Kaufusi to Cowboys NRL

21 AUGUST, 2008]     NRL star Antonio Kaufusi secures long term deal with the Cowboys   Melbourne Storm prop Antonio Kaufusi has today penned a three-year deal with the North Queensland Cowboys, with the forward moving to Townsville for the start of the 2009 season. The move is sure to help the Cowboys move up the NRL Ladder in 2008, as this year their NRL Results have them set to take the wooden spoon.   Kaufusi, originally from Bundaberg, only had one year remaining on his current Storm contract and was given permission by the club to secure his future elsewhere.   “It was important to make sure my future beyond next year was sorted out as soon as possible, especially now that I have a young family,” said Kaufusi.   “When the Cowboys showed an interest, it made sense that I signed with them considering I’m from Queensland and it’s a little bit closer to home.   “While they’ve struggled a bit this year, the Cowboys have some great players and with a bit of luck I can enjoy as much success there as I have in Melbourne.”   While disappointed to be losing Kaufusi to the Cowboys, Football Operations Manager Frank Ponissi conceded there were issues beyond the Storm’s control which contributed to his departure.   “Due to salary cap restrictions over the next few years we weren’t able to guarantee Antonio a long term deal past 2009,” said Ponissi.   “Even though he had a contract here for next year, when he got the opportunity to go back to Queensland on a three year deal we couldn’t stand in his way.   “He’s been a great servant to the club and he’s a quality player. He’s achieved State of Origin and international honours since he’s been here.   “Given he missed the 2007 grand final win, hopefully we can send him out on the ultimate high this year.”   Since arriving in Melbourne in 2003, Kaufusi has developed into a State-of-Origin and international player having represented both Queensland and Australia.   After playing for the Kangaroos against Great Britain in the 2006 Tri-Nations Series, Kaufusi played in Game I of the 2007 Origin Series.   It was during this game that he suffered a ruptured patella tendon, an injury that kept him out for the remainder of the 2007 season and costing him a place in the grand final winning team.   “I’ve had the most amazing adventure since moving to Melbourne,” said Kaufusi.   “Since being here I’ve married my partner Bree, we had our first daughter, and I’ve also gone on to play for both my state and country. These are memories that will stay with me forever.   “It would have been wonderful to have played in that 2007 grand final team but it wasn’t to be unfortunately.   “Hopefully I can make amends for that this year before I leave.”

____________________________________________________       Chris Couch   Media Manager

Storm beat Roosters NRL

Storm clear on top NRL after defeating Roosters

 

Written by: Tanya Paolucci

 

The Melbourne Storm’s precision play against the Sydney Roosters saw them take out tonight’s match 30-6 in wet conditions at Olympic Park, giving them the outright premiership lead in the process, with Manly getting the chance to make up the points on Sunday.

 

With a top two finish within the sights of both teams, the clash between the Storm and the Roosters was expected to be a fiery encounter.

 

But the Roosters had an unpleasant trip to Melbourne, unable to match the home team’s attacking pressure and remained scoreless in the end of the first half and with only one try for the match.

 

Despite having defeated the Storm in their previous two clashes, the Roosters could not match Melbourne’s class in the trying conditions at Olympic Park.

 

From the opening seconds, Melbourne looked to be hard at the ball and wanting to play attacking footy. And why wouldn’t they?  The Storm had won 54 of their past 55 games when leading at half-time, so going out hard was definitely something they would consider as in their best interests.

 

The Storm opened up the scoring with a try from Anthony Quinn, which was the result of a brilliant high kick from Cam Smith.

 

Smith continued his good start by converting Melbourne’s first try to put the Storm out to a 6-0 lead in the eighth minute.

 

Strong attack from the Storm allowed Quinn to strike again in the 17^th minute after receiving a quick release from Matt Geyer to take him over the line.

 

That same try saw the Roosters’ James Aubusson taken from the field with concussion after two heavy collisions.

 

Kicking from virtually the same position as his previous effort, Smith converted again, pushing the Storm out to a 12-0 lead as the wet conditions began to set in on Olympic Park.

 

Like Melbourne’s winter weather, the Storm’s score kept raining down with Cam Smith managing to pounce on a lose ball to put the ball easily down over the line.

