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globalrugbyleague - Sun, 21 Sep 2008 01:03:00 GMTGreg Inglis
proved why he is the five-eighth of the season after masterminding a last
minute James Bond style rescue to deliver Melbourne an unforgettable 16-14
victory over the Brisbane Broncos.
With less
than a minute left on the clock, and Melbourne trailing Brisbane by two points,
the Storm made the impossible possible with a play through the hands out to the
left hand edge that silenced the home crowd and sent the Storm's travelling
contingent into a state of delirium.
.All seemed
lost when the Broncos regained possession 20-metres out from their own try-line
with 90 seconds on the clock. But a shuddering hit on Brisbane front-rower
Ashton Sims by Sika Manu jarred the ball loose, and the rest as they say is
history.
However, if
the Storm had of taken advantage of their superior possession in the
first-half, the final minute heroics wouldn't have been needed. Instead it was
the Broncos who made the Storm pay for failing to finish off their dominance.
In as early
as the fourth minute Broncos winger Darius Boyd put the home side in front with
a try in the corner, and they were at it again towards the end of the
first-half when their other winger Denan Kemp extended their lead.
Corey
Parker's conversions sent the Broncos in at the break with a 12-nil ahead, but
if Billy Slater had gathered with a try beckoning, and Cooper Cronk wasn't
miraculously held up, things could have been so different.
Only those
in the Storm's inner sanctum will know exactly what coach Craig Bellamy said at
half-time, but it had the desired effect. The Storm came out with a lot more
aggression in the second-half, and the Broncos didn't seem to appreciate the
extra attention.
A couple of
all-in push and shoves ignited proceedings, and the Storm seemed to be the team
that fed off the intensity.
Crocker
opened the scoring for Melbourne in the second-half when a break from Israel
Folau sent the backrower on his way to the try-line.
Only minutes
later a controversial incident looked set to derail the Storm's comeback. A
bump on Brisbane hooker Michael Ennis from Jeff Lima was deemed late by the
touch judge, and given the previous melees, referee Shayne Hayne sent Lima to
the sin bin for 10 minutes.
To rub salt
into the wounds, Parker took the two points on offer from right in front to
send his team 14-6 up.
But instead
of slowing the Storm's momentum, the added adversity seemed to spur them on to
greater heights.
A short
chip-kick from Cronk saw Slater leap high above two defenders, catch the ball
on his chest, and drive across the try-line for Melbourne's second try, and
give the small band of Storm fans in the crowd hope.
Then, in the
54th minute, what would have been one of the greatest tries in the history of
the NRL was correctly disallowed when Inglis was judged to have been offside
when Cam Smith kicked the ball.
Replays
showed the decision was right, but there were only millimetres in it.
From Cam's
grubber, Matt Geyer chased and batted the ball towards the in-goal sideline,
only for Anthony Quinn to somehow bat the ball back himself before crashing
into the advertising hoarding.
The ball
landed in the arms of Inglis who put the ball down, but it wasn't to be.
Melbourne head to Sydney next Friday night where they will attempt to deny
Cronulla their first appearance in a Grand Final since 1997.
MELBOURNE 16 (M
Crocker G Inglis B Slater tries C Smith 2 goals) bt BRISBANE 14 (D Boyd D
Kemp tries C Parker 3 goals) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: S Hayne. Crowd:
50,466.
Words: Melbourne Storm/Global Rugby League - Read More, Here
proved why he is the five-eighth of the season after masterminding a last
minute James Bond style rescue to deliver Melbourne an unforgettable 16-14
victory over the Brisbane Broncos.
With less
than a minute left on the clock, and Melbourne trailing Brisbane by two points,
the Storm made the impossible possible with a play through the hands out to the
left hand edge that silenced the home crowd and sent the Storm's travelling
contingent into a state of delirium.
.All seemed
lost when the Broncos regained possession 20-metres out from their own try-line
with 90 seconds on the clock. But a shuddering hit on Brisbane front-rower
Ashton Sims by Sika Manu jarred the ball loose, and the rest as they say is
history.
However, if
the Storm had of taken advantage of their superior possession in the
first-half, the final minute heroics wouldn't have been needed. Instead it was
the Broncos who made the Storm pay for failing to finish off their dominance.
In as early
as the fourth minute Broncos winger Darius Boyd put the home side in front with
a try in the corner, and they were at it again towards the end of the
first-half when their other winger Denan Kemp extended their lead.
Corey
Parker's conversions sent the Broncos in at the break with a 12-nil ahead, but
if Billy Slater had gathered with a try beckoning, and Cooper Cronk wasn't
miraculously held up, things could have been so different.
Only those
in the Storm's inner sanctum will know exactly what coach Craig Bellamy said at
half-time, but it had the desired effect. The Storm came out with a lot more
aggression in the second-half, and the Broncos didn't seem to appreciate the
extra attention.
A couple of
all-in push and shoves ignited proceedings, and the Storm seemed to be the team
that fed off the intensity.
Crocker
opened the scoring for Melbourne in the second-half when a break from Israel
Folau sent the backrower on his way to the try-line.
Only minutes
later a controversial incident looked set to derail the Storm's comeback. A
bump on Brisbane hooker Michael Ennis from Jeff Lima was deemed late by the
touch judge, and given the previous melees, referee Shayne Hayne sent Lima to
the sin bin for 10 minutes.
To rub salt
into the wounds, Parker took the two points on offer from right in front to
send his team 14-6 up.
But instead
of slowing the Storm's momentum, the added adversity seemed to spur them on to
greater heights.
A short
chip-kick from Cronk saw Slater leap high above two defenders, catch the ball
on his chest, and drive across the try-line for Melbourne's second try, and
give the small band of Storm fans in the crowd hope.
Then, in the
54th minute, what would have been one of the greatest tries in the history of
the NRL was correctly disallowed when Inglis was judged to have been offside
when Cam Smith kicked the ball.
Replays
showed the decision was right, but there were only millimetres in it.
From Cam's
grubber, Matt Geyer chased and batted the ball towards the in-goal sideline,
only for Anthony Quinn to somehow bat the ball back himself before crashing
into the advertising hoarding.
The ball
landed in the arms of Inglis who put the ball down, but it wasn't to be.
Melbourne head to Sydney next Friday night where they will attempt to deny
Cronulla their first appearance in a Grand Final since 1997.
MELBOURNE 16 (M
Crocker G Inglis B Slater tries C Smith 2 goals) bt BRISBANE 14 (D Boyd D
Kemp tries C Parker 3 goals) at Suncorp Stadium. Referee: S Hayne. Crowd:
50,466.
Words: Melbourne Storm/Global Rugby League - Read More, Here