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Speaking of class kicking, that kick from Munster was a beauty.

We can go back to back. I really believe it now.

Great win. Hard to pick standout players, everyone did their job well. Jesse, Kaufusi and Munster if I had to pick.

I think we can take a lot out of that game defensively. But we did do some really solid things in attack that should help us moving into the finals.

Rabbits up next. Could decide the minor premiership

Ryan was in the celebrations though.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-pr ... 04d965b8db
Storm issue warning with thrashing of Ricky’s Raiders

Cameron Munster was at his unpredictable best for the home side, with two try assists, a linebreak a linebreak assist and a try in a complete display.

The seven tries to two victory was the Storm’s eighth victory in a row and they now are odds on to win the minor premiership, with a points differential of plus 172, which is 42 points better than second placed South Sydney.

“It was the most complete game we have played for a long time,” captain Cameron Smith said.

“It was nice to put 44 points on the Raiders, but there is still a lot of improvement left in us I think.”

The Raiders were never in the contest and showed that they are more than a few tough refereeing decisions away from challenging for the finals.

The Report

Melbourne have shown their rise to the top of the NRL ladder was no fluke, crushing Canberra in a seven-try NRL romp at AAMI Park.

Leading into Saturday night’s match, Storm coach Craig Bellamy admitted he was surprised by their lofty position and unsure if they deserved it, but the Storm looked right at home as competition leaders with a 44-10 win over the Raiders.

Their eighth-straight victory sets up a mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash with Souths in Sydney next Friday night.

Canberra could rightly blame some poor refereeing for their last-round loss to Cronulla but there were no excuses this time or answers to the Storm’s rampant attack.

Melbourne scored their first try in the sixth minute through second-rower Felise Kaufusi and from that point never looked like losing.

The home side took advantage of some flimsy Raiders defence and poor ball control, as well as a lop-sided penalty count, to race to a 24-4 halftime lead.

Canberra’s only try came when Josh Hodgson sent veteran Sia Soliola barrelling across the line.

Billy Slater and Cameron Munster caused Canberra plenty of headaches, with Munster wrong-footing Raiders defenders to score the Storm’s second try of the night.

Rookie backrower Joe Stimson, who started ahead of Ryan Hoffman in a late switch, also got through a mountain of work in defence.

Winger Josh Addo-Carr pounced on a loose ball to start the second half with the Storm’s fifth try before Canberra centre Joey Leilua did likewise down the other end.

But the Storm scoreboard continued to tick over and Canberra was left to play out the match down a man after Jordan Rapana was sin-binned for a professional foul.

Storm 44 (Scott 2, Kaufusi, Munster, Vunivalu, Addo-Carr, Asofa-Solomona tries; Smith 8 goals) d Raiders 10 (Soliola, Leiulua tries, Williams 1 goal)

Scary Storm put Raiders to the sword

Melbourne Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr described it as “scary” how much improvement was left in his team’s attack.

On Saturday night the Storm showed how right he was by demolishing the Canberra Raiders at a wet AAMI Park.

The Storm passed 30 points for the eighth time in 2018 and claimed their eighth-straight win with a 44-10 victory in front of 15,298 fans.

If the rest of the NRL aren't scared yet, perhaps they should be as the margin could have been higher but for Storm coach Craig Bellamy opting to rest fullback Billy Slater and hooker Cameron Smith in the closing stages.

Melbourne's try-scoring list showed how broad their attack is, scoring on both wings and having prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona and backrower Felise Kaufusi on the sheet.

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Recently returned prop Jesse Bromwich was back to his powerful best with 154 all-run metres in a little over 45 minutes on the field. He will be ready for a bigger load by finals time.

The first-placed Storm have a top-of-the-table showdown with the Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium on Friday night and will touch down in Sydney full of confidence.

No one in the NRL has won back-to-back premierships since the 1990s but with five games to go Craig Bellamy's side showed they are right on track to buck that trend.


The Raiders struggled in the opening minutes to find the line between defending aggressively and breaking the rules as they conceded the first five penalties of the game.

Those extra possessions saw Cameron Smith kick a penalty goal and the Storm score two tries as Billy Slater set up Kaufusi before Cameron Munster made a classy solo run, dummying to his left and stepping between multiple defenders.

But the Raiders did find their groove midway through the half and strung together a large slice of possession by forcing the Storm into defending repeat sets. On the half hour Josh Hodgson executed a clinical play near the line to thread an outside pass to backrower Sia Soliola who scored.

