NRL round-24: Storm cruise past Sharks
The Storm pushed past the Sharks at home at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Saturday.
The Storm continued their strong late-season play with a win over the lowly Sharks in the week’s second battle of the basement. The first half did not see much scoring as the home side took a six-point lead into the break. However, after the half the Storm were able to maintain solid defence until their offence woke up and put the game out of reach, in the end earning a 24-4 victory.
Recap
The Storm opened the scoring quickly with a try and conversion from Cameron Smith to make it 6-0. However, that was all the scoring the first half would see, as both sides settled into their defensive games, and were unable to break through for a score.
The second half started off slowly until Dane Nielsen clambered his way over the whitewash to give the Melbourne side their second try of the day. Another conversion from Smith made the lead 12-0 for the Storm.
The home side continued to add to their lead, with a try from Sika Manu in the 56th minute. Smith continued his strong day from the tee, knocking down the conversion to make it 18-0.
The Sharks were able to register their first and only points of the game in the 62nd minute when Luke Covell managed his way over the line, however the club missed the conversion keeping the score at 18-4.
Ryan Hinchcliffe tacked on an extra try in the 73rd minute, with Smith hitting his fourth conversion of the day to seal the victory for the Storm.
The Storm got a strong team effort as four separate players crossed the line for tries. However, Smith stood out going four-for-four on conversion and registering a try himself. In addition, he was also able to finish the match as the team’s top tackler with 34.
Meanwhile, the Sharks struggled at the offensive end, with the usual suspect in Covell managing the squad’s only points.
Analysis
The Storm have had a deceptively strong season. Because of being barred from accumulating any points in 2010, due to salary cap issues, it has looked as though the club has struggled all year. However, the Storm have actually amassed 13 wins on the season, which places them in the top five in the standings. Their success means that their final two opponents are going to have their work cut out for them, against the League’s last place squad.
The Sharks on the other hand have been unable to get their game together this season, with only six wins on the year, and a League low of 312 points-for.
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