Melbourne v Manly. Etihad Stadium. April 19, 2010
Jamie Buhrer is on debut in place of the suspended Brent Kite. Great name. Ryan Hoffman is back which is huge for the Storm.
3rd minute - The Wrestle rules so far. A much anticipated encounter is not as violent in the open exchanges as we would have hoped. Gone are the days.
4th minute - Glenn Stewart try. Fantastic kick by Liam Foran who has shown some great touches this year. His kick towards the in goal is batted back by skipper Jamie Lyon to Stewart. The Manly halves, as we have said many times lately, are impressive. Eagles 6-0.
6th minute - The Sea Eagles look ready - their defence is the key indicator here and they are aggressive early. This enthusiasm is slightly over-cooked and they give away a penalty. Tough call though. 'Touchies' fault I'm sure.
8th minute - Greg Inglis shows his great strength by pushing off defenders and then finding Cooper Cronk who would have scored if not for Ben Farrar's try saver. Farrar has been impressive of late and is very capably filling the shoes of one of the games great custodians.
10th minute - Manly's attack looks perfectly designed so far as Tony Williams almost scores. Great scrambling by the Storm. Their defence is always a highlight but Manly are making plenty of space.
12th minute - Plenty indeed! Farrar is the destroyer in this case as Storm winger Luke Macdougall comes in field and the Eagles take advantage through prolific try scorer Michael Robertson. Lyon converts to put the visitors ahead 12-0.
15th minute - Melbourne look to be struggling with their direction. They are the Storm though so you know they will come good.
16th minute - Robertson over again for the Eagles as Steve Matai makes a miraculous last pass to beat the Storms right side. This is unbelievable. Manly lead 16-0 after 16 minutes.
18th minute - The Sea Eagles pack are completely dominating their opposition. Getting quick play the balls and bending the Storm line.
Thought - Melbourne put in an alcohol ban for their first 3 away games this year and won all three. They lifted this ban at Easter and are now in danger of losing 2 out of 3. I'm just saying.
21st minute - Foran kick again perfect as his bomb comes down in a tough position between opposition winger and fullback and 2 metres out from the try line. He is a talented kid. This one defused by the Storm but referee calls a "blocking" penalty. Whatever. Storm ball but a Cameron Smith error puts more pressure on the home side.
25th minute - Foran kicks to the in-goal but too deep. A rare error.
28th minute - Brett Finch goes to Hoffman in attack twice in two minutes down the left side. The ball fails to get into the hands of GI both times. Not sure if he is looking for it or not. Either way he seems quiet.
30th minute - Bryan Norrie scores his first EVER try in the NRL. See Norrie's career statistics as evidence. A true rugby league journeyman. Manly 16-6.
32nd minute - Melbourne coming strong now. A good inside ball from Finch takes advantage of Manly's defence coming up too quickly. Home crowd now right into this. Dangerous period for Manly before halftime and we will see if they are committed. The Storm can sneak up on you.
33rd minute - They ARE committed. Halfback Trent Hodkinson and Lyon hit Hoffman with a beauty to dislodge the ball. Although Farrar gives it back to the home side through error.
34th minute - GI goes down with what looks like an ankle injury. You can hear a pin drop as he stays down for a few minutes. Gets up and limps off to applause. This is all Storm fans worst nightmare, not to mention QLD. (Brent Tate is a fine replacement though)
35th minute - Storm building pressure, receiving penalties and getting back to back sets.
37th minute - Pressure is relieved as the Mad Pup (Macdougall) cannot hold onto a Cooper Cronk cross field kick. Tough grab though. Manly desperate for halftime now and are content to ruck it out and kick it dead.
39th minute - Manly get a penalty after Watmough knocks down a Cronk chip to Slater. Eagles look as though they have been watching match videos of the Storm all week. They take the two and go to the sheds up 18-6.
Halftime.
44th minute - Mad Pup runs across field and gets flattened by Glenn Stewart. Stewart, Josh Perry and Anthony Watmough playing well this year and all deserve a blue jersey.
47th minute - Foran kick is misdirected and splays into touch. Shows his youth. Watmough crushes Ryan Hinchcliffe to remind me why I was looking forward to this game. The Eagles second rower is an angry footballer and his side's emotional leader. Unfortunately they fail to follow his lead and give away a penalty which hands Melbourne good attacking field position.
49th minute - Storm building pressure now.
50th minute - Pressure relived as a Cronk kick is too big and easily defused by the visitors. NO... Manly give it back from the ensuing set. Storm still down 18-6. Questions must be asked about their recent second half collapses.
52nd minute - Finch reminds us of his origin 2 performance in 2006. Throws a horrible pass to a support player to destroy any momentum built by the Storm. Surprising though as he has been in good form of late.
Thought - With 25 minutes to go, the Storm attack does not look sharp enough to score 3 tries and take the lead in this match. Coupled with a Manly defence that looks to have every move covered, it will take something special from the defending premiers.
55th minute - A Tony Williams tackle almost kills Finch and two consecutive Storm sets end with a whimper. One an easily defused bomb and the other in error. Manly slightly back on top.
Thought - Trent Hodkinson has a big boot, his defense is excellent as is his awareness on the field. He has twice now decided to run the ball rather than throw a hospital pass to covered support. Good young kid.
59th minute - Slater makes a sickening move up the left touch line to get out of his own in goal. Manly still lead 18-6.
64th minute - Melbourne now need 2 tries in 15 minutes. A tough ask.
66th minute - Cooper Cronk's sheer tenacity gets him over the try line. He runs straight and hard against an isolated Watmough close to the line. Smith fails to convert to basically hand the match to Manly. Eagles 18-10.
67th minute - Kick-off return by the Storm sees Lima and Watmough collide to shake the heavens. Watmough comes off second best this time. Wild.
69th minute - Kieran Foran drives another nail in the Storm coffin with a perfect kick to win his side a repeat set.
Thought - This stadium in Melbourne seems so cavernous when it's quiet. The worst atmosphere to watch league is a half-empty circular ground. You feel so far away. Even worse in this case as it is indoors and there is an echo reverberating around the park.
71st minute - 9 mins to go now and Manly lead 18-10. Credit to the Sea Eagles defence, they have been scrambling for what seems like the entire second half. Have looked tired on many ocassions but refuse to buckle.
73rd minute - Finch drifts across field from acting half and throws a good face ball that opens a hole in the Eagles defence - Cooper Cronks gladly accepts, hits the hole and Melbourne score. Manly 18-16.
Thought - It is usually errors that decide the outcome of games like this - where one team leads for most of the game whilst their opposition plays catch-up. Just as I write this Ryan Hoffman loses the ball getting up to play it. Crowd dies.
76th minute - Cameron Smith knocks on from dummy half just as the crowd is destroying my Etihad Stadium theory. They were suddenly very loud. Manly are very tired.
77th minute - Storm have the ball but are stuck in their own 20. It will take a miracle.
78th minute - Fox commentator Warren Smith goes on for ages about a Cameron Smith kick in general play that failed to find touch, he dribbles on about how amazing it has that Smith would not use an attacking kick in this situation and that it was just a kick for field position. Before my head explodes, co-commentator Greg Alexander saves the day and politely explains to Warren that is was obviously an attempt at a 40/20. Hilarious.
80th minute - Storm push too hard and turn it over for the 3rd time in 4 possessions to finish the game. Manly win 18-16. Despite a few errors this was a good game and adds to another chapter in this rivalries short but exciting history.
Tune in next week as Manly feature again. This time hosting the Gold Coast Titans from Brookvale Oval.
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