Sharks	26
5	Dragons	22
6	Titans	22
7	Broncos	21
8	Panthers	19
9	Knights	18
10	Eels	18
11	Raiders	18
12	Wests Tigers	18
13	Warriors	18
14	Rabbitohs	16
15	Bulldogs	14
16	Cowboys	10

 

SQUAD FOR MONDAY'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.

Official: Mark Gasnier to Quit NRL and play Rugby Union

Announced today at a Dragons press conference, NRL star Mark Gasnier will quit the NRL to play Rugby Union in France from 2009, after 3rd party payment portions of his NRL playing contract were not honoured in recent times.

Gasnier confirmed the move wasn't motivated by money, but explained he has been missing out on 1/3 of his wages because of non-payment by an unnamed entity.

The Dragons however will have a tonne of salary cap freed for their assault on the NRL premiership next year under Wayne Bennett as head coach.

Melbourne Storm vs Wests Tigers NRL Round 18 2008

WHO: Melbourne Storm v Wests Tigers
WHAT: Round 18 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Campbelltown Sports Stadium, Sydney
WHEN: Monday, July 14^th @ 7.00pm
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE – 7.00pm
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 welcomed back eight of their nine State-of-Origin stars (Michael Crocker was rested) with a terrific 30-14 win over the Canberra Raiders at Olympic Park. The win left the Storm just two points off the top of the NRL ladder.

 

The Wests Tigers enjoyed a bye in Round 17.

 

FAST FACTS
• Melbourne has won four of their past six clashes with Wests Tigers
• Wests Tigers have lost four of their past five games
• Melbourne average just 13 points away from home
• Wests Tigers have won only two from five at Campbelltown over the past two seasons

 

DID YOU KNOW?
Matt Geyer will celebrate his 250^th Melbourne Storm game on Monday night. Geyer will become the 20^th player to play 250 games for the one club. He will become the 59^th player to play 250 career games.

 

KEY MATCH UP
Injuries have also conspired to deplete the Wests Tigers line-up. Halfback Matthew Head is out with shoulder and thumb injuries while is front-rower Todd Payten is out indefinitely with a hamstring injury. Add Ryan O’Hara (broken jaw) and Danny Galea (ankle) who are out for the season and the casualty ward at Wests Tigers makes for depressing viewing.

 

However, one player they do have fit and firing on the field at the moment is five-eight Benji Marshall. With five line-break assists and six try assists in just nine games, Marshall needs to provide the spark for a side averaging just 1,241 metres of territory a game – the worst in the NRL.

 

His battle with Greg Inglis will be one of the individual clashes of the season. They are arguably the two most exciting players in the competition when on-song, and Monday night could well be where these two light up the night.

 

Since Origin II where he single-handedly destroyed New South Wales and lead Queensland to a 30-0 win at Suncorp Stadium, Inglis has been in career best form. Against Canberra last Sunday coach Craig Bellamy said after the game he believed Inglis had taken his game to another level, not skill-wise, but tough-wise. Inglis has always been the most talented player in the NRL, now he was adding mental toughness to his arsenal as well.

 

HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 15, Storm: 15, Wests Tigers: 5
At Campbelltown Stadium: Played: 1, Storm: 1, Wests Tigers: 0

FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 334, Wests Tigers: 328
Points against: Storm: 209, Wests Tigers: 348
Tries for: Storm: 59, Wests Tigers: 57
Points differential: Storm: +125, Wests Tigers: -20

LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. Raiders 30-14 @ Olympic Park, Melbourne
Wests Tigers BYE

 

LAST EIGHT CLASHES

YEAR	RESULT	VENUE
2007	Tigers def. Storm 30-12 @	Bluetongue Stadium
2007	Storm def. Tigers 18-16 @	Olympic Park
2006	Storm Tigers 46-4 @	Olympic Park
2006	Tigers def. Storm 30-28 @	Leichhardt Oval
2005	Storm def. Tigers 34-22 @	Olympic Park
2005	Storm def. Tigers 30-14 @	Leichhardt Oval
2004	Tigers def. Storm 32-18 @	Leichhardt Oval
2004	Storm def. Tigers 30-24 @	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

 

2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 9, Folau 8, Inglis 7, Quinn 6, Turner 5, Manu 4, Chambers 3, J. Smith 3, Geyer 3, Hoffman 2, Cronk 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, C. Smith, Crocker, Tomane

 

2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 42, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk

 

2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2

 

2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 88, Slater 36, Folau 32, Inglis 28, Quinn 24, Turner 20, Manu 16, J. Smith 14, Chambers 12, Geyer 12, Cronk 12, Hoffman 8, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Crocker 4, Tomane 4

 

MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Sam Tagataese (shoulder): 1 week
Aidan Guerra (ankle): 2 weeks
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season

 

THE STORM AHEAD
Round 19: Saturday, July 19th v Dragons @ Olympic Park, 5.30pm
Round 20: Sunday, July 27th v Warriors @ Mt Smart Stadium, 2.00pm (AEST)
Round 21: Friday, August 1st v Titans @ Olympic Park, 7.45pm
Round 22: Friday, August 8th v Sea Eagles @ Brookvale Oval, 7.45pm
Round 23: Friday, August 15th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7.35pm

 

TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER

POSITION	CLUB	POINTS
1	Sea Eagles	26
2	Roosters	26
3	Sharks	26
4	Storm	24
5	Dragons	22
6	Broncos	21
7	Titans	20
8	Eels	18
9	Panthers	19
10	Tigers	18
11	Knights	16
12	Raiders	16
13	Warriors	16
14	Rabbitohs	14
15	Bulldogs	12
16	Cowboys	10

 

SQUAD FOR MONDAY'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.