Storm continue NRL streak against Cowboys

Craig Bellamy will be coaching the Roosters in 2019. You saw it here first.

The storm are cheats and should be penalised off the park. They take an eternity to get off the player.

Cowboys are unfit. Too many had offseason surgery. They are a couple of weeks away fitness wise. They will get better. In a positive, Hess looked to of found a bit of form. Rather lazy in defence however, he has become a target. Also Hampton was solid and played a game similar to Michael Gorden, rather than Coote. However the lack of speed in the backline, really does limit the Cowboys attack to 20m out. Cameron Smith had an interesting game. I am a big fan of Smith, but it has been said when discussing immortal status, how would he perform outside of the modern rules? Well we have had a little snippet this past two weeks with the play the ball reverting back to bygone era rules. He has struggled and received more penalties against him in two weeks than he has had in the last five years. Bennett pointed out last year that he plays 80% of the game offside. Smith looks frustrated. He is a smart player and I am sure he will adapt if in fact the refs don’t fold and continue the crackdown, but it does create good debate on his immortal credentials.

I long for the day , when rugby league was not just about wrestling and fast play the balls , 5 hit ups and a bomb . Yeah old man yells at cloud , but that’s just wrestling/ roll/ bomb I saw last night , when does the actual football get played ?

The Cowboys are a long way off beating the Storm because they just don't move the ball enough and to many of the the forwards are looking to stand in the tackle IMO. Taumalolo, Scott, Cooper, Hess, Bolton even McClaen are all players that look to fight their way down the field one out. They are a very well coached defensive team that slow the game down by getting numbers in the tackle and holding attackers up. Melbourne have always defended tight and basically leave thier edges undefended with the knowledge that sides especially the Cowboys wont shift the ball quickly. The Cowboys continue to go down the middle and I'm sorry to say JT is a big part of the problem because he fails to address the attack at the Storm edges early in the sets. JT was targeted and also shown up defesively last night because Javed Bowen is niether a smart or strong defender. They need to look at getting Morgan at first reciever and let JT do his magic when they're10m from the goal line because JT is to slow and devoid of a long kicking (rarely kicks game. Maybe Morgan kicks a 40//20 instead of kicking it out if he recieves the ball in a better position and earlier? JT rarely kicks a 40/20 because he hasn't got a strong kick. The Ref was horrible because he was blowing the whistle continuously when he should have started putting a few in the bin.

Morgs is a very good fullback Nat but JT and Martin in the halves leaves us really weak in defense on both edges. Morgs is a wonderful defender and really stiffens up whatever side of the field he is on. I cant say the same for Martin. A side can carry one JT or one Lockyer who reads the play well but may need help to stop the big guys. A side can’t carry two .

Noticed that several players looked to have head colds. Tough as they are I hope every player has his flu shots early. Don't want any team having players in the sick bay.

Same here. Not putting it all on him but Hess's two tries were through him and Munster. He is just a step off the pace at the moment or their communication defense is off.

Ya Joe good point. Storm really only had 1 proper preseason hit out, the combinations were always going to take time to click. Most kids his age will take time to develop their bodies and strength so that they can become better defenders. He runs to the line well which is a good sign and once Kaufusi comes back the combinations should get better. Thought Slater was dangerous every time he touched the ball, as was Vunivalu but the indecisions/communication creeping into his game are a concern. Hoffman has had two ordinary games but I thought he was one of our better players yesterday. I do think that Stimson & Kaufusi are the future so where does that leave Hoffy? I wouldn't be too hard on the Cowboys, against just about any other side they may have won. Surprised that their defense thus far has been underwhelming, both JT & Morgan got caught out by Smith. They will be there at the end, but schedule/injuries could play a part.

Yeah, jury is out on Hoffy for mine. I always liked the old war horse but his contributions are below par these days. I think he is better in a mentoring role for some of the youngsters.

Exactly, though his off performances seen to be more than a couple of games. He has been 'off' since the world cup. I think his record of top try scorer 2 years in a row is playing on his mind. I definitely interpreted his indecision on that pass the same as you. I hope he quickly puts this stuff aside because he can be a great player to watch.

