Five talking points from Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos NRL preliminary final

The Melbourne Storm have cruised through to the NRL grand final on the back of a 30-0 victory over the Brisbane Broncos in the first preliminary final. Here are my talking points from the match.

Score points or the Storm will strangle you
If there was ever a better example of a team failing to score points and being punished for it, I’d like to hear about it.

The Broncos bombed so many scoring opportunities in the first half. Full credit to Melbourne, because their defence was restrictive, scrambled well and covered a lot of ground, but the Broncos shouldn’t have gone into halftime down 8-0.

They should have had at least one try on the board, and in all probability more. Corey Oates bombed an almost certain one on the wing, Tautau Moga died with the ball twice when it looked like they had an overlap on the left, and they could have had others.

Of course, it wasn’t just their terrible execution. Melbourne’s defence made them panic, and feel like every opportunity had to be taken – which frankly, it does against Craig Bellamy’s side.

But the Broncos played like they were under pressure from the opening minutes, and it was evident in their execution when they had the ball.

The Storm then went into halftime on the back of Josh Addo-Carr’s long-range try and dominated the second 40 minutes.

Put simply, score points and make the most of your opportunities or the Storm will make you pay – big time.

Melbourne showed vulnerability for the second straight match – will it strike them in the grand final?
After trailing at halftime against the Eels, it was important for the Storm to make a statement in the first half of their preliminary final and be dominant during the first half, living up to the mantra that they are indeed the best team in the competition.

They were anything but though. Errors marred their first half as the Broncos dominated territory and possession, despite not being able to score.

If you were to only look at the scoreboard, you’d put a big tick next to the Storm and tell them there was nothing to work on.

Uncharacteristic would be the word you’d use to describe the first half from Melbourne, but even worse than that, it resembled times of last year’s finals series when they simply didn’t look themselves – and history will tell us how that one played out.

From Billy Slater dropping the ball twice, to Josh Addo-Carr making a simple error, their forwards dropping it and Cameron Smith putting the ball over the dead ball line from kicks a couple of times – in total, the Broncos had four seven-tackle sets in the first 40 – it’s things that will concern coach Craig Bellamy.

There is plenty to work on for the Storm, but surely it won’t strike again next week? They were a lot better in the second half, and some will say it could be put down to a week off and a bit of rust – but it’s concerning.

Three seasons of heartbreak for the Broncos
When Wayne Bennett returned to the Broncos in 2015, there was a three-year timeline set as the benchmark for the Broncos to win a premiership.

Well, here we are three years later and it’s been three years of oh so close, yet oh so far. Of course, 2015 saw the Broncos exceed anyone’s expectations as they made the grand final and looked to have it won before, you know, Johnathan Thurston happened.

2016 wasn’t sensational for the Broncos as they finished fifth, beat the Titans in a controversy-marred game, then bombed out at the hands of the Cowboys (again).

Unfortunately, it’s been more of the same this year. As much as the Broncos finished third position and that deserves credit, they were never truly setting the world on fire. Their attack was brilliant, defence good in patches, but they didn’t string together 80 minutes of high-quality footy all that often.

It showed during the finals as they lost to the Roosters, battled past the Panthers and were ultimately brought down by the Storm.

With the losses of Adam Blair, Ben Hunt Herman Ese’ese and Tautau Moga at the end of this season, it gives Wayne Bennett a chance to reshape the roster. Three trips to the finals isn’t a bad run in anyone’s book, but for a side who promised to be premiership-worthy in three years, the clock is now ticking in overtime.

Craig Bellamy is the best coach in rugby league
Seven finals trips in 12 years. That stat is insane in a 16-team competition with a salary cap to enforce a ‘level playing field’ – and yeah, quotation marks because it’s obviously not.

But, whichever way you look at it, the Storm are the ultimate professionals, and who knows where they would be without Bellamy at the helm.

He is emotional in the coaches box, but brilliant. He showed it again last night as he turned the Storm out of a first half slump and into a second half rampage. He did it against the Eels as well a fortnight ago.

Bellamy managed to constantly turn players who were fringe first graders at other clubs into great players at his own, and while Cronk, Slater and Smith have a lot to do with it, if the Storm get over the line next Sunday, they can turn and thank Bellamy as one.

Billy Slater will make all the difference next Sunday
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – the Storm would have won the 2016 grand final if Billy Slater had of been on the field.

He is the best fullback in the game bar none. There is no one that’s even close to the veteran Storm, Queensland and Australian fullback. From defensive organisation to match-winning plays in attack and acceleration that he has held strong on, even this far into his career, he has it all.

While Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk are legends in their own right, Slater is a match-winner. He is a guy who can pop up from nowhere and make something happen. He is always there to latch onto offloads, up in support – and that’s why he scored a double.

The difference between the Storm with Slater and without Slater is that they can win coming from behind with Slater. Cronk and Smith are great at controlling the game, but it’s an instinct they tended to lose in 2016 – coming from behind to win.

Sure, he made a couple of defensive errors in the first half, but even then, he was close to the best on ground. If you’re a young fullback and not closely studying the game of Slater, then I don’t understand what you’re doing.

Slater is the best fullback in the game, and you just watch as he does something miraculous next Sunday to ensure the Storm force their way over the line.

Roarers, what did you make of the game?