 

Smith finished off what he started by converting an easy kick from directly in front of the posts.

 

The Storm looked ruthless in the opening half with a commanding 18-0 lead with close to ten minutes still remaining before the main break.

 

But it wasn’t just the Storm’s attacking form that made them such a formidable opponent.  Melbourne’s defensive pressure down the field and in close quarters made it a huge challenge for the Roosters to put any points on the board.

 

Smith’s attacking movements towards the Roosters defence earned him a penalty in front of goal. Smith easily scored from directly in front and put Melbourne’s score out to 20-0.

 

If the Roosters wanted to make any mark on this game, they needed to do something about the Storm’s attacking pressure and apply some of their own. At so many occasions in the opening half the Roosters were close to scoring, but silly mistakes combined with the Storm’s defensive pressure costs them time and time again.

 

With just over ten minutes remaining in the match, any chance of a comeback from the Sydney team was quickly slipping away.

 

Fortunately for the Roosters, a rare mistake from the Storm with the wet ball allowed Mitch Aubusson to pick up the crumbs and take the ball over the line for Sydney’s first score.

 

Roberts was able to convert his only kicking opportunity with only five minutes remaining the match to add some respectability to the scoreline.

 

But it wasn’t long before the Storm punished the Roosters again with Cooper Cronk being able to take a clever pass from Inglis to score Melbourne’s fourth try.

 

Smith kept up his perfect record for the match before a piece of Billy Slater magic capped off the Storm’s night.

 

Wonderful execution from Folau out to Slater set him on an electric run to score yet another try for Melbourne just as the siren sounded.

 

The win for the Storm again showed their opposition and their fans just why they are a major contender for the premiership with the final score showing 30-6.

 

STORM 30 (Tries: Quinn 2, C Smith, Cronk, Slater; Goals: Smith 4) def. ROOSTERS 6 (Try: M Aubusson; Goal: Roberts 1 ) at Olympic Park

 

Anthony Quinn Storm NRL Signing

[14 AUGUST, 2008]

 

 Former Newcastle Knight now Melbourne Storm man, Anthony Quinn has firmed up his NRL and Rugby League future, locking in a new deal with the Melbourne Storm club to see him staying in Victoria for the next few years.

Quinn latest player to commit to Storm

 

The re-signings continue at Melbourne Storm with winger Anthony Quinn committing his long-term future to the club by agreeing to a new deal that will keep him in Melbourne until the end of the 2012 season.

 

Quinn is another key signing in the Storm’s quest to remain a force in the NRL for many years to come. He joins Dallas Johnson, Jeff Lima, Sika Manu, Adam Blair, Aiden Tolman and Cooper Cronk who have all put pen to paper on new contracts with the club this season.

 

Quinn is currently in the second year of a three year deal at the Storm having joined from Newcastle in 2007. In that time he has enjoyed tremendous success winning a premiership last year, and representing New South Wales in this year’s State-of-Origin series.

 

“The main reason for signing the long term deal was due to the success I’ve enjoyed since I’ve been at the club,” said Quinn.

 

“My girlfriend Frances supported me when I moved to Melbourne and she has settled in really well down here. We’ve bought a house in St Kilda and without her support I’m not sure I would have achieved everything I have at Storm.

 

“I’ve fulfilled a dream by winning a premiership and gone on to play representative football with New South Wales. I’m not sure I could have achieved that anywhere else.

 

“Given the players at the club and the coaching staff here, I can’t see why I won’t continue to have success at Melbourne Storm.”

 

In fact, Storm football manager Frank Ponissi says one of the reasons for re-signing Quinn to a long term contract was because of his improvement since coming to Melbourne.

 

“We feel Anthony has come along in leaps and bounds since he’s been here in Melbourne and we see him as an integral part of our team in the future,” said Ponissi.

 

“This contract is a big reward for his efforts, especially playing Origin football for the first time this year, and we wanted to reward him for that.

 

“He wasn’t coming off contract until the end of 2009, but we didn’t want to wait until next year to start the negotiations. We wanted to be proactive and tie him up to a deal before other clubs started to make a big play for him, as we’re sure they would have.”

