S27E15 Preview – 700th game spectacular

Heading across the ditch

Melbourne Storm play their 700th first grade game this weekend, a milestone that probably won’t be recognised by many until later in the season when the club’s 700th NRL match is played.¹

Game 100 – S04E17 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks vs Melbourne Storm

With the club’s 100th NRL match celebrations to be held at Docklands against the Wests Tigers a week later, Melbourne were thrashed 40–18 by the Sharks at The Swamp. Scott Hill was stretchered off with a knee injury. Coach Mark Murray wasn’t happy:

It was the players’ attitude and intensity that was missing. I was expecting a much better effort and am very disappointed with what we put in front of them.

Game 200 – S08E16 Melbourne Storm vs South Sydney Rabbitohs

Ending a two-match losing streak, Melbourne thrashed Souths 48–6 at Olympic Park. The Storm led 32–0 at half time, with Billy Slater scoring a hat trick. After a tough middle section of the 2005 season, it was a pleased Craig Bellamy post match:

Without being too critical, I thought we died on our run a bit in the second half, but I suppose that can happen when you are so far in front. I think the main thing I really enjoyed was it looked like we were enjoying our footy again, we were playing with a bit of passion again.

Game 300 – S12E06 Wests Tigers vs Melbourne Storm

On a wet Monday night at the Lilyfield Rectangle, Melbourne struggled in the conditions failing to score with the wind at their backs in the second half to lose 16–6. Melbourne could have got back into the contest with a try controversially denied by a forward pass in the 62nd minute. The loss was the Storm’s third in the opening six weeks of the 2009 season.

Game 400 – S16E00 Leeds Rhinos vs Melbourne Storm

The 2013 World Club Challenge was the club’s 400th match, the 2012 premiers travelling to England to play the Super League champions. After a tight first half, Melbourne pulled away in the second half, holding on for a 18–14 win for their third WCC triumph.

Game 500 – S19E25 Melbourne Storm vs Brisbane Broncos

Three points clear on top of the NRL ladder with two games to play in the 2016 season, the Broncos knocked off Melbourne at AAMI Park for the second year in a row to take a 26–16 win. The ambush loss delayed Melbourne securing the J J Giltinan Shield as minor premiers, with the club needing to win the following week against the second placed Sharks to put their name on that trophy for the first time since 2011.

Game 600 – S23E14 Sydney Roosters vs Melbourne Storm

On a cold Thursday night in August 2020, Melbourne won their first game at the ShitCG with the lockdown squad taking a 24–6 win. Justin Olam scored a double with Jesse Bromwich leading the team in the absence of the injured Cameron Smith and Cameron Munster. The Storm dominating the Roosters to take a 24–0 lead inside 50 minutes.

Storm history stats:

694 NRL matches, 5 WCC matches

• 465 wins, 228 losses, 6 draws

• 17,075 points for (3,010 tries; 2,494 goals; 45 field goals; one 2pt field goal).

• 11,611 points against (2,024 tries; 1,735 goals; 43 field goals; one 2pt field goal).

• Most matches, goals & points: Cameron Smith – 433 matches; 1,307 goals; 2,810 points.

• Most tries: Billy Slater – 191 tries.

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Given the Warriors could well start favourites to win this week, I thought I would go back and have a look at the last time the Warriors defeated Melbourne in 2015.

S18E18 – New Zealand Warriors vs Melbourne Storm

Unfortunately only the highlights are available for this match online at the moment, so rather than a full reminiscence let’s look back at the singular moment that this particular match is remembered:

Tuimoala Lolohea’s second try coming via this amazing piece of play from former Storm player Nathan Friend. Not sure words still do this justice almost ten years later.

Storm coach Craig Bellamy said on a different occasion he would have enjoyed the astonishing effort himself.

"They scored some tries that would have been great to watch if you were on the other side tonight, but I didn’t particularly enjoy them myself," he said.

Melbourne had gone into this match on the back of three straight defeats, falling back into a logjam of teams well behind the Broncos and Cowboys by this part of the 2015 season. The Warriors came into this match on the back of a couple of wins, and opened the scoring through a try to Lolohea in the 11th minute. The winger sprinting away almost untouched past Marika Koroibete and Cameron Munster. On the other wing, Richie Kennar in just his fifth NRL match went close to scoring after taking a Cooper Cronk cross-field kick, but he was held up over the line.

The Warriors cut Melbourne to shreds a number of times in the first half, extending their lead to 16–0 before half time through tries to David Fusitu’a and Bodene Thompson, as Shaun Johnson dominated.

Melbourne had come close to breaking their duck late in the first half, but the breakthrough would come four minutes into the second half when a Cronk kick found Koroibete in enough space to get over the line. Some slick passing ten minutes later saw Kenny Bromwich score in the left channel and Melbourne were back in the game.

That fightback was cut short when Friend’s spectacular play took the home team’s lead back out to 12 points. Melbourne did score not long after Lolohea’s second try, again through Kenny Bromwich who finished a long-range effort from Munster again on that left edge. But that would be as close as Melbourne would get, with some magic from Johnson had him hot-stepping through the middle of the field past three Storm defenders to score with 15 minutes remaining.

