WHO: Melbourne Storm v Gold Coast Titans
WHAT: Round 13 of the 2008 Telstra Premiership season
WHERE: Skilled Park, Gold Coast
WHEN: Monday, June 9th @ 7.00pm
ON TV: Fox Sports 2 LIVE – 7.00pm
CHECK IT OUT: Melbourne Storm’s website with all the latest stats, profiles, updates, schedule and training times, alerts, news etc…. www.melbournestorm.com.au
IN BRIEF
Melbourne were at their clinical best against an under-strength Bulldogs outfit, smashing the visitors 46-0 at Olympic Park to keep at the head of the NRL table.
The Titans had a rough day at the office against the Sharks last week, going down 30-14 to make it three losses from their past four games.
FAST FACTS
• Gold Coast has won all six games at Skilled Park this year
• Melbourne has lost two games on the road this year
KEY MATCH UP
With so many young, inexperienced players in the Storm line-up, star halfback Cooper Cronk will need to call on all of his guile and experience to guide his team around the paddock. He’ll need to demonstrate what it takes to be a professional rugby league player, and how to go about preparing for a big game like this one. His captaincy this weekend will be vital to the team’s chances.
Cooper’s clash against Titan’s halfback Scott Prince looks like a beauty. Prince has arguably been the form halfback of the NRL in 2008 and he was desperately unlucky not to make the Queensland squad, particularly in Game I. He has all the tools to be the game’s best halfback; he’s creative with the hands, has a great kicking game, and can run the ball to the line and score a try himself as well. He has been a late call-up to the Queensland squad given injury concerns over Johnathan Thurston and Darren Lockyer, but if he plays he needs to be watched closely.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Total: Played: 1, Storm: 1, Titans: 0
At Skilled Park: First meeting at this venue
FOR AND AGAINST 2008
Points for: Storm: 234, Titans: 256
Points against: Storm: 133, Titans: 215
Tries for: Storm: 40, Titans: 45
Points differential: Storm: +101, Titans: +41
LAST ROUND MATCHES:
Storm def. Bulldogs 46-0 @ Olympic Park, Melbourne
Titans def. by Sharks 30-12 @ Toyota Park, Sydney
LAST CLASH
| YEAR | RESULT | VENUE |
| 2007 | Storm def. Titans 50-6 @ | Olympic Park |
THE STORM STORY SO FAR
WORLD CLUB CHALLENGE: STORM 4 (Try: Hoffman) def. by RHINOS 11 (Try: Donald; Goals: Sinfield 3; Field Goal: Sinfield) at Elland Road, Leeds
ROUND 1: STORM 32 (Tries: Slater 3, Johnson, Tagataese; Goals: C. Smith 5, Turner) def. WARRIORS 18 (Tries: Vatuvei 2, Ropati; Goals: Witt 3) at Telstra Dome, Melbourne
ROUND 2: STORM 16 (Tries: Aitken, White, Falou; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. by SHARKS 17 (Tries: Kearney, Gallen, Simmons; Goals: Covell 2; Field Goals: Kimmorley) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 3: Storm (Try: Slater; Goal: C. Smith) def. by ROOSTERS (Try: Kenny-Dowell; Goals: FitzGibbon 3) at Sydney Football Stadium
