R1 v Storm

[zombie jesus]

Footy is here, it's all very exciting yes?

Wolfman out injured (big surprise), Hoppa is in, Rodney still not back, Robinson, Buhrer and Mauro all preferred over Cross.

NRL
Melbourne Storm v Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Saturday 12 March 2011, kickoff 7:30pm; AAMI Park
Referees: Matt Cecchin, Gavin Reynolds; Touch Judges: Steve Chiddy, Gavin Atkins; Video Ref: Bernard Sutton

Storm: Billy Slater, Matt Duffie, Dane Nielson, Chase Stanley, Anthony Quinn, Gareth Widdop, Cooper Cronk, Bryan Norrie, Cameron Smith (c), Jaiman Lowe, Adam Blair, Sika Manu, Ryan Hinchcliffe
Interchange: Todd Lowrie , Kevin Proctor, Troy Thomson. Jesse Bromwich, Beau Champion

Sea Eagles: Brett Stewart, Michael Robertson, Jamie Lyon (c), Tony Williams, Will Hopoate, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Jason King (c), Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Joe Galuvao, Glenn Stewart
Interchange: Terence Seuseu, Jamie Buhrer, George Rose, Vic Mauro, Tim Robinson

Toyota Cup
Melbourne Storm v Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Saturday 12 March 2011, kickoff 5:15pm; AAMI Park
Referees: David Munro; Touch Judges: Jimmy Oliveira, Richard Daizli

Storm: Sean Loxley, Eddie Faamausili, Brayden Wiliame, Mahe Fonua, Ryan Pooley, Matt McGahan, Ben Hampton, Karl Davies, Slade Griffin, Zach Moi Moi, John Leiataua, Krys Freeman, Kenneath Brownwich (c)
Interchange: Matt Smith, Damien Sironen, Kirisome Auva'a, Matt Constantinou

Sea Eagles: Jorge Taufua, Mark Falaniko, Josh Portlock, Michael McDougall, Patrick Sipley, , Taylor Matthews, Josh Drinkwater, Magnus Stromquist, Ajay Vaivaka, Tane Rapira, Tim Burrell, Jason Annear, Jamie Anderson
Interchange: Nathan Cooper, Samiuela Kei, Chase Kerr-Taupiki, Justin Lemalu, James Clout

NSW Cup
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles v Western Suburbs Magpies (Tigers)
Saturday 12 March 2011, kickoff 3:00pm; Leichhardt Oval
Referee: Gavin West; Touch Judges: Nathan Smith, Daniel Olford

Sea Eagles: 1. Sione Ala 2. Ben Shorter 3. Blake Davey 4. Scott Blanch 5. Michael Oldfield 6. Liam Foran 7. Gary Riccardi 8. Matt Cross 9. Liam Higgins 10. Junior Palau 11. Daniel Harrison 12. Mitch Jowett 13. Darcy Lussick
Interchange: 14. Joseph Hawkins 15. Shane Rodney 16. James Cunningham 17. Ray Moujalli

Magpies: 1. Ben Jeffery 2. Dayne Craig 3. Andrew Everingham 4. Josh Davis 5. Gus Aiga 6. Ryan Millard 7. Rhys Lenarduzzi 8. James Leului 9. Troy O'Sullivan 10. Blake Williamson 11. Leivaha Pulu 12. Rocky Trimarchi 13. Puna Rasaubale
Interchange: 14. Josh Toole 15. Lance Siataga 16. David Fifita 17. Michael Stolk 18. James Uhatafe

 

[zombie jesus]

Manly 28
Storm 12
MOM: Foran

 

[Nice Beaver]

Bring it on! Finally the season is here.

The good guys 22
Cheats 16
MoM Watmough

 

[eagles4eva]

About time, can't wait to see the mighty Eagles play...

 

[caspersparks]

very hard game.. i dont mind if we lose as long as we play well.. we will get better during the year.. just hoping snake pulls up alright.. be stoked with a win, we have a great team on paper..
big year for foran/hoppa

 

[Patorick]

Melbourne have not lost a first round game since 2001.

