If you’re an out of contract NRL-level utility who needs a new club, come on down to Belmore where Gus Gould has no limit on the number of contracts he’s willing to sign. But when the Bulldogs signed a bunch of utilities to play this season, I don’t think they expected them to line up the way they will this week due to injuries. Now with Melbourne sitting pretty in the top four, can they halt the Storm’s early season momentum?
Friday nights of the past have seen some classic Storm matches against the Bulldogs. One such occasion was the 2006 match at Olympic Park which stands as a marker in Melbourne Storm lore.
S09E16 – Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
While Melbourne had ended a nine match losing streak against the Bulldogs with a 22–12 win played in heavy rain at Olympic Park in August 2004 against the eventual premiers, by 2006 that seemed like an anomaly. Canterbury had thrashed Melbourne again in the 2004 semi final at the old SFS, winning again at Olympic Park in May 2005.
The tide between the two teams started to turn in July 2005 when Melbourne won their first match from five visits to the Bulldogs home at the Sydney Showgrounds, firing up in the second half to stun the then reigning premiers 33–6.1 But it would be this match in 2006 that finally proved to players and fans alike that something extraordinary was brewing in Melbourne.
After a third-straight exit in week two of the finals in 2005, Melbourne started 2006 on the road due to the Commonwealth Games, winning two of their first four matches, but losing Billy Slater to a lengthy suspension after being found guilty of lashing out with his boot against Wests Tigers John Skandalis.
An unbeaten run of five matches was broken by a loss at Brookvale Oval,2 with Mick Crocker copping a nine week suspension a fortnight before for a dangerous throw tackle against his old club the Roosters. By this match in round 16, Melbourne were on a four-match winning streak, two games clear on top of the ladder, with the Bulldogs part of the chasing pack with the Broncos, Sharks and Dragons.
Melbourne were missing both Greg Inglis through injury and Billy Slater in this one. Slater had returned from suspension in round 13, only to find himself in trouble again and copped another two week suspension. He would make his one career appearance for the North Sydney Bears this weekend instead, and with Melbourne having a bye in round 17 would turn out for the Norths Devils for his last-ever Queensland Cup appearance.3 Scott Hill was in doubt before this match with a virus, while Willie Mason would miss this one for the visitors after picking up an injury playing for NSW.
For what was then a rare appearance for Melbourne on Nine’s (delayed) Friday night football, Ray Warren and Phil Gould were in the commentary box, joined by Matthew Johns and Andrew Voss on the sidelines. It was a cold but clear Melbourne night, with the temperature hovering around 12°C, a slight breeze keeping most of the dew off the grass.
First half
Melbourne looked to have settled first, pressuring the Bulldogs line on a couple of occasions in the first five minutes, but the battle-hardened visitors held firm with their signature hard defence. They would force an error from David Kidwell, and opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Sonny-Bill Williams crossing over on the Bulldogs right flank. Playing in the centres, SBW was too big for Matt Geyer to stop, with Boofa’s missed tackle providing passage to the line despite the last-ditch efforts of Matt King. It was a well-worked move from the Bulldogs, taking an early 4–0 lead as Hazem El Masri missed the conversion.
That try would be the only score of the first half though as the Bulldogs went into an extended grind phase of the game, their fast and physical defensive line causing Melbourne grief. For extended periods of the first half Canterbury were well on top, trusting their defence and holding Melbourne out despite the Storm forcing goal line drop outs.
That strong defence seemed to unsettle Melbourne, with the visitors almost scoring again just after the 20th minute when a Daniel Holdsworth bomb was almost caught by Brent Sherwin, with the ball fortunately taking a Melbourne bounce to Antonio Kaufusi instead. The Bulldogs were looking dangerous on the edges and SBW went close again, but this time Boofa was able to stop the try and get the ball off him when SBW went for the offload.