ROUND 4: STORM 28 (Tries: Quinn 3, Folau, Hoffman; Goals: Smith 4) def. BRONCOS 8 (Tries: Robinson, Stagg) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 5: STORM 26 (Tries: Slater 2, Inglis, Quinn, Hoffman; Goals: Smith 3) def. SEA EAGLES 4 (Try: Barney) at Olympic Park
ROUND 6: STORM 23 (Tries: Chambers, Turner, Slater, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 3; Field Goal: Cronk) def. RAIDERS 16 (Tries: Best, Plum, Purtell; Goals: Carney 2) at Canberra Stadium
ROUND 7: STORM 12 (Tries: Inglis, Folau; Goals: C. Smith 2) def. COWBOYS 10 (Tries: Williams 2; Goals: Thurston) at Dairy Farmer’s Stadium
ROUND 8: BYE
ROUND 9: STORM 18 (Tries: Folau 2, Quinn; Goals: C. Smith 3) def. KNIGHTS 4 (Try: Mullen) at Olympic Park, Melbourne
ROUND 10: STORM 12 (Tries: Chambers, Manu; Goals: Smith, Turner) def. by DRAGONS 36 (Tries: Nightingale 2, B. Morris, J Morris, Lett, Soward; Goals: Soward 6) at ANZ Stadium
ROUND 12: STORM 15 (Tries: Chambers, J. Smith; Goals: C. Smith 2, Field Goals: Cronk) def. RABBITOHS 12 (Tries: Vagana 2; Goals: Luke) at Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
ROUND 13: STORM 46 (Tries: Geyer 2, C. Smith, Folau, Turner, J. Smith, Crocker, Cronk; Goals: C. Smith 7) def. BULLDOGS 0 at Olympic Park
2008 TRY SCORERS (STORM)
Slater 7, Folau 7, Quinn 5, Chambers 3, J. Smith 2, Turner 2, Geyer 2, Hoffman 2, Inglis 2, Johnson, Tagataese, Aitken, White, Manu, C. Smith, Crocker, Cronk
2008 GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
C. Smith 32, Turner 2, J. Smith
2008 FIELD GOAL SCORERS (STORM)
Cronk 2
2008 POINTSCORERS (STORM)
C Smith 70, Slater 28, Folau 28, Quinn 20, Chambers 12, J. Smith 10, Geyer 8, Turner 8, Hoffman 8, Inglis 8, Cronk 6, Johnson 4, Tagataese 4, Aitken 4, White 4, Manu 4, Crocker 4
MELBOURNE STORM MEDIBANK PRIVATE INJURY UPDATE
Aidan Guerra (ankle): 1 week
Danny Vaughan (knee): season
Ben MacDougall (knee): season
Dane Nielsen (shoulder): season
Will Chambers (knee): season
THE STORM AHEAD
Round 14: BYE
Round 15: Saturday, June 21st v Cowboys @ Olympic Park, 7.30pm
Round 16: Sunday, June 29th v Eels @ Parramatta Stadium, 3.00pm
Round 17: Sunday, July 6th v Raiders @ Olympic Park, 2.00pm
Round 18: Monday, July 14th v Wests Tigers @ Campbelltown Sports Stadium, 7.00pm
Round 19: Saturday, July 19th v Dragons @ Olympic Park, 5.30pm
Round 20: Sunday, July 27th v Warriors @ Mt Smart Stadium, 2.00pm (AEST)
TELSTRA PREMIERSHIP LADDER
| POSITION | CLUB | POINTS |
| 1 | Roosters | 18 |
| 2 | Storm | 18 |
| 3 | Sea Eagles | 16 |
| 4 | Broncos | 16 |
| 5 | Titans | 16 |
| 6 | Panthers | 16 |
| 7 | Sharks | 16 |
| 8 | Tigers | 14 |
| 9 | Dragons | 12 |
| 10 | Knights | 12 |
| 11 | Raiders | 12 |
| 12 | Eels | 10 |
| 13 | Warriors | 12 |
| 14 | Bulldogs | 10 |
| 15 | Cowboys | 8 |
| 16 | Rabbitohs | 4 |
SQUAD FOR MONDAY'S GAME:
Starting team:
1. TBC
2. Brett Anderson
3. Joseph Tomane
4. Jeremy Smith
5. Sam Joe
6. Russell Aitken
7. Cooper Cronk
8. Jeff Lima
9. Matt Geyer
10. Scott Anderson
11. Sam Tagataese
12. Antonio Kaufusi
13. Sika Manu
Interchange:
14. Liam Foran, 15. Kevin Proctor, 16. Adam Blair, 17. Aiden Tolman, 18. Lucas Miller, 19. Clifford Manua, 20. Sinbad Kali.
Coach: Craig Bellamy.
