WHO: Melbourne Storm v Manly Sea Eagles
WHAT: Grand Final of the 2007 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Telstra Stadium, Sydney
WHEN: Sunday, September 30th
ON TV: Channel 9 LIVE coverage from midday (coverage from 6:30pm in Melbourne)
IN BRIEF
Melbourne Storm qualified for the grand final with a hard fought 26-10 win over the Parramatta Eels at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne.
The Manly Sea Eagles earned their place in the grand final with an impressive 28-6 win over the North Queensland Cowboys at Aussie Stadium.
INS AND OUTS
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy has named a 21-man squad for this Sunday’s Grand Final against the Manly Sea Eagles.
After the 26-10 win over the Eels in the Preliminary Final, Storm coach Craig Bellamy named an unchanged side for Grand Final.
After initially fearing Ben Cross would miss the Grand Final, he has been cleared of serious injury and will take his place in the starting team.
Adam Blair and Sika Manu have been added to the 19-man Preliminary Final squad.
FAST FACTS
• Melbourne has won 14 of its past 15 games
• Manly has beaten Melbourne in four of their past five encounters
• Melbourne has only lost once at Telstra Stadium in seven visits
• Manly has scored the first try in its past 17 games
KEY MATCH-UP
There are three key match-ups which will prove critical to their respective teams’ chances of grand final glory, and they are in the key positions.
The battle of the fullbacks will be interesting. The man that plays the better game, either Storm’s Billy Slater on Manly’s Brett Stewart, could well find himself earning a maiden Test jersey for the game against New Zealand in October. Both have had superb seasons, scoring plenty of tries. However, it is Slater’s ability to get others across the try-line that may give him the edge.
Before Cooper Cronk, there was Matt Orford. Orford wore the number seven jersey in Melbourne for five years before leaving for Manly, after which Cronk took over the play-making duties. They are very different; Orford likes to take complete control of proceedings, while Cronk is happy to share the playing making duties between himself and hooker Cam Smith.
Finally, hookers Smith and Manly’s Michael Monaghan probably hold the keys to their team’s fortunes. Smith is a Dally M winner who always seems to make the right calls. Whether passing, kicking or running with the ball, Smith rarely puts a foot wrong. Monaghan, on the outer at Manly two years ago before being shunted to from halfback to hooker after the arrival of Orford, played a starring role in his team’s preliminary final win over the Cowboys. Given he’s moving to Warrington in the UK Super League next year, he’ll be looking to leave on the ultimate high.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: 10, Storm: 5, Sea Eagles: 5
At Telstra Stadium: First meeting at this venue
FOR AND AGAINST 2007
Points for: Storm: 693, Sea Eagles: 655
Points against: Storm: 287, Sea Eagles: 389
Tries for: Storm: 125, Sea Eagles: 115
Points differential: Storm: +410, Sea Eagles: +266
LAST EIGHT CLASHES
2007 Sea Eagles def. Storm 13-12 @ Brookvale Oval
2006 Storm def. Sea Eagles 30-20 @ Olympic Park
2006 Sea Eagles def. Storm 34-12 @ Brookvale Oval
2005 Sea Eagles def. Storm 25-18 @ Brookvale Oval
2004 Sea Eagles def. Storm 30-28 @ Brookvale Oval
2003 Storm def. Sea Eagles 40-10 @ Olympic Park
2003 Sea Eagles def. Storm 20-14 @ Brookvale Oval
1999 Storm def. Sea Eagles 19-18 @ Brookvale Oval
THE STORM STORY SO FAR
ROUND 1: Storm 18 (Tries: J. Smith, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Wests Tigers 16 (Tries: Moodie, Harrison, Whatuira; Goals: Marshall 2) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 2: Storm 32 (Tries: White 2, Folau 2, Slater, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith 4) def. Raiders 16 (Tries: Carney, Graham, Best; Goals: Dobson 2) @ Canberra Stadium
ROUND 3: Storm 30 (Tries: Slater 2, Folau 2, Hoffman, King; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Warriors 12 (Tries: Vatuvei, Rapira; Goals: Martin 2) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 4: Storm 22 (Tries: Folau 2, King, Quinn; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Knights 12 (Tries: Simpson, Abraham; Goals: Gidley 2) @ Energy Australia Stadium
ROUND 5: Storm 24 (Tries: Turner 2, Quinn, Folau, King; Goals: C. Smith, Turner) def. Dragons 10 (Tries: Morris, Naiqama; Goal: Naiqama) @ Oki Jubilee Stadium
