Round 22: Melbourne Storm vs North Queensland Cowboys

[DIEHARD]

Melbourne Storm vs North Queensland Cowboys
7:30pm 7 August 2009 - Olympic Park, Melbourne

Referees: Tony Archer & Gerard Sutton
Video Referee: Paul Simpkins

STORM: 1. Billy Slater 2. Steve Turner 3. Will Chambers 4. Greg Inglis 5. Joseph Tomane 6. Brett Finch 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Scott Anderson 9. Cam Smith (c) 10. Brett White 11. Matt Cross 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Dallas Johnson

Interchange: 14. Ryan Hinchcliffe 15. Adam Blair 16. Aiden Tolman 17. Jeff Lima

COWBOYS: 1. Matthew Bowen 2. Michael Bani 3. Ty Williams 4. Willie Tonga 5. John Williams 6. Grant Rovelli 7. Johnathan Thurston 8. Shane Tronc 9. Anthony Watts 10. Matthew Scott 11. Carl Webb 12. Scott Bolton 13. Steve Southern

Interchange: 14. Travis Burns 15. Steve Rapira 16. Antonio Kaufusi 17. James Tamou; Reserves: 18. Manase Manuokafoa

[Adelaide Titan]

This has the potential to be a high scoring game. I rekon the Storm will win though. They are hard to beat (for some ) at Olympic Park.

[Cowboy Titan]

They are hard to beat (for some ) at Olympic Park.

So were the Titans at Skilled Park before Friday night. Hopefully the Cowboys weren't just up for one week.

[Adelaide Titan]

My point wasnt us being hard to beat at home, it was that Melbourne have lost hardly any home games at Olympic Park over the past few years.

But yes, i gvive the Cowboys credit for taking advantage of an under strength Titans team.

[Coaster]

If the cowboys play like last week, they will have a good chance in this one.

Not sure about the understrength tag, we were flogged, make no excuses or we dont learn from our mistakes and we made plently.

Cowboys were red hot, and defended brilliantly, they will need to back this up again.

[Cowboy Titan]

Not sure about the understrength tag,

You could say the same for the Cowboys with Aaron Payne, Luke O'Donnell & Ash Graham out but all clubs have injury problems this time of the year.

Most teams are fairly equal and it's their attitude on the day that will get them over the line.

I noticed Channel Nine have gone cold on the Broncos. The Cowboys have 5 Friday night games in 6 weeks.

[Adelaide Titan]

okay fair enough. Im not syaing the Cowboys played crap, coz it is a mighty effort to go and get the points at Skilled Park.

[Cowboy Titan]

okay fair enough. Im not syaing the Cowboys played crap, coz it is a mighty effort to go and get the points at Skilled Park.

Hopefully it's a once off and nobody else takes points from the Titans this year - unless of course they're playing the Cowboys again in a final (GF please!!!!).

[DIEHARD]

I noticed Channel Nine have gone cold on the Broncos. The Cowboys have 5 Friday night games in 6 weeks.

That's an amazing statistic. Great for Cowboys fans and sponsorship exposure.

[Cowboy Titan]

That's an amazing statistic. Great for Cowboys fans and sponsorship exposure.

Especially when you look at their history on Channel nine. Most won't remember that the Cowboys had their first game televised in 1995 but weren't on Nine again until they made the finals in 2004 - when Nine had no choice but to cover them. It was a real bummer not having pay TV for all those years.

[Adelaide Titan]

Hopefully it's a once off and nobody else takes points from the Titans this year - unless of course they're playing the Cowboys again in a final (GF please!!!!).

That could make for an interesting game with both teams not having the greatest of away records with the game in Sydney.

[DIEHARD]

Storm v Cowboys
Friday 7.35pm - Olympic Park

Finals football comes early in Melbourne as two sides who are expected to take part in the post-season battle it out for positions in the top eight.

The Storm may have fallen to the table-topping Dragons last week but they showed enough grit to prove they should still be good enough to nab a position in the top four.

They probably only need one more victory over the final five weeks to ensure a place somewhere in the top eight but Craig Bellamy?s men are after a home final so expect to see them at their best for this blockbuster.

The Cowboys turned around a worrying form line last Friday night to demolish the Titans, pushing them back in to sixth spot and in a good position to consolidate. This game probably represents their last chance to make a push for a top-four berth but is also important as they are already equal on competition points with the eighth-placed sides and just a win in front of the ninth-placed Wests Tigers and 10th-placed Broncos.

While they are unlikely to fall out of the top eight with a loss they could easily drop to eighth and be joined by the above-mentioned clubs.

The home side Storm has lost powerful forward Sika Manu to a season-ending leg injury but thankfully former representative star Ryan Hoffman returns to take his place.

The only other change from last weekend?s tough loss is the return of Adam Blair on the bench in place of Hep Cahill.

The Cowboys have named a few changes to the starting line-up that hit the ground against the Titans ? although coach Neil Henry could easily pull the same last-minute changes he did last Friday night.

Anthony Watts has once again been named to start at hooker, which sees Grant Rovelli revert back to five-eighth, Steve Southern move back to lock, while Manase Manuokafoa moves to the bench.

Matt Scott has once again been named to start for Antonio Kaufusi, while Travis Burns has been added as an extra man on the bench.

Watch out Storm: While the Cowboys? attacking unit is run by Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen, it is the little-known winger John Williams, or the ?Wolfbrother?, who is making plenty of waves this season.