 

The re-signing of Quinn well before his current contract expired is a conscious effort by the Storm to establish a settled squad for the foreseeable future.

 

“The plan going forward is to re-sign a number of players over an extended period of time,” said Ponissi.

 

“What we don’t want is to begin contract negotiations towards the end of their current agreements. The aim is to continually have a settled squad and ensure players are safely locked away well in advance.

 

“We are now in the process of signing the next group of players up over the next few months, and this will ensure that when we move into our new stadium in 2010, we’ll have a very strong squad of players who can bring further success to the club.”

 

  ____________________________________________________

    

 Chris Couch

  Media Manager

 

 Melbourne Storm Rugby League Club

  Princes Park, Gate 3, Royal Parade, Carlton North VIC 3054

  PO Box 141 Parkville VIC 3052

  E-mail: ccouch@melbournestorm.com.au

  Website: www.melbournestorm.com.au

NRL Minor Premiership 2008

The Manly boys were physical, but the Storm showed a tonne of guts away from home and held on to take a strong victory in their Friday night NRL fixture at Brooky Oval last night. Locking the two enemies on 32 competition points a piece with only a few rounds to go before the Top 8 NRL Rugby League finals series for 2008

Melbourne broke a nine-year hoodoo at Brookvale Oval tonight, notching their first victory at Manly’s home ground since 1999 with a hard fought 16-10 win, sending them equal on points with the Sea Eagles at the head of the NRL ladder and blowing the race for the minor premiership open in the process.

 

It’s the third time in a row the Storm has now beaten the Sea Eagles, including last year’s 34-8 grand final victory, and the psychological scars inflicted on the Manly players may be significant come finals time. The NRL Results are now all critical as the Top 8 Finals series is only a few short weeks away for NRL 2008.

 

From the opening whistle it was tough, brutal, uncompromising football, and when Melbourne’s Michael Crocker and Manly’s Brent Kite came to blows in the opening minutes, the stage was set for a classic encounter.

 

While both forward packs were trying to bash each other into submission, it was the sublime skills of Storm fullback Billy Slater that allowed Melbourne to score their two first-half tries.

 

His support play on the inside of halfback Cooper Cronk, who hit the flying fullback with a laser-like ball on the chest, and offload to Matt Geyer got the Storm off to the perfect start in the eighth minute.

 

A clever chip by Cronk over the Manly defence in the dying minutes of the first-half saw Slater gather a bobbling ball he had no right to, before drawing the defender and slipping the ball to Israel Folau. The giant centre out-sprinted veteran Manly five-eighth Steve Menzies from 30-metres out to score in the corner.

 

In between Melbourne’s tries, the Sea Eagles had their moments when they sent the almost 18,500 Manly fans packed into the ground into raptures.

 

In the 12^th min the Storm were lucky to get away without conceding a try from Brett Stewart. The Manly fullback was deemed to have taken out Anthony Quinn just before challenging a high ball with Slater. Slater spilled the ball and Stewart pounced, but the video referee had other ideas.

 

However, Manly weren’t to be denied when backrower Glenn Hall scored after referee Shayne Hayne penalised the Storm 10-metres from their own try-line, gifting the Sea Eagles another set of six.

 

The second-half started in much the same vein as the first.

 

After looking like he was about to pass, Cronk decided he’d go himself, barging between Menzies and Anthony Watmough to extend the Storm’s lead to 10-points.

 

But the Sea Eagles weren’t going to let the Storm run away with the game, and five minutes later they drew within a converted try when David Williams crossed in the corner.

 

The game then descended into a real arm-wrestle, and when Cronk failed with a field goal conversion with nine minutes remaining, you just knew Manly were going to lay siege to the Storm’s try-line.

 

And lay siege they did. With five sets in a row in the dying minutes, Manly threw everything they had at Melbourne, but they couldn’t crack the best defence in the NRL, and the Storm left Brookvale with two valuable points in the race for the minor premiership.

 

STORM 16 (Tries: Geyer, Folau, Cronk; Goals: C Smith 2) def. SEA EAGLES 10 (Tries: Hall, Williams; Goals: Matai) at Brookvale Oval