[31 July, 2008]
Round 21 v Titans Game Notes
WHO: Melbourne Storm v Gold Coast Titans
WHAT: Round 21 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Olympic Park, Melbourne
WHEN: Friday, August 1st @ 7.35pm (NZST)
ON TV: Channel Nine (Melbourne) @ midnight, Fox Sports 2 @ 1.30am (Saturday)
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 was dealt a blow to their minor premiership aspirations as they were beaten 8-6 by a committed warriors outfit last Sunday in Auckland. The loss left the Storm in second spot on the NRL ladder.
The Gold Coast Titans also lost last weekend, heavily beaten by the Canberra Raiders 46-4 at Canberra Stadium. The loss leaves them just outside the top eight in ninth position.
FAST FACTS
• Gold Coast has scored the first try in six of their past seven games
• Melbourne has the best defensive record in the NRL conceding just 13 points per game on average
• Gold Coast has lost five of their past six games
• Melbourne has won 38 of their past 40 games at Olympic Park
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
Given the Titans will try to take on the Storm in the forwards, the backrow battle between Anthony Laffranchi and Ryan Hoffman will be one of the key contests in the game.
Other than halfback Scott Prince, Laffranchi has been arguably the Titans’ best player this year. He has taken his game to new levels in 2008, and was rewarded with State-of-Origin honours for New South Wales, and was named 18th man for the Kangaroos team in the Centenary Test against the Kiwis. He is also a try-scoring threat having crossed the line 10 times in 14 games this year, a wonderful outlay for a backrower, especially with six games still to go.
Hoffman is the consummate professional. He gets the job done with a minimum of fuss and is always in the thick of the action. A teammate of Laffranchi’s in the New South Wales State-of-Origin team, Hoffman also played in the Centenary Test turning in another consistently high performance. What stands Hoffman out from the pack is his work ethic and will to win, and he will never let his teammates down through a lack of effort.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 2, Storm: 1, Titans: 1
At Olympic Park: Played: 1, Storm: 1, Titans: 0
FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 396, Titans: 391
Points against: Storm: 235, Titans: 409
Tries for: Storm: 70, Titans: 69
Points differential: Storm: +161, Titans: -18
LAST ROUND MATCHES
Storm def. by Warriors 8-6 @ Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
Titans def. by Raiders 46-4 @ Canberra Stadium, Canberra
LAST TWO CLASHES
| YEAR | RESULT | VENUE |
| 2008 | Titans def. Storm 18-0 @ | Skilled Park |
| 2007 | Storm def. Titans 50-6 @ | 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
ROUND 20: STORM 6 (Try: Manu; Goal: C Smith) def. by WARRIORS 8 (Try: Fai; Goals: Hohaia 2) at Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 10, Inglis 10, Folau 9, Quinn 6, Turner 6, Manu 6, 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 51, Turner 4, J. Smith, Cronk
2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2
2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 106, Slater 40, Inglis 40, Folau 36, Quinn 24, Turner 24, Manu 24, 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
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season
THE STORM AHEAD
Round 22: Friday, August 8th v Sea Eagles @ Brookvale Oval, 7.45pm
Round 23: Friday, August 15th v Roosters @ Olympic Park, 7.35pm
Round 24: Monday, August 25th v Panthers @ CUA Stadium, 7.00pm
TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
| POSITION | CLUB | POINTS |
| 1 | Sea Eagles | 30 |
| 2 | Storm | 28 |
| 3 | Roosters | 28 |
| 4 | Sharks | 28 |
| 5 | Broncos | 25 |
| 6 | Dragons | 24 |
| 7 | Panthers | 23 |
| 8 | Raiders | 22 |
| 9 | Titans | 22 |
| 10 | Warriors | 22 |
| 11 | Knights | 20 |
| 12 | Wests Tigers | 20 |
| 13 | Eels | 20 |
| 14 | Rabbitohs | 16 |
| 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.
____________________________________________________
Chris Couch
Media Manager
Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club
Princes Park, Gate 3, Royal Parade, Carlton North VIC 3054
PO Box 141 Parkville VIC 3052
E-mail: ccouch@melbournestorm.com.au
Website: www.melbournestorm.com.au
