Are Melbourne finished?

[STORM.99/07]

He's got me as well, we have lost significant players over the past couple of years and are losing several more over the next as well.

It's our ability to turn previous spuds into world beaters that has kept us up.

The problem with broncos is they turn good players into spuds

 

[some11]

The problem with broncos is they turn good players into spuds

Watch Coates become Folau mkII down there.

 

[STORM.99/07]

Watch Coates become Folau mkII down there.

Looking forward to watching Coates become a good footballer

 

[The Ranga Hunter]

They are on their last legs, the new rule interpretations and the fact the big 3 cheats are 30 and not what they were is hurting them. It's a great day for RL.

Who’s a clever boy?

 

[BunniesMan]

Next year the big 3 will be turning 32.

That's the problem with having your 3 best players at the exact same age. They'll be great together, but the drop off the cliff will be sudden and irreversible.

BM knows.

 

[hineyrulz]

Who’s a clever boy?

Definitely not you incest. Still a maths whiz???

 

[Pretty Penny]

Manly will be right up in Premiership discussions if they can maintain a fit roster. Good experience for their younger players to have a taste of what it will take come finals and they will be better for the run. My biggest concern is Papenhuyzen. He is nowhere near the player he was before the concussion. He seems tentative, no longer in the picture when a break is made and not constantly in support of a ball runner or around the ruck like he was at his peak. I think it is more a mental issue than a physical one. I get he had 10 weeks out but this is his 3rd game back and he isn’t playing the full 80. You’d expect he’d at least have 35 mins of dynamic Paps in him. Harry Grant has played less games this year and also back from a long layoff and he is killing it. I know he is worth persisting with but with only 4 rounds remaining if he doesn’t get his mojo back it may be time to make a tough call between him and Hynes.

Manly had a plan to slow down the rhythm of Melbourne with prolonged wrestling and a little bit of I’ll discipline resulting in a lot of six agains and penalties . Storm did get more of both but it wasn’t that one sided. 7-4 penalty and 7-5 six again. Not sure what you were going for…… I was going for an honest assessment.

 

[Someguy]

Manly will be right up in Premiership discussions if they can maintain a fit roster.

The hooker doesn’t go (allegedly) all stabby then manly are favourites he would be running rampant in the current form of the game

 

[Pretty Penny]

Mmmmmm I love running rampant

 

[Apey]

Need to score 123 points vs Raiders, Titans, Eels, Sharks to break the season record set by Parra in 2001. All these teams are good for giving up a gape now and then.

97 with Titans, Eels, Sharks left. Going to be tight imo. Although they still managed 26 tonight in an average performance.

 

[Pretty Penny]

The Storm are going backwards. They are progressively getting worse each game

Hughes cant remember the game due to the hit. He might be out for 6 weeks

 

[some11]

Such a shame being able to just slot Hynes into halfback and Papenhuyzen into fullback.

Smith will need a rest too at some point. Then Grant just slots in.

 

[Pretty Penny]

they are not toast but trying to fit all those players in actually hinders them rather than helping them

they were better when Paps and Harry Grant weren't playing

 

[Pretty Penny]

Kudos for predicting a game of rugby league is brutal. Even after a 17 game winning streak the Storm were only 2 points ahead of 3rd place (prior to last night) with 4 games to play.

Foolish to try and maintain your position on the ladder in a tightly run race……. Sounds like a harsh judgement.

Right side defense for the Storm leaked like a sieve tonight. Storm outside backs stocks so thin they’ll have to stick with Leremia who made some shocking errors tonight. Maybe they need to give Lumelume a shot as he was ok when he played last year. At least he’ll make an attempt to catch a ball thats coming right for him. If they don’t try other options they won’t know whether any of them are any better. Craig should remember he only put Vunivalu in to play in 2016 because he ran out of outside backs and was forced to play him….he never lost that wing spot as he was better than the regulars Craig was picking all season like Tonumapaia. There’s no benefit to finishing top 2…only top 4 as there’s unlikely to be any home ground advantage. Test out the depth and give players a rest.

 

[blaza88z]

Looking forward to watching Coates become a good footballer

He could become a great winger, anyone who gets into that Melbourne system are a chance of becoming a great player but..

He hasn't been a standout for us this year, he made a great try saver on Dane Gagai who is now into his 30's, you'd expect any winger worth anything to run down an aging centre, he's fumbled more than he's caught when going for the acrobatic catches.. basically only ended up playing origin later in the series due to Mulitalo's ineligibility and I can't really recall him coming up with any big defensive plays on his own line

Bellamy will need to get to work on Xavier because he's not a a walk up starter on current form

 

[stryker]

I assume for finals Parra would have the record too, they scored 80+ points in 2001 finals

Nah, the West’s Tigers put 134 points past their opponents in the 2005 finals series.

 

[Pretty Penny]

The only thing that matters is if you win the premiership or not

Nothing else counts

 

[Captain Apollo]

 

[Apey]

If Hynes isn't their #1 in the finals they won't win the competition. Papenhuyzen was not far off Tommy Trbo level at the start of this year but their attack looks a mess with him at the back. I know Paps is the future for them but if they want to win this year they need to put Hynes back there imo.

 

[Lemon Squash]

Any team that loses twice in a year to the Patternbaldnessmatta Eels is certainly finished