All the talk after the match was the second Lolohea try and the back flip from Nathan Friend. The Warriors website collecting some of the coverage from around the world, with the play getting the number one spot on the ESPN SportsCenter top ten.

The ironic thing about this win for the Warriors is that they did it without Konrad Hurrell, Manu Vatuvei and Ryan Hoffman. Hoffy played three seasons with the Warriors and this was the only match they beat Melbourne during his time across the ditch.

New Zealand – 28 (Lolohea 11', 58', Fusitu’a 22', Thompson 34', Johnson 66' tries; Johnson 4/7 goals)

Melbourne – 14 (K Bromwich 53', 62', Koroibete 44' tries; Smith 1/3 goals)

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Stat attack

• Melbourne have played three times before on 15 June, playing out a 30–all draw against the Dragons at Wollongong in 2002 before the #GoldenGallop times, a 26–22 loss at AAMI Park against the Eels in 2015 affected by #wrongpriorities, and a 34–4 win at AAMI Park over the Knights in 2019.

• Melbourne is the top performing away team at Go Media Mt Smart Stadium, winning 13 of 23 matches at the venue.

• As detailed above, the Warriors last win against Melbourne was in round 18, 2015 a streak of 15 straight wins for the Storm.

• The Warriors have only scored 30 points in a match once against the Storm, wining 30–22 at Mt Smart Stadium in 2014. Melbourne equalled their highest NRL score in the 70–10 win against the Warriors in the 2022 ANZAC Day match.

• Warriors captain Tohu Harris made 117 appearances for the Storm from 2013 through 2017, scoring 18 tries. He’s come up against Melbourne eight times without success.

• Eli Katoa made 46 appearances for the Warriors between 2020 and 2022 scoring 10 tries. He’s scored 12 tries from 34 appearances for Melbourne.

• Thirteen players have played for both teams in matches between the Storm and the Warriors.²

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Team line-up

1. Sualauvi Fa’alogo

2. Grant Anderson

3. Dean Ieremia

4. Nick Meaney

5. Xavier Coates

6. Tyran Wishart

7. Jahrome Hughes

8. Tui Kamikamica

9. Harry Grant ©

10. Josh King

11. Shawn Blore

12. Eliesa Katoa

13. Trent Loiero

14. Bronson Garlick

15. Christian Welch

16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

17. Joe Chan

18. Young Tonumaipea

19. Jack Howarth

20. Lazarus Vaalepu

21. Chris Lewis

22. Kane Bradley

Referee: Gerard Sutton (Bunker: Liam Kennedy)

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Preview

New Zealand Warriors vs Melbourne Storm
— Go Media Stadium, 5:30pm Saturday 15 June 2024

With Alec MacDonald missing again, and Reimis Smith in concussion protocols there’s a couple of changes to the Storm squad this week. Dean Ieremia is in for what will be his first NRL action of the season. The Victorian has scored eight tries in 15 appearances for the Bears this season, averaging 137m per game with the ball. He hasn’t had a great deal of defensive work to do, so he’ll need to form a good combination on whichever side of the field he is deployed. I suspect he’ll slot in beside Xavier Coates, unless the coaches split up the combination that Nick Meaney and Grant Anderson have forged over on the right edge. Alternatively, Melbourne could look to play either Kane Bradley or Jack Howarth at centre, which could be a risk against the Warriors dangerous back five.

Melbourne’s forward rotation has reverted back to plan A which sees Tui Kamikamica, Josh King and Trent Loiero in the middle, with Christian Welch, Nelson Asofa Solomona and Joe Chan offering options from the bench.

Across the Tasman and hot on the heels of dismantling the Cowboys in Townsville, Shaun Johnson returns for the Wahs. The 2023 Dally M medallist last played in round 10 and returns from a sternum injury. Since he’s been out though, the Warriors haven’t missed a beat in winning against the Panthers, Dolphins and Cowboys. It was the month of losses before that has the Wahs down in 10th on the ladder, as they’ve struggled to recapture the form that took them to the preliminary finals in 2023.

Coming back from the bye, Melbourne looked shaky against the Knights, with the Novocastrians finding attacking seams down their right and in the middle of the park. I’m sure that shoring up those areas would have been a focus this week at training, but the Warriors are a better attacking team than the Knights and should have beaten the Storm at AAMI Park back in March. At a sold out stadium in southern Auckland this weekend, I suspect that the Warriors will get the job done against the Storm for the first time since 2015. It wouldn’t surprise me either if Melbourne struggle to keep the Warriors under 24 points, which might be enough for the Wahs defence to keep the Storm from scoring. I hope that I am wrong, but I can’t shake the feeling.

What else is going on?

The Jersey Flegg squad head up to Cronulla on Thursday afternoon (kickoff 5:35pm) to face the Sharks. The Bears are off to Henson Park to take on the 8,972 and the Jets on Saturday (3pm), while in Queensland should any Storm players be available, the Tigers will be up against it away to Burleigh on Saturday (3pm), and the Falcons face off against the Hunters on Sunday (2pm). In the Super Netball the top of the table Melbourne Vixens take on the Sunshine Coast Lightning on Saturday night (7pm) in what promises to be a tough battle.

1. I’ll take a look back at the NRL match milestones next month.

2. If you can name all 13 there’s a prize in it for the first reader to comment with the right answer.