It’s a big game for Melbourne this week as Cameron Munster becomes the ninth player in club history to play 200 matches for the Storm. Joining him in a dual celebration will be Christian Welch who will play his 150th match for the club.
For the third time this season, this week we’re going back to the 2015 season for a look back at a moment for this week’s major milestone man Cameron Munster.
S18E22 – Melbourne Storm vs Gold Coast Titans
After 11 rounds of the 2015 season, Melbourne were sitting top of the NRL ladder and looked poised to be one of the contenders that season. However a poor run of form through the middle of the season, including four straight losses sent the Storm back into the pack. By this time this round 22 match rolled around in August, Melbourne were 6th on the ladder, a full 10 points off ladder leaders Brisbane and North Queensland. Indeed Melbourne looked to be in some danger of missing the finals with tough matches to come, including finishing the season with games against the Cowboys and Broncos.
The Titans came into this one in 14th position on the ladder, and while not out of contention for the finals, their -141 points difference told the story of yet another wasted season.
Despite my best efforts I wasn’t able to find either the highlights or the replay of this match,1 but this from the NRL.com match report jogged my memory:
The Titans arrived in Melbourne with nothing to lose and certainly played like it early on, throwing six offloads inside the first seven minutes.
Their daring resulted in Aiden Sezer opening the scoring with a penalty kick before Kane Elgey crossed under the posts for an 8–0 lead after 20 minutes.
While the Gold Coast were prepared to throw the footy around at every opportunity, they spent much of the first half dodging bullets.
Five disallowed tries to Melbourne in the first half, three from forward passes left the home crowd scratching their lead in disbelief.
A Blake Green forward pass to Jesse Bromwich preceded Kevin Proctor dropping the ball over the line when he appeared certain to score.
Matt Duffie nearly provided the Storm with a much needed spark with a piece aerobatic brilliance but the video review showed his right hand brushed the touchline.
Ahh yes, this match… it certainly was a frustrating first half. Melbourne were wearing the third iteration of the orange Close the Gap/Indigenous Round jersey which thankfully was a bit more purple than previous seasons.
This was Matt Duffie’s third game back from injury, after the Kiwi winger suffered consecutive knee reconstructions in 2013 and 2014. He would score a double in this one, his first tries in Melbourne colours since round 4 2013, earning the moment of the week from the Storm website:
That second try from Duffie was a gem happening right in front of me.
Continuing with the NRL.com report:
Melbourne's frustrations continued moments before halftime when Cooper Cronk had his try disallowed under the posts before Cameron Munster's flick pass to Marika Koroibete was judged forward.
Despite not being able to get out of their own way in the first half with five penalties and five errors the Titans somehow clung to an 8-6 lead at the break.
That lasted all of two minutes though after halftime when Koroibete capped off a clinical left-sided move by youngsters Munster and Mann to score in the corner.
Despite trailing just 10-8 things were looking ominous for the visitors and in the 52nd minute the situation became a touch more dire.
Creator for the previous try, Munster soon turned scorer with a brilliant solo effort as he collected the ball 20 metres from the Titans line and strolled through the opposition defence as though they were standing still to extend the margin out to eight.
The last part of this match was the first time that AAMI Park was truly treated to the Cameron Munster show. He would score a hat trick, the first of his career in just his 14th Storm appearance, with Melbourne turning on the style to put the Titans away in the second half. The second half was certainly more fun after that frustrating opening period.
Munster spoke to Storm TV after the match, where not much has changed:
Expanding on his thoughts with the media afterwards:
I'm being mentored by Billy Slater, one of the best fullbacks in the world and he's been telling me what I need to improve on every week. Once a week he comes to me and watch a lot of video on what I can do better in plays, watching what defences do… one day I'll hopefully be like him. He was my hero, him and Darren Lockyer. At the moment Billy is one of the best players in the world and I am happy to be at the club with him.
Melbourne – 36 (Munster 51', 72', 77', Duffie 32', 57', Koroibete 42', Chambers 69' tries; C Smith 4/7 goals)
Gold Coast – 14 (Elgey 17', Hoffman 65' tries; Sezer 3/3 goals)
Stat attack
Melbourne have played just twice on 4 May, with the force not with the Storm on either occasion. The first match was a 36–28 loss to the Knights at Olympic Park in 2002, with the second a 24–20 loss to the Raiders at AAMI Park in 2013.2
Last year’s loss against the Titans was Melbourne’s first since 2017, breaking a streak of eight straight victories.
Melbourne have lost just four matches from 13 appearances at Cbus Super Stadium, two of those matches coming during the #wrongpriorities periods in 2008 and 2013.
Melbourne average 28.81 points in games against the Gold Coast, the club’s highest average against active opponents.
Titans forward Joe Stimson played 51 matches for Melbourne from 2017 through 2019, scoring nine tries and kicking three goals.
Referee Belinda Sharpe has never had control of a Melbourne Storm match, with this appointment her 13th NRL match and fifth since the removal of the assistant referee role.