That is the main stat to worry about for me, no matter how well we play.

 

[reckless_gypsy]

Manly 16
Storm 10

Mom Tony Williams

 

[nz eagle]

Why is Wolfman out, is he injured again?
What is with Rodney as NSW Cup Reserve, is he injured still?

Yeah its a tough game first up, away to Melbourne - hopefully we can pull out a win.

Manly 22
Cheats 20
MOM Lyon

 

[zombie jesus]

Wolfman has a hamstring problem.
Did not notice Rodney in reserves, think he's still injured, maybe he needs to test the knee out if he plays at all.

 

[zombie jesus]

Anyone heading to Leichardt?

 

[zombie jesus]

What's people think?

• I thought it wasn't great, not a disaster either.
• The game plan gone thrown out the window before half time with Lyon and Ballin gone, that kinda sucked.
• Defence was good I thought, a lot better than last year.
• Foran needs to slow down a bit, he sprints at the line and gives himself no time with the ball, he should use his speed to slice through gaps, not to make it easy for the opposition.
• Obviously ball handling cost badly.
• Jason King's knee was stupid, game was over after that.
• The worst thing to come out of this game was the injury to Lyon, we'll miss him but the worst thing is he will probably be brought back early and be hampered by it for the rest of the season.
• Brett Stewart's confidence grew as the game went on, I was holding my breath every time he got tackled in the first half, that pass he threw for the try is exactly what we have been missing.
• Buhrer was good except for causing the first Melbourne try.
• Williams rushing out of the line for the Stanley try was a good decision, he executed it badly.
• Glenn Stewart stuffed up on their second try, if he had moved up like everyone else, he would have either a)drawn a penalty or b) evened up the numbers on that edge.
• DCE was decent, showed a bit of what we can expect. Obviously needs to get his kicks away quicker, maybe send two blokes back waiting for the pass so he's not the obvious target on the last. Liked his defence, missed a couple but took down Proctor one-on-one more than a few times.

Not slitting wrists yet, we start slow more often than not. I liked that game much better than last year's first round collapse. Look forward to seeing the side named on Tuesday with the injuries/suspension issues.

 

[caspersparks]

it was alwas gonna be a hard match.. they went ok.. promising in some aspects...

worried about lyon injury.. he is our rock..
dce went ok.. some good parts, some bad parts..

hoppa played great.. i really hope the injury isnt bad..
i agree that snake got better as the game went on..
watmough continued his form from last year.. which isnt good..

im sure we will improve, maybe not next week.. but soon.. i just wish we could keep the same team on the field for more than one week.. the reshuffling is killing us..

 

[zombie jesus]

I thought Watmough went ok. Two drops ruined what would have been a good game.
Hoppa is gone for 5 weeks according to the Footy Show today. Either Williams will be back or Oldfield will get a run next week I guess.

 

[kia ora storm]

Watmough went well IMO...bloody fit for a big bloke.

 

[nz eagle]

I actually didnt expect us to win that game, pretty hard first up game down in Melbourne.

I thought Snake did great for his first game back, did alot more good things than bad and will only get better for the run.
Buhrer did really well, he was a bit rusty at the start but as he got more game time he was playing pretty well making some good tackles and runs.
DCE did ok, what can you expect thrown in the deep end like like, you will always be struggling but he showed enough promise.
I hate Cameron Smith also but I wouldnt try to knee him in the head while I was running with the ball. Jason King your a goose - I imagine he will get some suspension time for that.
Whatmough was ok but he is nowhere near the player of 2-3 seasons ago, he is hardly any threat when running the ball and his hands are still like feet. Maybe he is past his peak and will never get back to that level.
Could be a tough few next weeks with injuries and suspension, even a tough next couple of months....

 

[zombie jesus]

Hoppa could play this week, Lyon 2-4 weeks, Wolfman has been cleared to play this week too.