It was a forecast that reigning premiers the Manly Sea Eagles never saw coming – a 40-12 hiding against a clinical Melbourne Storm side led brilliantly by two players who will have a big say as to whether or not Craig Bellamy’s men can make a fourth successive grand final.
Storm big guns Billy Slater and Cameron Smith were absolutely superb in plucking a Sea Eagles defence that had looked very well prepared to handle the attacking genius of these two players in particular.
It was not long ago that Manly defeated the Storm at Olympic Park, by playing a physical brand of football that had most pundits believing their premiership defence was well and truly back on track.
In that particular game, the clinical presence of both Smith and Slater was not as evident as it was last night at Etihad stadium.
This was largely due to the kicking game implored by Manly captain Matt Orford, who constantly conceded numerous twenty metre restarts, so that the Sea Eagles defence avoided the daunting confrontation of tackling Billy Slater in broken field play.
However dire the plan, it was a tactic that worked wonders for Des Hasler’s men, as they limited the damage of not only Slater’s darting runs from the back, but Cameron Smith’s ability to marshal any momentum from dummy half which usually starts on the back of a Slater charge.
Unfortunately for Manly, the game plan that served them so well four weeks ago failed to rear its head on Friday night, and they were effectively humbled by the same side they defeated 40 nil in last year’s NRL decider.
This time, it was the Storm who managed to pile on 40 points on the reigning premiers and send a clear warning to all those that think their dominant era is coming to a close.
Slater reigned supreme at the back for Melbourne, scoring a club record four tries, whilst also making 182 metres with the ball in hand.
His combination with Cameron Smith close to the try line once again reaped dividends, as the Maroons fullback grounded a neat grubber by his captain to score his third try in the second half.
Indeed opposition teams would do well to stop Slater at Etihad stadium next week, considering the Test fullback has now scored eleven tries in just four appearances at the ground.
Although Smith doesn’t make do with the speed and swerve of Slater’s game, his attributes as both a skilful ball player and leader puts him on par with the fullback as Melbourne’s most influential player.
Against the Sea Eagles, Smith reminded the Rugby League world why his late suspension last season cost the Storm so dearly in the premiership decider.
The Qld hooker was once again at his scheming best in attack, providing neat ball for forwards such as Jeff Lima, Adam Blair, Aiden Tolman and Ryan Tandy to make valuable metres up the middle of the park.
Smith also produced a neat offload for team-mate Dallas Johnson in the first half that saw the lock forward go on a big run down field.
The Melbourne captain’s presence came into full effect when he barraged his way out of dummy half to score a try that sealed the Storm’s passage to week two of the finals.
To put the icing on the cake, Smith produced a wonderful cut out pass that saw Aiden Tolman score a rare try under the posts to rub salt in to Manly’s wound.
While they may not be as dominant as in previous seasons, the Melbourne Storm have shown they still have the arsenal and experience to go all the way, especially with both Smith and Slater striking form when it counts the most.
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