I was thinking last night that Morgan could be an effective FB while bringing Martin into the 6. He's big and fast and can finish as well as set up plays while not limited to a side, plus a long/short kicking option. Bowen then could be a bench player that can cover 3 positions if required where Martin is a half only. Seems Green has focused so much on his forward stocks that there is no real quality pushing the backs for positions. Hess was good for 80 (although it was him Vuni ran between for the bombed try but he's not alone there) and Green expects that from Lowe and Cooper as well. Someone has to eat humble pie with the rotation but who, the marquee signing, the best forward in the game or your captain? Me, I'd put there McLean for balance.

I've been hard on Croft so far this season but listening to Bellamy in the after match presser he makes a good point. Because of the World Cup Croft has had no pre-season time with Smith, Kaufusi, Chambers, Billy and Munster. That is the rest of the spine and his two right side edge players the very players he needed to build a combination with. Its pretty much learn as you play at the moment with these guys getting used to Croft and he getting used to them. That definitely will need a lot more time to gel.

I agree that Linnet will improve the backs which is odd because I really rated Javed when he first came on, big body, decent speed and side step but he just hasn't gone on to the next level with his game and drifts in and out of games. Morgan was pretty good considering he wasn't a 100% and will only get better. Green definitely needs to work on his forward rotation to even out the team strengths over 80. I do like the look of Hess though and the fact he played 80 shows he is ready to start.

Agreed. You can't make this stuff up. Why would you schedule this game up against the AFL juggernaut opening game? Didn't anyone check?

As good as the Storm were, they have lost a step with the loss of Cronk - obviously. Smith, again, shows his class and lack of compassion for JT by steering NAS at him all night. Vuni, either dummy and go or pass it, either one results in a try! However, the Cowboys have a way to go. Green needs to work out his forward rotation or at least move JT13 back to the edges to have more impact again because having him, McLean and Scott simply going one out are getting picked off by legs tackles because niether are really great offloaders. Morgan wasn't right but solid in defence. Bowen has a habit of getting lost as well which affects his winger's positional play. Essentially, JT was trying for more than the backs could give but they will get Linnet and Coote back which improves both attack and defence.

I can see NAS going back to Union. He is a star now and will get much better but the lure of the All Black WC, along with the money will take him home - Unfortunately.

No, that was the case, hence, so many offside penalties. The ball has to be played, as in touched with the foot then they can move up. However, as you heard the ref say to Smith last night "you never got back" which also why he referred to some as deliberate penalties.

Agree with you Peter, and the scoreline masks the fact that the Storm were poor. Big Nelson is a beast, the way he is going he will be looking at Taumalolo money shortly. Just comparing to last year where the Storm had the most lethal right edge in the competition where you'd have Kaufusi, Chambers making line breaks off their brilliant plays or if the defense compressed you'd have cut out balls to Vunivalu and similar happening on JAC side. In this game as with the first game the tries were individual plays like Nelson or quick ruck tries for Chambers and Welch and a double trick shot between Slater/Smith for Stimsons try. The Munster/Scott/Hoffman edge is just clunky and not working. Hoffman does not have the speed or the skill of Harris so they need to either change their plays or try Stimson who was very good in the last two games. The only big plus I'm seeing this year is Welch and Kasiano are looking pretty good off the bench and Nelson's become much more consistent with his great performances. Also Brandon Smith needs to get more game time somehow, he is a powerful for a smaller bloke...he're pretty much the same size as Croft but he runs hard and hits like Finucane. The more time he gets the better for team in the long run.

Highlights were the hard running impacts of a couple of the game's big men Coen Hess & Asofa-Solomona. Both were firing big time for their teams. But overall the much touted Cowboys pack was well handled by the composite Storm pack , and once Kaufusi gets back, they will be as good a pack as any in the NRL. And with Smith running the show so well, they are going to be tough to stop come September. I particularly liked Smith's smart tactics of switching the ball back to run JT ragged in defence on that right edge, which led to three easy Storm tries from close range. As for the penalties, I am happy for the refs to blow the pea out of the whistle until the teams abide by the rules. I am also happy for the sin bin to be used regularly to encourage compliance quicker than a spate of penalties.