StormFans.club

Saturday 17th August
5:30pm
AAMI Park

1st vs 3rd again, same as last week. Should be a cracking game. Hopefully Hughes and Paps are good to go for this one.

Wonder if we're planning on resting the captain before the finals. Brandon being injured probably means it's likely to not happen but I'd think about it resting him for this one and round 25.

blazza18 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 10:50 amWonder if we're planning on resting the captain before the finals. Brandon being injured probably means it's likely to not happen but I'd think about it resting him for this one and round 25.

Even if Brandon was healthy, I doubt Smith lets Bellamy rest him. I would hazard a guess that Smith would argue for reduced minutes over missing a full game. Doesn't mean it's not a good idea though...

I hope we get an update on Brandon's ankle this week. I also hope like hell it is good news and we have him ahead of finals.

yourhero wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 10:58 am Even if Brandon was healthy, I doubt Smith lets Bellamy rest him. I would hazard a guess that Smith would argue for reduced minutes over missing a full game. Doesn't mean it's not a good idea though...

I hope we get an update on Brandon's ankle this week. I also hope like hell it is good news and we have him ahead of finals.

Given his games record I think having him only play 50 minutes would be the most realistic option we could hope for. Would give Grant a crack as well.

Hope it's not too serious for Brandon. Club told Roy Ward they didn't think it was but needed scans. Guesses to when we'll actually find out.

During the game yesterday one of the channel 9 dudes mentioned he did it by landing on Tino's foot in a game of touch. Bet Bellamy was ticked off at that.

NAS wasn't charged by the judiciary apparently, which is hugely surprising!

Also, in regards to resting Cam in the lead-up to the finals, I agree I would only bring him off early in games where we can, as opposed to resting him completely from games, as we really need to run into the finals with a settled line-up and polished combinations.

Insomniac wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 5:29 pm NAS wasn't charged by the judiciary apparently, which is hugely surprising!

I'm (pleasantly) surprised that neither NAS or Jesse copped a charge out of that. Both of them spent too much time up around the neck.
Cody Walker also did his damnedest to try and get a penalty call against them for a raised arm any time he tackled them - something I admit that the boys need to watch; but mostly because the Nein commentary team called them out (because of Cody's whinging). They are certainly not unique in doing so, but they do play for Melbourne so it does get more media focus.
Ironically, Cody was grubbing it up as best he could; at least 3 times I noticed him pressing a forearm hard down into the face of one of our forwards.

TC wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:01 pm
Cody Walker also did his damnedest to try and get a penalty call against them for a raised arm any time he tackled them - something I admit that the boys need to watch; but mostly because the Nein commentary team called them out (because of Cody's whinging). They are certainly not unique in doing so, but they do play for Melbourne so it does get more media focus.

I think it looks especially bad with NAS because of how tall he is. Often raised forearms make contact with a defenders chest, but because NAS is so tall he's very close to elbowing defenders in the face.

Danger D wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:52 am

TC wrote: ↑Mon Aug 12, 2019 6:01 pm
Cody Walker also did his damnedest to try and get a penalty call against them for a raised arm any time he tackled them - something I admit that the boys need to watch; but mostly because the Nein commentary team called them out (because of Cody's whinging). They are certainly not unique in doing so, but they do play for Melbourne so it does get more media focus.

I think it looks especially bad with NAS because of how tall he is. Often raised forearms make contact with a defenders chest, but because NAS is so tall he's very close to elbowing defenders in the face.

Apart from the penalty and suspension implications, a raised forearm in a tackle must also surely be a great way to suffer an arm fracture.

Keep the forearms down boys....sitting out games isn't going to help land the 2019 Premiership !

I hope our forwards aren't being taught to raise their arms cause I noticed a couple of others doing it too. NAS has been a bit lucky to not get called out for it more often. Gotta at least try to make an effort to keep the elbows lower.

https://www.melbournestorm.com.au/news/ ... 2-preview/

Storm v Raiders - Round 22 preview
NRL.com
Mon 12 Aug 2019

Two match-defining hookers in Cameron Smith and Josh Hodgson working with two energetic and unpredictable five-eighths in Cameron Munster and Jack Wighton. What's not to like about a Storm-Raiders contest?

