NRL Rugby - Melbourne Storm v Manly Sea Eagles

Once again I sucked this season,but it does'nt mean I don't have an opinion on the Grand Final,Lets make this a good one....

Team Match ups....

Fullbacks:Slater vs Stewart...Both are quick and both will have a huge bearing on this game,Both sides will try and get up on them quick and cut down their space,expect both sides kickers to try and kick away from them to allow their chasers to get on top of them before they can get any space,speed wise and I think Slater has Stewart but both are equally important to how each side will go,pretty much even here,Both are te best in the Busieness...Ratings:Slater 9.0...Stewart 9.0...Edge:Even.

Wingers:Turner/Quinn vs Williams/Robertson...The Storm with Turner and Quinn have spped and aggression with Turner always showing up in the right place and is sound in defence and placement,Quinnis all agression which should see them do well both in attack and defence...Williams and Robertson are both good players but Williams has been the standout and is strong and will be hard to contain,both wingers for both sides have an abilty to be in the right place at the right time,the one difference is that the Manly wingers tend to stay out wide and don't come in while Turner does stay out wide for the Storm, Quinn can and does roam,Quinn could be the difference here,,,ratings:Turner 8.0/Quinn 8.0..Williams 8.0...Robertson 7.5..Edge:Storm

Centres:Folau/Geyer vs Matai/Bell...Of both Centres for either side the battle between Matai and Folau shapes as a highlight,Matai may not last the entire game and I am expecting the Storm to make sure he does'nt or if he does he will be very sore by the end of it,Bell is sound but nothing spectacular and the same can be said of Geyer,overall I think Folau right now is showing what he is capable of and I think he could be a major factor come Sunday Night...Ratings:Folau 8.5/Geyer 7.0...Matai 8.0/Bell 7.5... Edge:Even.

Halves:Cronk/Inglis vs Orford/Lyon...Like i said last week Orford needs space to create and he got plenty of that last week,he won't get that this week,Lyon although people talk him up continuies to show little to nothing and like Inglis is playing out of position and in that regard he fails to deliver,Cronk showed last week that he needs little time or space to create with the talent around him,he may not have the overall pedigree of Orford but he has shown that given even half a chance he can create,Inglis like Lyon is and has been playing out of position,if the Storm are to have any chance he will have to roam and I expect him to do just that..ratings:Cronk 8.0/Inglis 9.0...Orford 8.0/Lyon 7.5...Edge:Storm.

Props:White/Lima vs Kite/Perry..This is the best match up of the whole game,Perry has shown under Hasler that he can and is one of the best around while Kite has gone from stregth to strength and has become a tireless worker for the Eagles side,White has shown he is dirty but he can take it and dish it out he can match up to either of the Props Manly have and he will have to apply himself to get the Storm over the line,Lima showed last season in this very game what he can do and since then has improved,last season he ran for more meters than the entire manly Forward pack and after last weeks effort I think he might just do that again this week...Ratings:White 8.0/Lima 9.0...Kite 8.5/Perry 8.5...Edge:Even.

Hookers:Aitken vs Ballin..Ballin has been superb this season and a match up against Smith would of been great but it is not to be,ballin has a great work rate and is always poutting himself in positions to make a difference,Aitken has shown in his chances that he can contribute,not to the level of Ballin but he does'nt have to,all he needs to do is be a good distributor from the ruck and run when he can...Ratings:Ballin 8.5...Aitken 7.0...Edge:Manly.

Second Rows:Smith/Crocker vs Watmough/Hall...Smith and Crocker both have wht the Storm will need this weekend,aggression,look for Both Crocker and Smith to get around the park on Sunday Night and for them to both have a major bearing on this match,Watmough and Hall well I would much rather like Williamson in there but he is still in doubt,Hall is solid without being flashy but Choc is the key,if Watmough can stop giving away penalties they are a massive chance at doing something good,sadly Watmough has not stopped that all season long and is the most penalised forward in the game,mif that continuies this Sunday he will cost them the game.Ratings:Smith 8.0/Crocker 8.0..Hall 7.5/Watmough 8.0...Edge:Storm.