The only thing that looked good for Melbourne were the kicking games of both Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk. Both were executing near perfect kicks at the end of Melbourne’s sets, either to get out of trouble or set up potential scoring plays. But Melbourne’s error count was increasing as the half progressed, with the Storm making 12 errors in the first half. In the end Melbourne were probably fortunate to get to half time just trailing 4–0, especially when fullback Steve Turner was forced from the field inside the first 30 minutes with a rib injury meaning Chris Walker moved to fullback and Ryan Hoffman to the centres, inside Jake Webster who moved to the wing.
It’s an interesting thing going back and watching matches like this and seeing how over the entire arc of their careers, this team matured under Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk. By 2006 this was their team. Scott Hill was increasingly deployed as a roaming option in the middle of the park, leaving it to Cronk and Smith to guide Melbourne around the field, engage edge defenders and probe away at the opposition. In this match Melbourne tried to meet the grinding mentality of the Bulldogs and not play panic football, something that Melbourne had failed to do in previous seasons. It wasn’t until 2006 that Melbourne had the personnel to execute the game plan that Craig Bellamy had developed since 2003. Players like Ryan Hoffman and Dallas Johnson were in coming in to their peak. With Nathan Friend coming off the bench in the crucial utility role, Melbourne were able to roll with a hard-working forward pack that could match up well against different types of opponents. It was only the small details and mental areas that Melbourne needed to tighten up on to get to the elite level. Those small details were something that the Bulldogs had perfected during this era — they were playing finals footy in June, something Melbourne were still learning.
In looking back at these old games it’s funny to see Melbourne’s base game plan hasn’t changed all that much, just the players change. Jahrome Hughes brings a similar energy and precision to his game like Cooper Cronk did. Harry Grant tries to exude the same calm decision making in leading Melbourne that was a hallmark of Cameron Smith. The 2006 team with Scott Hill had that enigmatic five-eighth who could change the match in an instant like Cameron Munster can, while Nathan Friend and Tyran Wishart have very similar games almost two decades apart. It’s the Melbourne way under Craig Bellamy that has served so well down the years.
Second half
Coming back from the break, Melbourne looked to be focused on the task in coming from behind, with some strong runs looking good, but in reality the grind continued.
It would take Cameron Smith to be the game breaker for the Storm. A run from dummy half just inside the Bulldogs half targeted Mark O’Meley in the Bulldogs line, with the hooker sprinting past, his pass inside to Antonio Kaufusi beating Luke Patten for the big man to score under the posts.
With Melbourne now in front for the first time, the Bulldogs shifted gears getting out of the grind and going straight on the attack. The shift in their play was too much for Melbourne, with panic creeping into the Storm’s defensive structure. That panic resulting in a poor read from Jack Webster giving the Dogs an overlap on their left flank, handing Trent Cutler an easy try in the corner for El Masri to convert from the sideline for a 10–6 lead.
Behind again, Bellamy threw on Nathan Friend, with the helmeted one able to cover dummy half to allow Smith to sometimes move into first receiver. Friend’s presence also seemed to stiffen Melbourne’s defensive resolve, with Melbourne muscling up in defence as they chased the game. Smith earnestly was leading Melbourne forward, but another injury4 and a stripping penalty from directly in front of the posts, saw El Masri take the shot from 30m out to extend the visitors lead to 12–6 with 15 minutes to play.
Somehow, even after all the grinding defence in this game, the intensity lifted even further in the final part of this game. Melbourne were probing through Cronk and Smith, with Walker sniffing around from fullback. The Dogs through were continually able to apply pressure through their defence, shutting down the Storm’s attacking raids.
It wasn’t until the 73rd minute that Melbourne were able to force a crucial error from Luke Patten, with the fullback knocking on a grubber from Cronk into the corner. After a hard run from Kaufusi in the middle, Melbourne shifted left and then finally put it through the hands to the right on the fourth tackle — Cronk passing to Walker who found Hoffman in a little bit of space on the right edge. Hoffy playing in the centres attracted three Bulldogs defenders, but he was able to execute the perfect flick pass for Webster to score in the corner. From the sideline Smith’s kick looked to be drifting through to level the scores, but would doink the near side Olympic Park goal post to keep the scores at 12–10.