Not to be outdone, the Storm responded to close out the half with two more tries. Jahrome Hughes made a diving pass to Suliasi Vunivalu who scored in the right corner, then some quick passing to the left saw Munster set up Curtis Scott on half-time as the home side led 24-4.

Just minutes into the second half Melbourne went further ahead following a tidy try from Addo-Carr but again the Raiders showed some fight as Joey Leilua scored next to the post, cutting the lead to 30-10 with an hour gone.

Towering prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona responded with a forceful run on 62 minutes and on the kick-off Munster broke the line at halfway and put through a grubber kick which found Addo-Carr who bolted before passing off for Scott to score.

Scary stuff, indeed.

The Storm play South Sydney Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium on Friday night at 7.35pm.

Great night as all the old boys are there. Crocker looks great with his beard.

Deadpool wrote:Anasta must of put money on the Raiders.

Haha Anasta was not willing to over look anything lol
He was deadset majority of the time against the Storm.
All bit of fun and games as long as the Storm are winning lol.

Just got home from the game, and now watching the replay! Very enjoyable tonight. To have the luxury of resting Smith and Slater at the end was great ( mind you, once Smith went off we lost a bit of direction- no surprise that he remains the standout player of the competition).

So many positives. Felise Kaufusi and Cam Munster were enormous . The 4 front rowers were all great. Dale Finucane is great in the middle. Jahrome is the guy at 7. Billy ran well, passed well ( mostly ) , kicked well. Chambers very good including with his kicks .

Joe Stimson was ok( and played dummy half when Smith went off) , but has not cemented his spot. Clearly Brandon Smith comes in for Blair ( or does Blair stay and Scott go? ) , but will Craig find a spot for Hoffy ? For Kasiano/Vete?

Great speculation as we turn our attention to a very big game next Friday night .

Great to be a Storm supporter.

No way does Blair take Scott’s place. No way

Gaiscioch wrote:

Deadpool wrote:Anasta must of put money on the Raiders.

Haha Anasta was not willing to over look anything lol
He was deadset majority of the time against the Storm.
All bit of fun and games as long as the Storm are winning lol.

The whole of the NSW media mafia is against us. When we win it is because of grapple tackles and us getting all the penalties.

When we lose the Foxtel colour commentators almost do a jig in the studio.

Especially the recently retired players. Brandy Alexander is even worse.

Deadpool wrote:No way does Blair take Scott’s place. No way

Seconded.

Stats that Matter - Round 20

melbournestorm.com.au
Sun 29 Jul 2018

128
Melbourne is developing a habit of putting their opponents to the sword at AAMI Park. In their last three games at home, Storm have scored an average of 42 points. It is a scary statistic for opposition sides making the trip down south. The purple fortress is clearly alive and well heading into the back end of the season.

20
The first twenty minutes set up this win. Storm controlled 60 per cent of possession, completed 10 of 11 sets, made nine tackle breaks and scored two tries. The Raiders were on the back foot from the outset and sensing that, Melbourne continued to pile on the pressure throughout the 80 minutes. The result was a free-flowing pile of points as the Storm attack clicked into gear.

14
Saturday night's win over the Raiders was Melbourne's 14th of the season - that is just one less than this time last year. That is a stat that could be hard to believe given the slow 6-5 start to the year this side made. Even their current eight game winning streak has included some patchy form however this team is finding a way to just get it done and one suspects it is only just getting started.

2
With tonight's win Melbourne Storm move two games clear into the top four. It is a healthy buffer with five games of the home and away season to play. Add to that they also boast the best points differential in the competition. A crunch match awaits next Friday night against the Rabbitohs in Sydney. If Melbourne can make it nine in a row and return to Victoria with the points, it will be a game clear inside the top two.

The second stat there doesn't tell the full story. We might have completed 10/11 sets but we were getting carried up the field off the back of poor discipline for the Raiders. Our forwards started very slow.

I keep looking at how comparable this season is in terms of w/l and point differential to last season. It really is hard to believe. Feels like we've had a ton more close games this season.

Securing a top 2/4 spot is a must. The fact that we're separating ourselves from the middle pact is really important.

Whilst it’s been acknowledged Munster had a great game, I don’t think he’s received the plaudits he is due.

I thought he absolutely commanded the game and must be considered an elite player for the few that perhaps didn’t rate him that high.

I like what him, Hughes and Cam Smith are developing into.