Loose Forwards:Jhonson vs Stewart...A tale of 2 different players in this match up,Jhonson is great in defence but does'nt provide much in attack but then again when you are making 40+ tackles a game you are contributing enough really,Stewart has been great this year and in attack he has really come on,if manly are to lift the Trophy at the end of this match he will once again have to be outstanding...Ratings:Jhonson 8.0...Stewart 9.0...Edge:Storm

Interchange:Blair,Kafusi,Manu,Tolman vs King,Menzies,Cuthbertson.Le'Starnge...Both benches are strong but the Storm have a better work rate and more speed than the Eagles bench,the Storm with Blair have more options and have some hard runners in Kafusi and Manu while the Eagles bench has little to add ot their mix apart from hard running,I would say the Storms bech is better for different reasons.. Ratings:Storm Interchange:9.0...manly Interchange 8.0

Ratings:Storm:114.5...Manly:113.5...Edge:Storm

Last weeks games were both good but were both telling.Manly romped to an easy win but did work hard to get there before taking their foot off the gas somewhat towards the back end when the game was already won,Manly did'nt make many errors and their completion rate was superb,the one thing I wonder about Manly is with Matai and Orford,both were hurt last weekend and expect the Storm to target Matai imparticular,it is no secret that Matai has been playing hurt all season loing and you can bet that once he gets the ball the Storm will try and pressure his neck in the tackle and he could be off before the end of the game,I also expect the Storm to target Orfords ankle and try and test it in the tackle,Perry is also a question mark as it was evident last week that he is still having trouble with his thigh don't think the Storm will not have noticed that either.

Manly played an up tempo game last week and they will try and employ that this week again,the problem is that the Storm can play that game and will play that game and when they do they can lift to a higher level than Manly or have done in seasons gone by.

The Storm last week against the Sharks had a bad game and still won by more than 20,you can bet that the dropped balls and bad play the balls will all be gone this week and they after that big win and holding the Sharks to nil will have a good effect on this Storm side,can the Storm win without Smith well I think they showed last week that they can and overall the Storm have a 70% win ratio even without Smith on the field,the Storm are well drilled and will not change the way they play and against a Manly side who wil try and play the same way i think the Storm will once again finish over the top of them.

The scariest thing abut the Storm is that Inglis has not yet fired at all and he is talking up a big game this week and if that happens then the Sea Eagles are in alot of trouble,last year in this match he pretty much beat them on his own and now he has done nothing for weeks,but you have to say this about Inglis, in Australian RL over the last few seasons there has been no better player in clutch situations than Inglis and I am expecting him to roam in this game and get out of standoff,in fact don't be to surprised if Inglis plays alot more at centre and swaps with Geyer who will move into standoff.

Sentimental Resaons: Geyer and Menzies..Both players have been huge for either club and whichever one of them walks away a Champion will sure deserve it.Menzies has been superb and appears to be only getting better,Geyer has been down for the last few seasons but his effort cannot be taken for granted,Both players have been great and in my book both go out as Champions regardless of the result,This season we say good bye to 3 players who have epitomised Rugby League at it's finest with Geyer,Wiki and Menzies all going,it's sad to see them go but they have all given us meories to remeber and I wish each one of them all the best.

Thats enough for me,I think the Storm will win it again,Manly seem to struggle for answers against them and at times with their backs against the wall they have stood tall,while everyone wants Manly to have the fairy tale end to Menzies career i am unsure about it happening,Manly struggle to beat the Storm and this year lost at home to them which is the one place the Storm could not win a game,the Storm win these games against manly when not at Brookvale Oval by a thousand,I don't know what the final score will be on Sunday night but I expect the Storm to overcome adversity again and triumph...Take the Storm to win the 2008 NRL...Good Luck.

Pick : Storm WIN
Odds : 2.15
Stake : 10 / 10
Bookmaker : Pinnacle
Match Result :
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