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 17th 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
