Round 8 - Storm vs Warriors @ AAMI Park 25/4 7:00pm

[1999]

MELBOURNE STORM vs NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS
AAMI PARK WEDNESDAY 19:00 Kick Off

OFFICIAL LINE-UPS

MELBOURNE STORM

1. Billy SLATER
2. Matthew DUFFIE
3. Dane NIELSEN
4. Will CHAMBERS
5. Justin O'NEILL
6. Gareth WIDDOP
7. Cooper CRONK
8. Jesse BROMWICH
9. Cameron SMITH (c)
10. Bryan NORRIE
11. Kevin PROCTOR
12. Ryan HOFFMAN
13. Todd LOWRIE

INTERCHANGE

14. Ryan HINCHCLIFFE
15. Rory KOSTJASYN
16. Siosaia VAVE
17. Jason RYLES

18. Anthony QUINN


NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS

1. Kevin LOCKE
2. Bill TUPOU
3. Ben HENRY
4. Krisnan INU
5. Manu VATUVEI
6. James MALONEY
7. Shaun JOHNSON
8. Sione LOUSI
9. Nathan FRIEND
10. Ben MATULINO
11. Feleti MATEO
12. Simon MANNERING (c)
13. Elijah TAYLOR

INTERCHANGE

14. Russell PACKER
15. Ukuma TA'AI
16. Lewis BROWN
17. Sam RAPIRA

18. Pita GODINET
20. Glen FISIIAHI


1999's Tip: STORM by 8

[nacho]

i actually think we will suffer our first loss if we play like we did against the bulldogs

not even trolling.

[1999]

I honestly believe Norrie and Kostjasyn are not really adding too much ATM, obviously Sika is due back soon but against such a big aggressive pack I would love to see Harris or Garbutt get a run, although i still think we will do enough to win.

[Michael :P]

What end is the nominal Storm end and what end do the Warriors fans sit at tomorrow.

[mattstormy]

I know it's not good to change a line-up after 7 straight wins, but this week we have to. We need the biggest props we can field on the bench tomorrow, everyone criticizes us for having a small pack against the Warriors and having two utilities in Hinchy and Kostjasyn (he's a very underrated player and he does nothing wrong, but he has no place on the bench in a game against the Warriors) on the bench won't help. A bench of Garbutt, Vave and Ryles is huge. The amount of metres they would make would give the Storm a very good chance of winning.

[Freshy]

I know it's not good to change a line-up after 7 straight wins, but this week we have to. We need the biggest props we can field on the bench tomorrow, everyone criticizes us for having a small pack against the Warriors and having two utilities in Hinchy and Kostjasyn (he's a very underrated player and he does nothing wrong, but he has no place on the bench in a game against the Warriors) on the bench won't help. A bench of Garbutt, Vave and Ryles is huge. The amount of metres they would make would give the Storm a very good chance of winning.

It doesn't matter whether people criticise our small pack, they have been doing it since the start of the season saying the likes of Rabbitohs, cowboys and roosters would dominate us due to their pack size, look what happened, we smashed them all. People who place an emphasis on pack size being a dominant decider in the outcome of a game are fools.

Since Bellamy started Coaching, we have never had an overly big forward pack like half the teams in the comp.

Besides everyone calling for Tohu, Kenny or Garbutt to be included this week is dilusional. Warriors have one of if not the biggest packs in the game and throwing in the young boys purely because of their size, is asking for trouble. Their inexperienced and are not hardened enough to debut against a team that feeds off overpowering the opposition pack. Guys like Matulino, Packer and Rapira will turn the young boys into pillows.

Hell one of our biggest forwards in Bromwich is currently playing like a marshmallow.

Adding Vave and Ryles is the only size we need. They Were the missing pieces to our squad last year. They will tighten up the ruck and will ensure the Warriors don't dominate our pack.

Finally the key to success against the Warriors is attacking the fringe of the ruck. They may have a massive forward pack but they also tire quickly. By adding Kostjaysn it adds another dimension to our attack and he is a dependable defender. Having him and Hinchy act as a secondary hooker frees up Cam to play wider of the ruck which just increases our attacking opportunities.

Then Kostjaysn also allows Hinchy to play in the back room, and that increases the mobility of our pack to run the Warriors off their feet.

This year has seen our team play a more expansive game and look where we are, teams with big forward
packs simply can not keep up with our play. The warriors will be the same.

The boys will not let a repeat of last years final happen again. You only have to listen to them talk to know how focused they are to square up against the Warriors.

We will win by 16+ tomorrow.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[stormy]

In Craig Bellamy I TRUST....

[Bourbon Rat]

What end is the nominal Storm end and what end do the Warriors fans sit at tomorrow.

Do you mean the 'real' Warriors fans ?
Or the 'Warriors fans' for the day ?

Sorry it's a sore point with me

The Nominated away bay is bay One,(North end) but in the final last year a large group of traveling Warriors fans sat in the South end.

[LESStar58]

I'm surprised he's gone with Rory AND Hinchy as I would have favored a bigger forward on the bench against the Warriors. Bellyache must have considerable faith in his 4 prop rotation of Norrie-Bromwhich-Ryles-Vave. Maybe Ryles and Vave are "big enough" that we don't need a third prop.

Proctor spends a bit of time in the centre of the field as well and isn't a stranger to the engine room so maybe at interchange at some point expect to see

Ryles/Vave/Norrie/Bromwhich
Smith
Proctor
Hoffman
Hinchcliffe
Rory (ball playing loose forward role)

Still, Manu will slot straight in at Rory's expense when he's back from injury as he can cover prop, second row and centre.

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

[LESStar58]

And I agree with 1999- Storm by no more than 8.

I also expect to see Hinchy get a LOT of time marking up on Johnson. He needs to be smashed (legally) out of the game to limit his effectiveness. Look at what Berrigan did to Inglis in the 2006 GF. The smaller, nuggerty forwards need to muscle up on Johnson in defense and the props need to run at him often depending on where he defends.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

[Chip]

And I agree with 1999- Storm by no more than 8.

I also expect to see Hinchy get a LOT of time marking up on Johnson. He needs to be smashed (legally) out of the game to limit his effectiveness. Look at what Berrigan did to Inglis in the 2006 GF. The smaller, nuggerty forwards need to muscle up on Johnson in defense and the props need to run at him often depending on where he defends.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

And no random 50/50 passes - the guy gets an intercept pass on a regular basis.

[Inglis#3]

Might be no need for Hinchy to mark up on Johnson as apparently he's not playing. Warriors fan just said of facebook that SJ is out and Godinet is in.

[Chip]

or its just one of those ploys to supposedly work your game plan around one player, or not as the case may be...same reason CB just cuts & paste the same team as last week sometimes I guess. Anyway as if Storm would fall for that
s'posed to be injured I've read somewhere (can't remember where) but who knows?

[MENACING*STORM]

StormWinby16

[Cherry_Poppins]

Good luck

Bogey teams are hard to beat....