Munster and Wighton locked horns in Origin this year although the Raiders No.6 played in the centres. But Smith and Hodgson don't get to duel that often since Smith retired from representative football. The commanding presence these two have on their sides will go a long way in deciding which team wins this match.

Coaches and best mates from their Canberra playing days - Craig Bellamy and Ricky Stuart - also know each other's styles well, but they each are as cunning as foxes. So they will be searching for that weak point somewhere along the fence line.

Being two cold-weather clubs, the Raiders visiting Melbourne's AAMI Park is unlikely to throw Stuart's men off the job in hand. Storm beat the Raiders before their home crowd in round two, so a little payback will be in Canberra's minds.

The Rundown

Key match-up
The kicking games of Brodie Croft and Aidan Sezer will be vital in trying to keep two magnificent sets of back-fives from both teams pinned down in their half.

For the Storm to win
Try to keep Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad on a tighter leash. He is well ahead of his NRL colleagues when it comes to running metres - making an average of almost 180 per game. He's also crossed for 10 tries in 19 games to make him the leading try-scorer in the Raiders side.

For the Raiders to win
Keeping closer tabs on winger Suliasi Vunivalu might help. He scored a hat-trick in Storm's 22-10 over Canberra at GIO Stadium earlier this year. The Storm bench has some real points-scoring punch. Brandon Smith, Tui Kamikamica, Joe Stimson and Ryan Papenhuyzen have scored 16 tries between them. Canberra's Siliva Havili, Dunamis Lui, Corey Horsburgh and Ryan Sutton have four.

Brett Kimmorley says
The Raiders will have come out of last week’s loss knowing they are still contenders with the Roosters. Now they are testing themselves against the Storm. The Storm were great last week. The first 20 minutes from Jesse Bromwich and Nelson Asofa-Solomona was probably the best 20 minutes I’ve seen from any front rowers in 2019. If the Raiders are to win, they need to prevent a fast start from the Storm. The pace of this game should be unbelievable. Storm by 2

Stat Attack
Storm leads the NRL completion rate across 21 rounds at 80 percent, while the Raiders aren't far behind at 79 percent. With such quality in execution, it probably comes as no surprise that these two clubs are first and third again, when it comes to making the least amount of errors in a game.

And another thing ...
Wighton is playing his 150th NRL game - all for the Raiders. He started out as a winger in 2012, then moved to the centres, to five-eighth briefly in 2014 and then the next four seasons at fullback, before returning to No.6 in 2019.

Storm team named. Paps named on the bench.

1. Jahrome Hughes
2. Suliasi Vunivalu
3. Will Chambers
4. Justin Olam
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Cameron Munster
7. Brodie Croft
8. Jesse Bromwich
9. Cameron Smith
10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
11. Felise Kaufusi
12. Kenneath Bromwich
13. Dale Finucane

14. Tui Kamikamica
15. Tino Faasuamaleaui
16. Joe Stimson
17. Ryan Papenhuyzen

18. Max King
19. Tom Eisenhuth
20. Sandor Earl
21. Billy Walters

Raiders team named.

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
2. Nick Cotric
3. Jarrod Croker
4. Joseph Leilua
5. Jordan Rapana
6. Jack Wighton
7. Aidan Sezer
8. Josh Papalii
9. Josh Hodgson
10. Iosia Soliola
11. John Bateman
12. Elliott Whitehead
13. Joseph Tapine

14. Bailey Simonsson
15. Dunamis Lui
16. Corey Horsburgh
17. Ryan Sutton

18. Sam Williams
19. Hudson Young
20. Siliva Havili
21. Emre Guler

BlowJob Leilua will supposedly make his return. Cannot stand that bloke, filthy player.

The rest of the Raiders team I don't mind at all really. Loving what Bateman has brought to them.

blazza18 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 10:22 am I hope our forwards aren't being taught to raise their arms cause I noticed a couple of others doing it too. NAS has been a bit lucky to not get called out for it more often. Gotta at least try to make an effort to keep the elbows lower.

It's something I have noticed with other teams too; the Roosters particularly. Gallen has always done it, as has Woods, so the Sharks are serial offenders and it seems to be creeping into Wests, the Cowboys and a couple of others too.

Expect a lot of whining from Croker regarding our 'tactics' during this game, and the Raiders will certainly be flopping around like dying fish trying to get penalties once tackled.