A shoulder injury to 400-gamer Cameron Smith and a knee injury to star five-eighth Cameron Munster have resulted in some tremendous experience and attacking brilliance that will be lacking against the Sydney Roosters on Thursday.
It will be a tough contest between two of the NRL’s most dominant teams considering the Roosters also have injury issues of their own. Skipper Boyd Cordner, Brett and Josh Morris, Daniel Tupou, Victor Radley and Angus Crichton are some notable absences for Thursday’s blockbuster encounter.
But you can’t hold anything against the reigning premiers – they’ve won two premierships because they are the best. The spine that guided them to those two premierships is very much intact, with just the retirement of Queensland great Cooper Cronk.
Kyle Flanagan has made a wonderful transition into the No. 7 jumper and put in some great performances for them. James Tedesco and Jake Friend have been a bit quiet the last couple of rounds, but expect them to be at their roaring best. Luke Keary is at a whole new level, and the weekend’s win just goes to show how he influences the Roosters attack.
Craig Bellamy wasn’t too worried when Cam Smith went off considering how Brenden Smith’s form has been. He probably deserves to start this next couple of rounds. But then when you add your X factor playmaker to the injury list it causes some sort of uncertainty about your attack.
Nevertheless, the Storm are greats in their own right, and there’s one reason why: it’s how they can make pretty ordinary players look special in a team. The absence of Cam Munster may be a hard blow, especially against the Easts, but the more than capable Ryley Jacks could surely slot into No. 6 and partner the in-form Jahrome Hughes, who has improved much of his kicking game this season.
Ryan Papenhuyzen will slot back into fullback after being rested this round. That would complete the new-look Melbourne spine for Thursday.
In the next couple of weeks the Storm will face their toughest competition with or without Munster and Smith. With the Parramatta Eels, Manly Sea Eagles and South Sydney Rabbitohs looming, their performances could determine their overall threat as title contenders.
If they happen to perform less well than they’d hope, you’d expect teams like North Queensland to cause some trouble in Round 18.
Without a doubt I will be expecting the Storm to take on the challenge head-on and continue a fine run to a possible top-four finish.
Matt
Guest
Chin up, enjoy your Thursday night if you can.
mushi
Roar Guru
Says the guy using stats that he admits have no relevance to depth to restate his repetitive argument on skinny depth. But hey at least this time you didn't think two months and two weeks were the same.
Matt
Guest
Only 2 from 6 against the current top nine sides including some games earlier on when they were at full strength. I think your stats are flavoured with a little too much chicken salt.
mushi
Roar Guru
Versus each other sure. :silly: But overall I think they've both got a very nice read on depth. Roosters are 5-2 from when they first started having injuries with a points differential inline with Parra's. The results of their Skinny depth would still have them 4th.
Matt
Guest
Yeah probably only take out of it will be which team has the skinnier depth.
Joe
Roar Rookie
I think both will still want to bank those two points badly. Robinson because he needs to keep the Roosters safe in the top 4 as they're only 2/3 points from the next teams down. Bellamy because e they also have the Eels next week and could very well be looking at 2 losses in a row as unlikely the two Camerons will be back for that either.
mushi
Roar Guru
None of the forwards back I think :crying: This is going to be a game the two coaches probably take with a grain of salt but everyone else dissects like a prophecy from the oracles.
Dirk Diggler
Roar Rookie
I'm not sure either coach would be too worried about the results of this game given the number of injuries. I think just getting through the game unscathed and playing good football will be the objective and is not going to tell us much about either team really.
Dane DC
Roar Rookie
If Smith plays I will strongly consider tipping Storm, but if Smith doesn’t play then as much as I would be tempted to tip the Storm purely because it’s an upset, especially if the Roosters get some players back, I can’t really see the Storm winning. Without Munster, or Smith, it’s just too much of a change to their spine, and I don’t know if Lam is still taking over Flanagan, but if Flanagan gets the call-up, the Roosters spine still looks like this; Tedesco, Keary, Flanagan and Friend. So, to me, I don’t think Melbourne has it in them to beat the reigning premiers again without those key players of their spine.
Ben Pobjie
Expert
The Storm missing their two best players, against the reigning premiers? Yeah I reckon they've probably got the whole wariness thing covered.
Brendon
Roar Rookie
Haha, fanciful thinking here, imagine if he wasn't even hurt, it was all a ploy? It did look fairly insignificant of an injury, and he appeared fine immediatelly after it was done....
Brendon
Roar Rookie
This is something I have considered for a while but never had th guts to say. Munster is individually brilliant, his individual flair is honestly top notch. Does that contribute to the Storm machine though, where every player has a role? There have been many times in recent weeks where the Storm are rolling, he gets it, and starts to dance around. I've often wondered if his individual brilliance is an issue for the Storm rather than a gift. Storm V Roosters had Jacks at 7, Hughes at 6, andye there were no signs of concerns, despite losing a top rated player for arguably a rookie. That doesn't seem logical... TL/DR: Is Cameron Munster worth all the hype for the Storm, given his individual play style rather than team play style?
Brendon
Roar Rookie
Ladder position doesn't mean favourites. In fact as pointed out below, according to the market, they aren't favourites. Back in the good old days (2016ish) when the Storm had 9 players in Origin, they were top of the ladder, but never favourites.
Albo
Roar Rookie
But the Dogs were particularly poor last week, even skipper Josh Jackson was terrible. And the Storm were happy to try some trick shots late , like the Jerome Hughes kick for JAC try at the end. But the GOAT ensures the Storm team that is on the park is playing to 100% of its potential even if outgunned for " on paper " talent.
souvalis
Roar Rookie
You’d think so, but in the 16 minutes remaining in their match last week after Munster got carried off, the remnants were still determined enough to put 18 unanswered points on the Dogs..a week earlier fellow contenders Parra got pantsed in the 2nd half by those same Belmore lads.
Albo
Roar Rookie
It all depends on whether Cam Smith plays or not ! If he & Munster are both out, the Storm will likely struggle . If the GOAT plays it becomes even money for mine.
TJ
Guest
Bookies have Roosters as clear favourites at a $1.30-1.40 mark. Can't see how they compete without both Smith and Munster but for some reason I have a feeling Smith is going to make a miraculous recovery and play. A lot depends on which players the Roosters get back this week. There are whispers that Crichton, Cordner, Tupou, JWH and the Morris bros could all be back this week. If that's the case and both Camerons are out for Melbourne it really is the Roosters game to lose. Should be a great game regardless (Storm vs Roosters always is) and will be a good gauge of exactly where the Roosters are at this year.
bbt
Roar Rookie
Gonna be a great game. I think that Storm will miss C Smith more than either team misses a player. When the going gets tough, he is the one who provides the leadership and calms the team down. Jacks is a good defender but lacks the attacking flair of Munster. As suggested, maybe Hynes may be a better shot at 6. Rosters have to start favourites. Storm will hold their own in the forwards, but the attack…?
Noosa Duck
Roar Rookie
considering their positions on the ladder, the Storm are the favourites for this game, or should be regardless of the ins or outs in either team. As a Roosters supporter I agree that this is a must win game for them.
Brendon
Roar Rookie
I don’t see why this article pains the Storm to be favourites, I’d suggest it’s the Roosters who may need to watch out. We are missing 2 of the best players in the game, 2 of our generals, and have a front rower playing centre. To suggest it’s the Storm who should watch out implies the Roosters are a chance at an upset. If Roosters win, it wouldn’t be unexpected surely? Now of Storm won, that says a lot about the Roosters right now, alarm bells should be ringing.