Round 18 Storm v Raiders

Discussion on anything to do with Melbourne Storm - games, players, rumours - anything!
blazza18
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Was an improved performance but we’re so far off the pace atm. The attack looks slow an predictable but still did enough to win it.

We’ll have to deal with it but Meaney has to be way better at the back. His individual errors were costly.
big_m
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Not some why some folk are blaming ref. That was just a poor performance from us. The injury list is also just so bad now i dont know if there is anything we can do. Yes, Meaney made some mistakes but it feels like he's playing a different position every week which cant be easy.

The media were calling Robinson coach of the year last year for getting roosters to the finals. We've had a worse season with injuries and are top 4.

The injuries dont excuse the low effort from some players though.
Lennart Bedrager
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I don't know where the starch in the forward pack is going to come from, but we need to find some and quick. Our attack is always going to struggle behind a pack thats not laying the groundwork.
Scooter
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Much improved performance on previous two weeks. Good contest. Game could have gone either way. Hughes came close to two other tries. Raiders try while we had an extra player really hurt. It was a good try but we shouldn't have been exploited like that with an extra man.

Players from our backline that have been / will be out for an extended period 1. Papenhuyzen 2. Coates 3. Reimis Smith 4. Anderson 5. Jennings plus Warbrick. Don't have as much depth as we used and difficult to fill those gaps.

Also missing Welch, Moeroa and Loiero in the forwards.

Alas with the injuries it will be difficult to do damage come finals time. At least I thought the effort was there today.
SunshineCoastStormer
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It is over.

Because we would need a fit spine to beat Penrith. And that’s now gone

Gutted after a strong first 9 games - 8-1.
But there were a lot of home games in that run and we were carrying less injuries.

What a waste but the injuries are to blame mostly.

Things we can do better:

1) Use 17 men. Any point in people like Moera and J Grant being there if Bellyache doesn’t trust them
2) Find some depth - tough given the cap. But we know who have come in and not done enough. Maybe it’s time for Warbrick, Garlick, Howarth to get a run
3) Work on replacing Pack departees - some of who survived not played well this year. I’m not convinced Tariq Sims is the answer. We will miss Kafusi and K Brom massively…
4) Work out how to protect Papi even if it means putting some kg on him and losing some pace. 20 strong games a year better than 5 outstanding ones..
blazza18
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The timing on those outside backs injuries has been brutal. Have to hope Coates or Warbrick can get healthy for next week. We can’t expect anything positive by playing Wishart out of position. Bellamy throwing him to the wolves throughout the season hasn’t been good for him.
big_m
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Need to make some changes to the pack if we are to get anything out of this season now. Is Tepai back next week? He was good in the early season. Would like to see nas back on bench where he has most impact. Tui should start.

Strange thing is if we sign a good front rower in the summer we actually have a good pack for next year: welch and new guy in front row, sims snd loiero on the edges, grant at hooker, king at lock and tui, nas etc on bench.
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nacho
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Honestly, and I'm not being dramatic, I can't see us winning more than one game before the end of the season.
big_m
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We do have a brutal run home so top 4 will be s challenge.
TC
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nacho wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 7:54 pm Honestly, and I'm not being dramatic, I can't see us winning more than one game before the end of the season.
I think you might be. Just a little. :-D
We must all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately
Lennart Bedrager
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TC wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 8:32 pm
nacho wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 7:54 pm Honestly, and I'm not being dramatic, I can't see us winning more than one game before the end of the season.
I think you might be. Just a little. :-D
Only a tad :lol:
Lennart Bedrager
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Controversial thought. Of the spine players, paps is the easiest loss to overcome. Yep, when he's on, he's amazing. But if you had to lose one of the spine players, paps is the one. Nick meany is a serviceable fullback, and with some more time and specialist coaching, he'll get the job done. You don't need a world beating fullback to be a shot at the title... Penrith make a decent fist of things with Dylan Edwards at the back.

What we badly need is for some go forward in the pack. You can have the best spine on the planet, they're going to struggle behind a pack who's not making ground and making tackles, playing with some aggression and intent.
Tepai is due back I'm the next week or so, and I'm actually liking the nathan brown idea more as I think about it. If he came down here playing for a contract, I'd expect him to play his heart out. And with a few more choices, maybe some of the bums who seem timed out, might get a fire lit under their backsides...

The only other thing we are in dire need of is some onfield leadership. I feel like maybe it's time one of the halves got given the nod. Watching Munster tonight..... could it be worth a shot?
We're certainly not getting any leadership or direction from Jessie
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This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I don't really see anything special in King either - there was a fair amount of hype for him during pre-season, but I don't really think he has offered much in attack at all; he barely bends the line or makes a break/bust (2 for the year) and he doesn't rack up the post-contact metres either, his playing time has been sporadic, and in defense he'll usually miss a few tackles per game (averaging around 30 tackles per game).

There are certainly bigger names with higher expectations that have been far more disappointing for us this year, but I certainly haven't been excited by the King signing so far.
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nacho
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TC wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 8:32 pm
nacho wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 7:54 pm Honestly, and I'm not being dramatic, I can't see us winning more than one game before the end of the season.
I think you might be. Just a little. :-D
The only winnable game based on current form is against NZ. Titans will aim up and get over us.
Bullucked
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Insomniac wrote: Sun Jul 17, 2022 9:05 pm This is probably an unpopular opinion, but I don't really see anything special in King either - there was a fair amount of hype for him during pre-season, but I don't really think he has offered much in attack at all; he barely bends the line or makes a break/bust (2 for the year) and he doesn't rack up the post-contact metres either, his playing time has been sporadic, and in defense he'll usually miss a few tackles per game (averaging around 30 tackles per game).

There are certainly bigger names with higher expectations that have been far more disappointing for us this year, but I certainly haven't been excited by the King signing so far.
Not unpopular with me Insomniac. The number of times he gets left behind on the ground as the player gets up to play the ball is one of his more disappointing aspects to his game. Having said that, he's not the only one who doesn't show any urgency to get back to marker or in to the line. Is it lethargy, lack of fitness or lack of willingness?
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