Can the Melbourne Storm qualify for their first grand final since 2012 or will the North Queensland Cowboys keep them at bay and come one step closer to their first premiership? We will find out this weekend in the NRL finals series.
The Storm and Cowboys will meet at AAMI Park to battle it out for the final spot in the NRL grand final.
Melbourne are coming off a week’s break after impressive performances in the past three weeks where they have met each of the top three teams (winning on all occasions).
This run from playing third place to first place on their way into the finals seems to have paid off, and has installed them in the preliminary finals with a week’s rest under their belts.
They are, however, still at the longest odds to win the premiership, although this is not too far away from the rest of the pack as each team has an equal shot at the total.
After their 20-18 victory over the Sydney Roosters in the qualifying finals, the Storm have returned home to Melbourne relishing the opportunity to play a preliminary final at home. They are the only team to host a match in the city for the weekend (this has not happened since 2006 when the Storm played the St George-Illawarra Dragons in front of 40,901 fans at Docklands Stadium).
The week of relaxation may prove a disadvantage, however with no momentum running into the match they may struggle against the red-hot Cowboys. The gameplan for Craig Bellamy’s team should be to cover the kick and ensure that the three-pronged attack featuring international forwards Matthew Scott, Jason Taumalolo and James Tamou are kept quiet and struggle to break the line.
Tim Glasby has been named to start at prop with Jordan McLean shifting back to the bench in an otherwise unchanged team to the one that defeated the Sydney Roosters a fortnight ago. Christian Welch and Dayne Weston have been named 18th and 19th men.
When Billy Slater was sidelined for the season, many thought the Storm would struggle at the back and fail to make the top eight for the first time since 2003 (excluding their 2010 wooden spoon). Cameron Munster has proved critics wrong, however, launching himself as one of the best rookies for the 2015 season and a staple in Craig Bellamy’s team.
In the Storm’s qualifying final against the Sydney Roosters, the Rockhampton junior chewed up 215 metres from 25 runs for an average of 8.6. This was also backed up by a try assist that saw him named the best player on-field.
Munster must keep cool and composed and stop the Cowboys’ forwards charge if the Storm are to make the grand final for the first time since their 2012 premiership win over the Bulldogs. He remains the key to Melbourne’s hopes of having at least one team qualify for a grand final in either of the NRL or AFL grand finals.
The Cowboys are flying high after thrashing Cronulla last week in Townsville 39-0. They will no doubt be hoping to replicate that game with yet another near perfect performance. North Queensland must again muscle up and hit the line to make as many metres possible.
If the outside backs also continue to chase hard after the kick and Johnathan Thurston, Michael Morgan and Lachlan Coote create an element of confusion for Munster by sharing kicking in general play, Melbourne will have a really tough time in defence.
Momentum off their huge win over the Sharks may help the Cowboys surge toward their maiden premiership.
Paul Green has made no changes to his team after last week’s 39-0 victory over the Sharks.
Plagued by injury in recent years, Coote’s return to being one of the best fullbacks in rugby league is a story unlike any other. It seems almost a miracle that the former Panthers player has played 22 games this year. His battle back to first grade after spending Round 1 in the Intrust Super Cup has been unrivalled showing that he is still capable of playing at the top level.
Against the Sharks he had a decent game making a line-break and 96 metres from 11 runs. Considering last year he was unable to walk. Coote will, however, need to play even better this week if the Cowboys are to continue their premiership charge.
Since the Storm arrived in the competition back in 1999, they have played the Cowboys 30 times. Melbourne have won 21 matches, with North Queensland victorious on nine occasions. They most recently played in Round 25 when the Storm won 14-6. Prior to that, they met back in Round 4 with the Cowboys victorious in extra time 18-17.
Prediction
The Storm will be victorious in a gruelling match. Win by four.
What you need to know
Kickoff: Saturday, 7.40pm (AEST)
Venue: AAMI Park
TV: Nine Network, live
Last meeting: Storm defeated Cowboys 14-6 (Round 25, 2015)
Head-to-head: 30 Played – Storm 21, Cowboys 9
Storm last three games: 20-18 versus Roosters, 15-8 versus Broncos, 14-6 versus Cowboys
Cowboys last three games: 39-0 versus Sharks, 12-16 versus Broncos, 42-12 versus Titans
Teams:
Melbourne Storm
1 Cameron Munster, 2 Marika Koroibete, 3 William Chambers, 4 Kurt Mann, 5 Matthew Duffie, 6 Blake Green, 7 Cooper Cronk, 8 Jesse Bromwich, 9 Cameron Smith (c), 10 Tim Glasby, 11 Kevin Proctor, 12 Tohu Harris, 13 Ryan Hinchcliffe
14 Kenneath Bromwich, 15 Dale Finucane, 16 Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 17 Jordan McLean, 18 Christian Welch, 19 Dayne WestonNorth Queensland Cowboys
1 Lachlan Coote, 2 Kyle Feldt, 3 Justin O’Neill, 4 Kane Linnett, 5 Antonio Winterstein, 6 Michael Morgan, 7 Johnathan Thurston (c), 8 Matthew Scott (c), 9 Jake Granville, 10 James Tamou, 11 Gavin Cooper, 12 Ethan Lowe, 13 Jason Taumalolo
14 Rory Kostjasyn, 15 John Asiata, 16 Scott Bolton, 17 Ben Hannant, 19 Ray Thompson
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