ROUND 6: Storm 30 (Tries: Cronk 2, C. Smith 2, Hoffman; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Panthers 20 (Tries: Lewis, Pritchard, Jennings; Goals: Gordon 4) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 7: Storm 28 (Tries: Slater 2, Turner, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 4) def. Broncos 18 (Tries: Hannant, Stagg, Eastwood; Goals: Lockyer: 3) @ Suncorp Stadium
ROUND 8: Storm 12 (Tries: King, Johnson; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Tigers (Tries: Lawrence 2, Galea, Farah; Goals: Collis 7) @ Bluetongue Stadium
ROUND 9: Storm 38 (Tries: Cronk 2, King 2, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 7) def. Bulldogs 14 (Tries: El Masri, Maitua, Millard; Goals: 1) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 10: Storm 26 (Tries: Hoffman, Folau, Slater, Lima, Chambers; Goals: Turner 3) def. Roosters 2 (Goal: Fitzgibbon) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 11: Storm 12 (Tries: Folau, King; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Sea Eagles 13 (Tries: Watmough, Hicks; Goals: Lyon 2; Field Goal: Orford) @ Brookvale Oval
ROUND 12: Storm 26 (Tries: Turner, King, Geyer, Inglis; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Rabbitohs 10 (Tries: Widders, Hegarty; Goal; Merritt) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 13: Storm 4 (Try: J. Smith) def Warriors 2 (Goal: Martin) @ Mt Smart Stadium
ROUND 14: Storm 58 (Tries: King 2, Inglis 2, Geyer, J. Smith, Newton, Cronk, Tagataese, Turner; Goals: C. Smith 9) def. Cowboys 12 (Tries: Bowen 2, Williams) @ Dairy Farmers’ Stadium
ROUND 15: Storm 24 (Tries: King, Newton, Turner, Hoffman, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. Dragons 6 (Try: Scott; Goal: Soward) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 16: BYE
ROUND 17: Storm 12 (Tries: King, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. Rabbitohs 8 (Tries: Gordon, Merrit) @ Bluetongue Stadium
ROUND 18: Storm 44 (Tries: Slater 2, Quinn 2, Turner 2, Hoffman, King, Newton; Goals: C. Smith 3, Turner) def. Knights 0 @ Olympic Park
ROUND 19: Storm 34 (Tries: Inglis 2, Geyer, Folau, King, S. Turner; Goals: C. Smith 5) def. Raiders 6 (Try: G. Turner; Goals: Dobson) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 20: Storm 16 (Tries: Folau, Cronk, Aubusson; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by Roosters 26 (Tries: Williams 2, Tupou, Harrison; Goals: FitzGibbon 4, Roberts) @ Aussie Stadium
ROUND 21: Storm 17 (Tries: King, Hoffman, Folau; Goals: Folau 2, Field Goal: Cronk) def. Sharks (Tries: Perenara, Pomeroy; Goals: Covell 4) @ Toyota Park
ROUND 22: Storm 14 (Tries: Inglis, Folau, Geyer; Goals: C. Smith) def. Broncos 6 (Try: Emmett; Goals: Parker) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 23: Storm 14 (Tries: C. Smith, Slater; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. Eels 10 (Tries: Grothe, Inu; Goals: Inu) @ Olympic Park
ROUND 24: Storm 38 (Tries: Folau 3, Slater, Geyer, Lima; Goals: Smith 6, Folau) def. Bulldogs 6 (Try: Hickey; Goal: El Masri) @ Telstra Stadium
ROUND 25: Storm 50 (Tries: Inglis, Cronk, Quinn, Folau, Hoffman, Turner, Slater, King; Goals: C. Smith 5, Folau, King) @ Olympic Park
QUALIFYING FINAL: Storm 40 (Tries: Turner 3, Geyer, King, C. Smith, Slater, Quinn; Goals: C. Smith 3, Folau) @ Olympic Park
PRELIMINARY FINAL: Storm 26 (Tries: King 2, Turner, Cronk; Goals: C. Smith 5) @ Telstra Dome
2007 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Folau 21, King 19, Turner 15, Slater 12, Hoffman 10, Geyer 8, Cronk 8, Inglis 7, Quinn 6, Newton 4 (Newcastle 1), C. Smith 4, J. Smith 3, White 2, Lima 2, Johnson, Chambers, Tagataese, Aubusson, Crocker
2007 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 85, Turner 5, Folau 5, King
2007 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk
2007 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 186, Folau 94, King 78, Turner 70, Slater 48, Hoffman 40, Cronk 33, Geyer 32, Inglis 28, Quinn 24, Newton 16 (Newcastle 4), J. Smith 12, White 8, Lima 8, Johnson 4, Chambers 4, Tagataese 4, Aubusson 4, Crocker 4
MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Antonio Kaufusi: Season (Patella Tendon)
Danny Vaughan: Season (ACL)
Pale Ale: Season (Back)
SQUAD FOR SUNDAY’S GAME:
Starting team:
1. Billy Slater
2. Steve Turner
3. Matt King
4. Israel Folau
5. Anthony Quinn
6. Greg Inglis
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Ben Cross
9. Cam Smith ©
10. Brett White
11. Clint Newton
12. Ryan Hoffman
13. Dallas Johnson
Interchange:
14. Jeremy Smith, 15. Matt Geyer, 16. Michael Crocker, 17. Jeff Lima, 18. James Aubusson, 19. Garret Crossman, 20. Adam Blair, 21. Sika Manu.
Coach: Craig Bellamy.
