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Greg Prichard
June 6, 2011
South Sydney 6 Melbourne 16
The Storm's Billy Slater is tackled by the Rabbitohs' defence. Photo: Steve Christo
MATCH STATS
THE team has changed dramatically following the salary-cap scandal, but the mentality remains the same, and that was the difference between Melbourne winning or losing against South Sydney at ANZ Stadium yesterday.
A controversial refereeing decision denying the Rabbitohs a possible try to second-rower Dave Taylor also had an impact on the result, but the fact the Storm defenders were desperate enough to throw themselves at Taylor in numbers and make it that much harder for him to score brings us back to the original point.
''I think it is,'' Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said when asked if the mentality he and his players had worked so hard to create was still as strong, even though the team had been largely rebuilt around the core quartet of fullback Billy Slater, halfback Cooper Cronk, hooker Cameron Smith and second-rower Adam Blair.
''But I don't think it's quite ingrained as yet. There have certainly been some signs of it, the last two weeks. Last week [against Cronulla] was an ugly win, but this week was a grind and I thought it was quite an enthralling game, actually, if you weren't coaching one of the teams. A lot of that is the result of the way we train, how we prepare, and the new players to our club along with the young players got a taste of that in the pre-season.''
Hooker and captain Smith said he and the other players in the leadership group at the club had taken it upon themselves to make sure the rest of the team understood what was required, with the result that at at the halfway mark of the competition the Storm are in second place with nine wins from 12 games.
''New guys join the club and young guys move up from our under-20s, and we instil that culture into them fairly quickly,'' he said. ''We've lost experienced players every year, and along with Craig and the coaches, the leadership group has a fairly big role there. We spend most of the time with the players, so it's really our job at training to make sure we're doing things right, and consistently right.
''The young guys look at leaders. I mean, when I first started playing first grade I looked at Matt Geyer and Stephen Kearney and Robbie Kearns, and whatever they did I wanted to do. So it's really important, particularly this year, that every time we go out on the training paddock and every time we go out on the field we practise and play the way Craig wants us to.''
One of those young players Bellamy and Smith were talking about is winger Justin O'Neill, who came into the side yesterday for injured winger Matt Duffie. O'Neill said he had begun to learn what being an NRL player for the Storm was all about while he was still playing in the Toyota Cup.
''In the under-20s team we were using the same mentality, and coming into first grade you knew what they would expect from you,'' O'Neill said. ''The leaders set a good example, and we just do what they do at training, and look up to them … We're a team that grinds out and is willing to play and last longer than the other team. The Storm train hard, and training hard does show on the field, because they play hard.''
Souths, as hard as they tried, and even with a couple of ex-Melbourne stars in Greg Inglis and Michael Crocker in their side, couldn't break down the Storm. The mould is rock hard.
MELBOURNE 16 (M Blair J Bromwich C Smith tries C Smith G Widdop goals) bt SOUTH SYDNEY 6 (D Taylor try C Sandow goal) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Ben Cummins, Chris James. Crowd: 11,528.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-generation-20110605-1fn0l.html#ixzz1ORzVvWWL
June 6, 2011
South Sydney 6 Melbourne 16
MATCH STATS
THE team has changed dramatically following the salary-cap scandal, but the mentality remains the same, and that was the difference between Melbourne winning or losing against South Sydney at ANZ Stadium yesterday.
A controversial refereeing decision denying the Rabbitohs a possible try to second-rower Dave Taylor also had an impact on the result, but the fact the Storm defenders were desperate enough to throw themselves at Taylor in numbers and make it that much harder for him to score brings us back to the original point.
''I think it is,'' Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy said when asked if the mentality he and his players had worked so hard to create was still as strong, even though the team had been largely rebuilt around the core quartet of fullback Billy Slater, halfback Cooper Cronk, hooker Cameron Smith and second-rower Adam Blair.
''But I don't think it's quite ingrained as yet. There have certainly been some signs of it, the last two weeks. Last week [against Cronulla] was an ugly win, but this week was a grind and I thought it was quite an enthralling game, actually, if you weren't coaching one of the teams. A lot of that is the result of the way we train, how we prepare, and the new players to our club along with the young players got a taste of that in the pre-season.''
Hooker and captain Smith said he and the other players in the leadership group at the club had taken it upon themselves to make sure the rest of the team understood what was required, with the result that at at the halfway mark of the competition the Storm are in second place with nine wins from 12 games.
''New guys join the club and young guys move up from our under-20s, and we instil that culture into them fairly quickly,'' he said. ''We've lost experienced players every year, and along with Craig and the coaches, the leadership group has a fairly big role there. We spend most of the time with the players, so it's really our job at training to make sure we're doing things right, and consistently right.
''The young guys look at leaders. I mean, when I first started playing first grade I looked at Matt Geyer and Stephen Kearney and Robbie Kearns, and whatever they did I wanted to do. So it's really important, particularly this year, that every time we go out on the training paddock and every time we go out on the field we practise and play the way Craig wants us to.''
One of those young players Bellamy and Smith were talking about is winger Justin O'Neill, who came into the side yesterday for injured winger Matt Duffie. O'Neill said he had begun to learn what being an NRL player for the Storm was all about while he was still playing in the Toyota Cup.
''In the under-20s team we were using the same mentality, and coming into first grade you knew what they would expect from you,'' O'Neill said. ''The leaders set a good example, and we just do what they do at training, and look up to them … We're a team that grinds out and is willing to play and last longer than the other team. The Storm train hard, and training hard does show on the field, because they play hard.''
Souths, as hard as they tried, and even with a couple of ex-Melbourne stars in Greg Inglis and Michael Crocker in their side, couldn't break down the Storm. The mould is rock hard.
MELBOURNE 16 (M Blair J Bromwich C Smith tries C Smith G Widdop goals) bt SOUTH SYDNEY 6 (D Taylor try C Sandow goal) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Ben Cummins, Chris James. Crowd: 11,528.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/...-generation-20110605-1fn0l.html#ixzz1ORzVvWWL
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