Penrith punish rusty Roosters
7 hours ago | Aidan Edgecomb
The Newcastle Knights have rained on Melbourne Storm?s parade today at Olympic Park, overrunning the home side 36-26 in Melbourne?s season opener.
The Knights proved too strong for the Storm ? who sat out last week courtesy of the bye - in the final quarter of the match, running away with a seven tries-to-four win.
The match was a disjointed affair mainly due to referee Shayne Hayne awarding a total of 23 penalties throughout match ? 15-8 in favour of the home side ? with play being continually stopped for lengthy periods while both Hayne and video referee Mick Lewis deliberated.
The result was a match low on free-flowing football, compounded by the fact that both sides committed several unforced errors at crucial stages.
Newcastle started the better team while Melbourne struggled to find top gear early in the match, perhaps as a result of last week?s bye.
?We had plenty of opportunities to win the game,? Storm coach Craig Bellamy lamented.
?I thought we started a bit sluggishly actually, I thought we sort of lacked urgency, especially getting back on our defensive line and getting off the line.
?I thought we worked our way back into the game well, but at the end of the day the main disappointment is how many tries they scored and how easily they scored them.
?We just sort of struggled, I?m not sure why but it?s only early in the season so hopefully we?ll get better.?
The Storm lost winger Matt Geyer late in the first half following a grade three medial ligament injury to his left knee, the 28-year-old is expected to miss between six and eight weeks.
Newcastle exploited Geyer?s absence in the second half with first-grade debutant George Carmont bagging two tries out wide.
The Storm will also be without Kiwi back-rower Glen Turner for the next two weeks at least after he tore his left calf muscle in the second half.
Melbourne halfback Matt Orford put a recent blood clot scare behind him with a strong performance for the home side.
?I thought he (Orford) did a pretty good job for us,? Bellamy added. ?Obviously we?ve seen him in more dominant performances but he?s been through a bit the last two or three weeks.
?He?s only been doing sort of half sessions and no sessions of intensity for the last three weeks or a month. He?s probably still not quite 100 per cent yet so it was pretty brave of him to play today and help us out.?
Newcastle?s David Seage put the Knight?s on the scoreboard first with a try in the eighth minute following a strong bust and offload from lock Ben Kennedy.
Storm hooker Cameron Smith immediately put the pressure back on Melbourne following a misguided kick to restart play. His kick sailed over the sideline on the full and with dominant field position the Knights scored again through Melbourne-born winger Timana Tahu.
The Storm finally hit back in the 14th minute when five-eighth Scott Hill pounced from short range, taking three defenders across the line for a powerful try.
Three minutes later Smith added two points from a penalty right in front of the uprights and with just seven minutes remaining in the first half fullback Billy Slater put the Storm in front.
Slater timed his run perfectly to swoop on an Orford chip, the young fullback slicing through the defence to plant the ball untouched.
But the Knights ensured they would enter the halftime break on par with the Storm following a try to Matthew Gidley in the 37th minute.
Winger Fifita Moala had a disastrous start to the second stanza when he blew a chance to land a straightforward try without any pressure from the defence. His failure to ground the ball when in the clear was a crucial mistake that he would later go some way to rectifying.
A penalty goal to Knights skipper Andrew Johns in the 46th minute eased the visitors into the lead but Melbourne soon hit back with a superb try to Turner following some handy work from Hill and an unlikely grubber kick from prop Rodney Howe.
However, apart from a redeeming try to Moala 12 minutes from fulltime, the Storm failed to trouble the scorers again while Carmont scored twice for the Knights along with Daniel Abraham and Russell Richardson.
DETAILS STORM 26 Tries: Hill 1,Slater 1, G.Turner 1, Moala 1 Goals: Smith 5/5 (1 penalty goal)
KNIGHTS 36 Tries: Seage 1, Tahu 1, M.Gidley 1, Abraham 1, Richardson 1, Carmont 2 Goals: Johns 4/8
For further information contact
James Avery: Phone (03) 9421 3222 Mobile: 0411 623 024 javery@melbournestorm.com.au