freak accident has turner in doubt

[Super Cronk]

MELBOURNE Storm's hopes of matching Cronulla's physical forward pack at Olympic Park tomorrow night have dived as back-rower Glen Turner struggles to overcome a freak swimming pool accident.

Turner faces a fitness test at Storm's final training session tonight after he cut his leg in a mistimed jump from a diving board on Wednesday.

Turner required several stitches after clipping a lane rope.

"It is a bit of a worry at the moment," Storm coach Craig Bellamy said last night.

"We are just waiting to see how he comes through."






Turner shapes as an important player for Storm against a Cronulla team that has charged to third on the league ladder on the back of its dominant forward pack and miserly defence.

Parramatta showed in Round 6 that the way to unsettle Storm is to take it on up front and Bellamy expects the Sharks to follow suit.

"The Sharks like to play very physically and I don't expect that to change," Bellamy said.

"I'm sure that's how teams are trying to play against us, but I thought Canberra was fairly physical last week and we handled that all right.

"Parramatta didn't beat us because they were more physical, they beat us because they were more committed."

Bellamy is yet to finalise his line-up, but confirmed that Kiwi Test lock David Kidwell would return after missing last week's win over the Raiders.

"Kiddy said he was right to play last week, but I just wanted to start with a fresh team," Bellamy said. "It is hard to back up after a Test match both physically and emotionally and I wanted us to be fresh.

"We had been a little off the two weeks before and we are fortunate to have the option of bringing a few guys like Peter Robinson and Jamie Feeney into the team."

Despite its strong 50 per cent strike-rate at Olympic Park, the Brett Kimmorley-inspired Sharks are rank outsiders to beat Storm tomorrow night.

But Bellamy warned his team could ill-afford to underestimate Cronulla, which boasts the best defence in the NRL.

"You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see that their improvement has come on the back of their defence," Bellamy said.

STORM has ruled out offering former Melbourne centre Ben MacDougall a contract to return to the NRL.

MacDougall's future in Scotland, where he is attempting to become a rugby union international, is clouded after the sacking of Scotland's Australian-born coach Matt Williams.

The pressure on MacDougall increased yesterday when his Edinburgh club announced it had signed former Penrith Panther, Peter Jorgensen.

heraldsun.com.au

[Thunderstruck]

Hmm.. makes selection easier.

[bula]

Well i guess it's finalised then, Feeney's in. What about our bench now
14. Dennis Scott
15. Peter Robinson
16. Jamie Feeney
17. Brett White
How freakin goods that

[Insomniac]

Yeah looks good - if our forwards can match the Sharks', we'll win it with our backs. But Brett White pretty much sums up our forward performance - he started the season really strong, but seems to be dropping off as the other teams settle into the season.

[KimmorleyKiller]

If there's ever going to be a week to pick up our forward game, this is it. Youve got Stevens, Nutley, Hutch off the bench, if we can dominate them, were a good chance of putting up another 46+ points

Our bench does look bloody good but!

[Earl]

Could be a blessing in disguise.

[Mike_The_Undertaker]

Yep i reckon we should stick to having an all forward Bench.

[Lucas]

Could be a blessing in disguise.

Exactly what I was thinking. Although I would much rather him being dropped straight out then having to suffer an injury.

[Super Cronk]

Storm interchange forward Glen Turner has overcome a badly cut leg suffered at training this week. "He had about five stitches … but he's had a bit of a fitness test and he'll play," coach Craig Bellamy said. With Cooper Cronk playing for feeder team Brisbane Norths, Jamie Feeney is Melbourne's 18th man. Stuart Raper, coach of the unchanged Sharks, hopes to announce a new deal with the club by the end of next week.

SMH.com.au

[Allykat]

Turner required several stitches after clipping a lane rope.

Ouch..I've done that before but I didn't need stitches it just hurt alot and bled alot. And I thought i was a knob for doing it! so its good (but not good) to hear that someone else has cut themselves on a lane rope...it makes me feel less stupid

P.S mine scarred!