With only a few minutes left, the Bulldogs didn’t look panicked defending the rest of the game, putting Chris Walker into touch on one set, and forcing a Smith kick from inside Melbourne’s half on another. Canterbury were on the march to close this one out with the ball inside the final minute, eventually handing over possession to Melbourne with just 35 seconds on the clock with the ball at Melbourne’s own 25m line.
A couple of runs from Smith and Geyer got Melbourne close to their own 40m line with just over 15 seconds to go…
My words can’t do this justice compared to the commentary of Ray Warren in the moment — let’s go to the video of the final play…5
In the match report for the News Limited papers under the headline GREAT ESCAPE, Steve Mascord had the following quotes:
Jake Webster:
I knew it was my fault, their one. I had to make up for it any way I could. Getting my try back on them sort of did it. But I said, ‘It's still not good enough’.
I had to do something else to make up for it. I always knew if Hoffy got the ball he was going to offload it. I just had to be there, catch it, run 20 metres and dive. That last try hopefully made up for [the mistake].
Ryan Hoffman:
It's one of those things you dream of. I don't even really know what happened. For some reason I was out on the wing. The ball fell fortunately for me.
Craig Bellamy:
We out-Bulldogged the Bulldogs.
That last play seemed to go in slow motion. It was sort of a bit of a dream. I thought I was going to wake up there in a minute.
I half gave up when Smithy hit the post with that kick. Then he kicked long and Chris [Walker] went into touch. I basically thought it was gone then.
That last play, it seemed to go in slow motion. As I said to them after the game, the thing I was really happy about was the perseverance they showed.
It's nice to see the guys show that much spirit and hang in there. They didn't give up.
Melbourne – 16 (Webster 74', 80', Kaufusi 46' tries; C Smith 2/3 goals)
Canterbury – 12 (Williams 6', Cutler 51' tries; El Masri 2/3 goals)
A touchstone
It’s funny what stays in your memory over the years.6 This match for mine reignited the dormant belief from 1999 that Melbourne could beat anyone from almost any position.
Overcoming the Bulldogs in this match ended up being win number five in an 11-match winning streak for the Storm, ended eventually by the Warriors in round 24. It seemed destined that Melbourne and Canterbury would face off again in the 2006 NRL finals, the Storm claiming the minor premiership and the JJ Giltinan Shield two games clear of the Bulldogs in second, themselves two games clear of the four teams behind them on the final ladder.
Both teams would win their qualifying finals in week one of the finals, with Melbourne to face St George-Illawarra at Stadium Australia,7 while the night before at the old SFS the Bulldogs faced off against the Broncos in the respective preliminary finals. At half time the Bulldogs were in control leading 20–6 with one foot in the Grand Final. How different history might have been had the Bulldogs won that night to face off against the Storm the week after?8
Instead it would be another six years before Melbourne and Canterbury would face off in a NRL Grand Final in very different circumstances than the what if of the alternate 2006 NRL Grand Final.
Further reading: NRL.com did their version of this reminiscence in 2016.
Stat attack
Melbourne have played four previous matches on 11 April, losing at Penrith in 2004, beating Manly (2008) and Penrith (2009) at Olympic Park, and losing 18–12 on a Monday night against the Bulldogs at AAMI Park in 2016.
That 2016 match was the sixth straight loss for Melbourne against Canterbury. Following that match, Melbourne would win the next seven matches against the Bulldogs.
Historically, Canterbury are Melbourne’s worst active opponent, with Melbourne only just holding a winning record in 45 previous matches, winning 23 (51.11%). At AAMI Park the Bulldogs have won four out of 10 matches, overall winning nine of 20 matches played in Victoria.
Canterbury once had a nine match winning streak against Melbourne, not losing from mid-2000 to August 2004, including holding Melbourne scoreless for the first time in the 2003 semi final.
Melbourne and Canterbury have faced off at 13 different venues — five in NSW, three in Victoria, two in Western Australia and Queensland, and one in South Australia.
Reimis Smith made his NRL debut for Canterbury in round 12, 2016 against Canberra scoring two tries. He would score 25 tries in 49 appearances for the Bulldogs before switching to Melbourne in 2021.
