Who can stop the Melbourne Storm?

Mushi, I love Origin but I may have misled you with my comment, What I meant to say was that a series already won, does not need the third game to be played, many will pooh pooh this, but it is MY belief that a dead rubber game is no good for anything!.

Mmm, I still thin Cronulla are finals contenders taking in the fact that they field a strong team every team running onto the paddock (except through Origin period). I personally believe they have the team to contend for the premiership, but I don't believe they'll win it.

Melbourne Storm - read Victorian - supporters, are neither Queensland nor NSW residents. Why should our team be disadvantaged by SOO?

why doesn't origin mean anything?

well we replaced our forwards but we cant replace barba nor can the storm replace slatr

I very much doubt that Cronulla will figure in the finals. They are riding high on emotion so far this season but that emotion is gonna run flat. The ASADA stuff must tell eventually, all the investigations are at best going to be a distraction and at worst will have a direct impact on the team. Its a very very brave man that backs them this year.

Personally, after seeing the Titans destroy Canberra, beat Manly and narrowly lose to Cronulla (I think the next time these two teams meet, the Gold Coast will put 13+ on them) I see them as top 4 quality this year. Manly too are in strong contention after annihilating Newcastle, a strong comeback to beat Brisbane and a narrow loss to a rejuvenated Gold Coast outfit, I see Manly as a top 4 squad. Personally I cannot see the Bulldogs being top 4 but I see them in the top 8 (5th-6th) but I definitely see them as being dark horses as the competition progresses (like the the Eels in 2009, the Roosters in 2010 or the Warriors in 2011). South Sydney are too a team which I believe will be in top 4 contention, the only problem I have with them is their defense and please do not take any racial offense towards my statement (that was a warning but I do not intend to offend) but Souths have to many Islanders and Aboriginals in their forward pack. Unfortunately through genetics both these two races unfortunately do not carry the gene of work-ethic. That's why Roy Asotasi has been dropped, T'eo is yet to find proper consistency and Lima is a problem in defence. I believe that T'eo would be best suited coming off the bench, with McQueen, Croker and Lowe as a back row, the two Burgess brothers in the front-row with Asotasi and Lima on the bench. The only way Souths can win is if they work their defence. My ladder prediction will be 1. Melbourne 2. Souths 3. Gold Coast 4. Manly 5. Canterbury 6. Easts 7. Cronulla 8. Newcastle 9. North Queensland 10. Wests 11. Brisbane 12. Eels 13. Penrith 14. Canberra 15. St. George 16. New Zealand But I could be wrong, and plenty of people will disagree with me, I think Melbourne will lose 4-5 games, Roosters Round 11, Titans Round 15, Bulldogs Round 18 (All 3 Origin period), Rabbitohs Round 22 (Origin Slump) and Titans Round 26 (Possible win though, Skilled Park Fortress as I believe only 0 or 1 Team can beat them there)

The Storm have a tremendous ability to control the tempo of a game in particular Cameron Smith around the ruck area. They also study other teams longer and harder than anyone else targeting key players and slight weaknesses. They have the perfect spokesperson in Cameron Smith who will remain in the ear of the ref at every opportunity, ensuring they get at the very least a fair go. Added to this is the Slater factor who with his work rate makes any backline movement risky. What is needed to beat the Storm is a disciplined team that have players who can alter the momentum of the game (Thaiday used to be the best at this but, seems to have dropped off) or a team that is extremely unpredictable that could attack from almost anywhere out of their backline. Personally I think Souths are not that team, they seem to lack the discipline required to sustain the pressure that is required to beat the Storm and it also appears that no matter how big a teams forward pack cannot beat the Storm alone. Therefore the only 2 teams with a chance I would say would have to be Manly and if they can get it together the Roosters. Both have amazing talent in their backlines and both have players with the ability to be able to alter a games momentum at a strategic time. The Roosters have a way to go and Manly were less than convincing on the weekend but, these are the danger sides for the Storm.

You'll get your wish in a couple of weeks. Round 6 is Storm v Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium. Saturday the 13th of April. 7:30 kick off. There's a chance both sides could still be unbeaten when they meet. The thought is mouth watering.

Storm have the best work ethic around ,cant wait for them to play Storm 2.0 or South Sydney as I call them,Madge ,Inglis,Crocker ,Kingy and Lima all bought the Storm culture to the Rabbitohs and that is showing in how they play but the originals will always beat imitators.

The titans could beat them

If the chooks do gel with their new combos and can maintain their colossal defense towards the end of the season then they could be serious finals contenders. but surely the weekly grind will eventually get to them. i think sbw will be key to their hopes. he is a threat in defense and attack and if he went missing i think the link between forwards and backs will be broken and they will just be too disjointed to be of any effect. his partnership with jennings sure is looking exciting though, and i can see maloney wants a piece of their action as well. should be great to watch whether they can improve week-by-week.

The Storm are without O'Niell, Proctor, Waqa and Finch all out injured ... Teams have to make sure they have a solid reserve list they can access during the bad times ... In 2013 Melbourne Storm made the finals on the back of 24 games played, 17 won and 7 lost ...

Dogs and eagles.

the dogs are the only team i think,because they were the closest and they were wthout their main players it would be like if the rabits were without GI or reynolds then theywoud get smashed or cowboys they were beaten pretty badly imagine them without thurston and tamou or cronulla without carney and gallen they ae the only team that has the same all round talent and a great coach

I like the Knights. When they get it right they really seem to be getting right (Cowboys and Tigers). When they get it wrog it's horrible (Manly). I reckon the Knights will be great to watch this season, getting flogged or giving the flogging. A bit like Canberra from recent years.

I think the Roosters aren't starting that strongly, despite recording two wins since their first round loss to Souths. Their attack has been poor, scoring 10, 16 and 8 in their matches to date, but their defence has been the key to their two victories: keeping the Warriors to 14 and the Broncos to 0. But I feel as the season wears on Maloney, Pearce and SBW will combine well to guide the Roosters to the upper half of the ladder.

It is only round 3 and while Melb are the standouts early there are a few teams who willl improve as the season goes on. The Dogs pushed Melb and 4 players who would normally be in the team were missing. Come semi final time i think the Dogs,Rabbits and eagles will fancy thier chances aganst Melb.

Keep in mind that the Storm have, by their own standards, not been playing too well. From memory, the completion rate against the Bulldogs (around 74%) is their best so far this season. The usual slickness has not always been there with their passing and set plays, but this can be put down to the amount of travel, differences in playing conditions, and minimal skills sessions. I, for one, look forward to such improvements being made, and hope to make a second trip in as many seasons to Sydney to watch my team win yet another premiership.