Williams leads the Cowboys in line breaks with 11 for the season and he is averaging 93 metres a match, even though he isn?t the biggest winger in the competition. He has 10 tries so far and odds are he?ll have more before the season is out.

Speaking of tries, keep an eye on Grant Rovelli and Manase Manuokafoa when they get close to the line. They are the only semi- or regular Cowboys without a try for the year ? and time is running out to get off the dreaded doughnut!

Watch out Cowboys: This match shapes as the perfect one for Billy Slater to run amok chasing short kicks for tries.

Slater?s acceleration is hard to contain and he is arguably the competition?s best chaser of chip and grubber kicks, something the Cowboys have trouble defusing. The North Queensland boys are ranked equal last at defusing chip kicks, successfully cleaning up just half of those thrown at them, and second last in the NRL at taking care of grubber kicks.

The good news is they have managed to keep their mistakes away from the try line and are one of the better teams in the NRL at stopping tries from kicks with just 11 against for the year. But defending the Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith ****nal of short kicks is a whole new predicament.

Where it will be won: This game will come down to the battle of the left-edge attacks and therefore the right-edge defence.

Both sides are hugely successful in attack on their left edge and will continue to attack to their strengths. If you look at a rugby league field from end to end and split it into five areas (left side, left edge, centre, right edge, right side) you can get a feel for where teams are most prolific.

Both the Storm and the Cowboys have scored more tries on the left edge than the other four areas this season. For the Cowboys, they have managed an impressive 26 tries this year on the left edge, a little better than the Storm who have 20 tries. But while the visitors have scored more tries on the left edge than the Storm it is defence in the same area which gives the Melbourne a significant edge.

They have allowed just four tries all year by opposition teams on the left edge (which is up against their right-side defenders) which means the Cowboys? left-edge attack will need to be at its absolute best to continue their fruitful earnings.

The Cowboys? defence in the same area has been far from stiff, leaking 20 tries for the season. With this knowledge you can be certain the Storm will send plenty of traffic to the left fringes over and over again.

The History: Played 19; Storm 14, Cowboys 5. The Storm beat North Queensland 26-12 earlier this year in Townsville to make it five straight against Cowboys. The Cowboys are yet to find a way to win at Olympic Park in the six times they have travelled to the Victorian capital.

Conclusion: While the Cowboys showed great form to bust the Titans? undefeated home streak last week, the Storm were pretty impressive in defeat against the Dragons also.

Melbourne are always a tougher proposition at Olympic Park and will start favourites but if the Cowboys duo of Bowen and Thurston get cranking again they are certainly a chance of an upset win.

Stay with the Storm if you are tipping well but with time running out take a serious look at the Cowboys if you need an upset.

Match officials: Referees ? Tony Archer & Gerard Sutton; Sideline Officials ? Steve Carrall & Chris James; Video Ref ? Paul Simpkins.

Televised: Channel Nine ? Live 7.30pm (Qld), delayed 9.30pm (NSW); Fox Sports ? Delayed 1am.

* Statistics: NRL Stats.

Source: http://www.nrl.com

[DIEHARD]

This has a bit of derby flavour about it as well. I'm going for the Storm though.

Should be a cracker!

[DIEHARD]

Billy Slater and Dallas Johnson to hit 150 NRL games against the Cowboys

Billy Slater and Dallas Johnson should have been stars for North Queensland Cowboys, but instead will reach 150-games for Melbourne Storm against the club on Friday night.

The Queensland Origin duo have crafted fine careers in the Victorian capital since making their debuts against Cronulla in the opening round of 2003.

Sadly for the Cowboys, Johnson, who hails from Atherton, and Slater, raised in Innisfail, barely rated a blimp on the North Queensland recruitment radar.

Johnson was part of some Cowboys junior camps, but when he wasn't offered a contract, at 17 he penned a deal with the Storm.

Slater was even more anonymous, his shot at the top coming only after he drove 1700km from Innisfail to Brisbane to beg for a trial with Melbourne's then Queensland Cup affiliate Norths.

"Having made our debuts on the same day against Cronulla, coming from the same area up there in North Queensland and then to play our 150th games against the Cowboys is something a bit special," Slater said.

"I never really had an approach from the Cowboys. But I think the good thing up there is that their development has come a fair way since then, and is a lot more professional.

"When I was a kid they tended to struggle a bit but it is good to see they now have a team the area can be proud of. It is one of the biggest rugby league nurseries in Australia and it is great to have the Cowboys going well."

Like Slater, Johnson supported the Cowboys as a kid. But he said he harbours no ambitions to play for North Queensland, instead hoping to end his career where it started.

"I did a bit of junior stuff up there, but nothing really eventuated so when the Storm approached me I took the chance," Johnson said.

"I was a Cowboys fan so that was a bit disappointing, but you take opportunities when they come and I don't have any regrets.

"I think the club up there has changed dramatically from my time up there, they have built a strong team, they have great players and a very good staff behind them with Neil Henry coaching. But I am very happy In Melbourne."

Having not been at the club at the time, Cowboys chief executive Peter Parr is hesitant to label Slater and Johnson as the ones that got away, but feels talent is less likely to slip through the net now.

"You'd like to think that the club is in a better position to ensure that doesn't happen in the future," Parr said. "That is no disrespect to the people in charge at the time.

"The club has far better resources now to channel into recruitment and development and while there is always the chance that some slip through the cracks, you'd like to think we get more than we miss these days."

Source: http://www.foxsports.com.au

[Adelaide Titan]

The result almost seals the top 4 assuming the Titans can get the points tomoro. I can't see Melbourne dropping out the 4 from here.