Wyatt Raymond has been appointed as the referee for this match. He will be making his NRL debut as the man with the whistle, having previously officiated in the Queensland Cup (since 2018), NRL Women’s and as a sideline official at NRL level.
Team line-up
Ryan Papenhuyzen
Will Warbrick
Reimis Smith
Nick Meaney
Xavier Coates
Cameron Munster
Jahrome Hughes
Tui Kamikamica
Harry Grant ©
Josh King
Shawn Blore
Eliesa Katoa
Trent Loiero
Tyran Wishart
Christian Welch
Tepai Moeroa
Alec MacDonald
Joe Chan
Jack Howarth
Marion SeveJonah PezetNelson Asofa-Solomona
Referee: Wyatt Raymond (Bunker: Grant Atkins)
Preview
Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
— AAMI Park, 6:00pm Friday 11 April 2024
Somewhat surprisingly, Nelson Asofa-Solomona escaped suspension from his big day out for the Bears at North Sydney Oval. Meanwhile Bronson Garlick returned from injury, playing the full 80 minutes in his first game for the season in what was the Bears first home game for the season. Melbourne are almost in rude health at the moment, with only Sua Fa’alogo and development player AJ Gudgeon on the injury report. Big NAS is on the reserves list week, so he could be a late in, but we should know more on Thursday night.
Last Friday night at Accor Stadium, just a day after the ridiculousness at AAMI Park, the Bulldogs9 got the win against the Roosters in what was also a crazy game. Canterbury had a number of issues out of that match, with injuries to Blake Taaffe, Connor Tracey, Kurt Mann, Chris Patolo and Harrison Edwards.
Tracey and Patolo have been named this week, with former Storm player Max King (who has already been ruled out with a broken wrist) so there could still be further changes. While former Storm favourite Josh Addo-Carr will be back at AAMI Park this week, likely facing off against Will Warbrick out wide.
Couple of bits of video analysis from Jason Oliver at Rugby League Writers this week which are worth a look for Storm fans. Scroll through on this article for a look at how Melbourne are setting up in attack and then scoring points.
As intimated in the reminiscence from 2006, the Bulldogs have always been a tough match-up for the Storm. Last year I called the round 2 match a potential ambush… and was proven right. This year I suspect that Melbourne will be out to protect the fortress and bank another two competition points, hopefully without as much stress as the previous three home matches this season. However the form from the first half of the Bulldogs win over the Roosters saw them fulfill their potential, mostly because the Storm’s bogeyman from past in Viliame Kikau was back to his damaging best.10 Melbourne’s right edge defence will need to be on high alert against the Fijian.
Should Melbourne be able to hold up against the few attacking weapons the Bulldogs possess (Matt Burton’s high kicks are especially fun to watch), the Storm should be able to get the job done, setting up another interesting month with clashes against the Roosters and Rabbitohs coming up soon.
This was Melbourne’s 200th NRL match (which makes it the 201st club match as counted here at Storm Machine when including World Club Challenge matches).
Melbourne were missing Cameron Smith, Dallas Johnson, Greg Inglis and Matt King due to #wrongpriorities.
I’m being bold and confident here that I’m not wrong with these assertions. I know Slater played these two matches, but I only think they’re his last in those competitions.
Ian Donnelly hurt his knee and would not return to the NRL until 2007.
Apologies that it is in the wrong aspect ratio, we work with what we’re able to find sometimes.
This match was on the evening after the Socceroos had drawn 2–2 with Croatia in Stuttgart at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Fog had affected flights that day out of Sydney — the broadcast mentioned that video referee Graeme West only just made kick off. In the AFL that evening North Melbourne came from behind, kicking the last six goals to beat Carlton — I remember listening to the radio of the finish at Hisense Arena while at the Storm after party.
This was the last season that both preliminary finals had to be played at predetermined venues (usually in Sydney).
#SimpkinsIsADickhead
Wearing their superior 2004 replica jerseys that they should bring back full time.
He too will be in some doubt through injury.