Team line-up
Ryan Papenhuyzen
Will Warbrick
Reimis Smith
Nick Meaney
Tyran Wishart
Cameron Munster
Jahrome Hughes
Christian Welch
Harry Grant ©
Josh King
Shawn Blore
Eliesa Katoa
Trent Loiero
Bronson Garlick
Joe Chan
Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Alec MacDonald
Jack Howarth
Sualauvi Fa’alogo
Grant Anderson
Dean Ieremia
Tristan Powell
Referee: Belinda Sharpe (Bunker: Chris Butler)
Preview
Melbourne Storm vs Gold Coast Titans
— Cbus Super Stadium, 5:30pm Saturday 4 May 2024
When Xavier Coates went off before half time against the Warriors with hamstring awareness, subsequently updated to be a 1-2 week strain, it kicked off one of the Storm fans’ favourite games:
When the team list dropped on Tuesday afternoon it was noted non-winger Tyran Wishart named in the number five jersey. Lurking in the reserves list are three players who could fill the role should Craig Bellamy actually choose a player who might be best suited to the role, rather than a utility.
We can already rule out Young Tonumaipea from this question, given he was left out of the extended squad, which also rules out Marion Seve from coming in at a centre position. That leaves us with the following options:
Dean Ieremia: Has played seven matches for the Bears this season, scoring six tries including one on the weekend. Made his Storm debut in 2021 on the left edge, and has played 21 matches for Melbourne scoring nine tries. Injury ruled him out of 2023 and has been playing on the right wing this season.
Grant Anderson: Since scoring twice on his Storm debut at the SCG in 2022, Anderson has appeared in 10 NRL matches, has been an unused interchange player and frequently 18th or 19th man. Has been able to make five appearances for the Falcons this year, alternating between fullback and the wing scoring three tries.
Sualauvi Fa’alogo: Made his much acclaimed Storm debut last season against the Broncos off the bench. Has had a couple of injuries in 2024, returning to play for the Bears last week, scoring a try against the Magpies.
Nick Meaney: Currently slotted in at right centre alongside Will Warbrick, Meaney could be an option to form a partnership with Reimis Smith on the left, or could switch sides with Smith and form a new combination with any of the other options here. Unlike others, his versatility across the back five is a benefit to the team.
Tyran Wishart: No. Wishart is many things, unlike his dad a winger is not one of them.
What would I do? Well looking over the last few matches of this week’s opposition, it doesn’t look like the Titans will offer much down their right flank.3 So I probably wouldn’t mess around with moving Nick Meaney or Reimis Smith from their current roles. Our last NRL taste of the Grant Anderson Experience had him at left wing, but I’m not sure anyone is quite aware where his best position is yet. As such, I would probably give Dean Ieremia the chance this week, given he is solid enough in defence and might be able to get on the end of a passing move or two from Cameron Munster.
With this match being on Saturday evening, we won’t know until Friday afternoon which way the coaching staff are thinking when three players will be left out of the final team, and possibly not until an hour before the game when the final team is submitted. Intrigue! Speculation! It’s almost like watching a rugby league trollumnist being tackled by a tree.
Milestone men
The Storm website has had a few features this week about Cameron Munster, with Bellyache and Munster fronting the media the other day. Munster has pretty much done it all for Melbourne, Queensland and Australia in his career so far. There have been a few bumps along the way,4 but he’s certainly brought a lot of joy to Storm fans over the past decade since coming through the Thunderbolts.
Christian Welch’s milestone of 150 appearances for the club is going a little under the radar because of Munster’s 200th, but it is no less of an achievement given how many serious injuries The White Rhino has had to endure over the years. The former skipper has been a class act for Melbourne and is a quality human who deserves every success he gets.
The Des Hasler factor
Hasler hasn’t been fired yet at the Gold Coast, hell they even snagged a win last week against the Wahs across the ditch. He’s one of the few coaches to have a winning record against Melbourne, with his teams across spells at Manly and the Bulldogs winning 18 of 35 matches. The roster at the Titans isn’t great, especially with Tino Fa'asuamaleaui out this season with a knee injury. Not sure what Hasler is thinking dropping Alofiana Khan-Pereira (again) and this week they’re also missing Moeaki Fotuaika with a concussion.
Like last week then, Melbourne should be able to do the business against the Titans, but as we saw last year against them, not everything always goes to plan. Especially if the threat of whatever this weather pattern is, affects the place where sport goes to die in any way.
Elsewhere this weekend, the Tigers travel to Mackay to face the Cutters (Saturday 3pm), while the Falcons travel to the Gold Coast to play Burleigh (Saturday 4pm) in what is a battle between first and third. The Bears will be back at North Sydney Oval to take on the Roosters (Sunday 3pm), with the Storm Jersey Flegg squad back at Seabrook Reserve to play the Roosters (Saturday 2pm). In the Super Netball the Lightning will host the Mavericks at the Sunshine Coast (Saturday 5pm) as they look to get back to winning ways.
Credit to user @RNEditss on the app that shall not be named for publishing this graph the other day. Melbourne have now been top of the table for 140 (out of 672) weeks of the NRL era.
Seemingly there’s some kind of issue with the highlights and replays from the second half of the 2015 season. Stupid Abdo and V’Landys destruction of the digital media business is a continuing crime against rugby league. Not letting Fox off the hook either here. — just put everything from 1998 up for subscribers, especially after making Telstra TV remove the old NRL channel that had everything from about 2012 onwards.
I’ve previously described this 2013 loss as annoying. I probably will have to expand upon this at some point.
Watch them score all their points down that side of the field.
On field I love that Munster could one day be sent to the sin bin more than Billy Slater.