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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:16:54 GMT 10
SATURDAY 21st September: Parramatta Eels v Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park, Melbourne, 7.50pm
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:17:58 GMT 10
NRL.com
Storm v Eels: Evans back from ban to face unchanged Storm
The Storm missed a golden opportunity to earn a week off when they lost Saturday's qualifying final in the final minutes to Canberra in Melbourne.
There's no more chances this week as they host the in-form Eels in a do-or-die clash.
The winner will advance to a preliminary final showdown with the Roosters at the SCG in week three while the loser will be left to ponder what might have been.
The Eels advanced to week two of the finals by destroying Brisbane in Sunday's elimination clash at Bankwest Stadium and coach Brad Arthur will have his side fired up for an upset in the Victorian capital.
The Rundown
Team news
Storm: No change for the minor premiers after the narrow loss to the Raiders. Cameron Munster's return from a shoulder injury went smoothly against Canberra so Brodie Croft is again listed among the reserves. His season appears to be done and dusted unless the Storm suffer an injury in the halves.
Eels: Just the one change to the starting 13 which took Brisbane to the cleaners with Kane Evans back from a one-game suspension. Evans slots in at prop with Daniel Alvaro reverting to the bench and Ray Stone going to the reserves.
Key match-up
Cameron Munster's dominance at five-eighth has not only been integral in the Storm's success, the Queensland Origin rep has had the best season of his career. Munster will be facing one of the best young playmakers in the NRL in the form of Parramatta's 19-year-old rookie Dylan Brown.
For the Storm to win
They need to continue to build their game around what they do defensively and that will translate to confidence and assertion in attack. It's up to Munster, Cameron Smith and Jahrome Hughes to get their kicks to the right spots, Jesse Bromwich has to lead the forwards, while dynamic fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen looms as a match-winner if it's close down the stretch.
For the Eels to win
Don't be intimidated by the aura of AAMI Park. If Parra can get away to a positive start and score some early points it might create some minor panic among the Storm and disrupt their game plan. By the same token the Eels can't get flustered if the Melbourne side gets away to a flyer. Moses proved against Brisbane that he can handle the bright lights of finals footy, while the contributions of the back three of Clint Gutherson, Maika Sivo and Blake Ferguson will be crucial.
Brett Kimmorley says
Parramatta will go to Melbourne without any fear after a massive victory last week. They played once during the season in Magic Round and the Storm flogged Parra, but that scarring will be gone because of how well they played last week. They should go to Melbourne with confidence, Mitchell Moses is in career-best form and he's managing games really well. The Storm are lacking in game management at the moment and there's a bit of vulnerability in their game. If the Eels can play that brand of football they played last week and back themselves, we should see an arm wrestle for the full 80 minutes. Storm by 1.
Stat Attack
Eels winger Maika Sivo's 20 tries topped the NRL in 2019, while his 21 line breaks ranked second. Eels halfback Mitch Moses was first in try assists (24), kicks (326) and kick metres (8,954). They were both at their best in Sunday's emphatic triumph over the Broncos.
And another thing ...
It's 10 years since Melbourne beat Parramatta in the 2009 grand final, a trophy which was later stripped due the Storm's salary cap breaches. Eels fans have long memories - they will want revenge.
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:18:55 GMT 10
Team List: Storm v Eels, Semi Finals
The Parramatta Eels line up to face the Melbourne Storm in an elimination Semi Final at AAMI Park on Saturday 21 September has been named by Blue & Gold Head Coach Brad Arthur.
After a 58-0 victory over the Brisbane Broncos last week, Arthur has recalled Kane Evans who was ruled out last week with suspension.
Daniel Alvaro moves onto the bench alongside Brad Takairangi, Tepai Moeroa and Marata Niukore.
Ray Stone, Jaeman Salmon, Peni Terepo and Josh Hoffman are the reserves.
Kick off is at 7:50pm.
Parramatta Eels
1. Clint Gutherson
2. Maika Sivo
3. Michael Jennings
4. Waqa Blake
5. Blake Ferguson
6. Dylan Brown
7. Mitch Moses
8. Kane Evans
9. Reed Mahoney
10. Junior Paulo
11. Shaun Lane
12. Manu Ma’u
13. Nathan Brown
Interchange
14. Brad Takairangi
15. Daniel Alvaro
16. Tepai Moeroa
17. Marata Niukore
18. Ray Stone
19. Jaeman Salmon
20. Peni Terepo
21. Josh Hoffman
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:21:20 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:21:48 GMT 10
NRL.com
Storm blitz ends Parramatta's finals campaign
Paradise one week. Eye of the Storm the next.
Parramatta's season is over, crashing back to reality as the Melbourne Storm ran riot at a wet and miserable AAMI Park to seal a 32-0 victory on Saturday night.
Waiting for them, the Sydney Roosters. The reigning champions up against the minor premiers.
A preliminary final worthy of a grand final.
Cooper Cronk against his old club – potentially his last game in the NRL.
The Storm, bamboozled just a week earlier against the Raiders and left searching for answers, returned to their clinical ways at AAMI Park to seal a spot in their fifth consecutive preliminary final.
Five straight years the Storm have been alive in the penultimate week of the season, and they'll be hoping to make it four grand final appearances in those attempts when they travel to the Sydney Cricket Ground for the first time in the club's history next Saturday.
Parramatta came into the game with their confidence sky high after their historic 58-0 win against the Brisbane Broncos in the opening week of the finals, however life away from Bankwest Stadium hasn't been enjoyable for the Eels in 2019.
They had won just four games on the road this year, but of greater significance was the 64-10 scoreline against them the last time they met the Storm back in Magic Round in round nine.
The Storm continued their dominance of the Eels, making it 96-10 against the Eels in 160 minutes of football against Brad Arthur's men in 2019.
Regardless of the events that unfolded in Melbourne on Saturday night, Parramatta can take great pride in their achievements having climbed from wooden spooners to a top five team in the space of 12 months.
For the Storm, the Cameron Munster-Jahrome Hughes halves combination has been far from fluent since Craig Bellamy decided to dump Brodie Croft, but Saturday night's win in front of a crowd of 21,015 was a huge step in the right direction for the Storm.
Bellamy also made another huge call before kick-off, relegating veteran Will Chambers to the bench and recalling Curtis Scott from Queensland Cup into the centres with great effect.
Despite the greasy conditions, the Storm weren't afraid to use the ball inside their own half – with Josh Addo-Carr bamboozling the Eels defence to run 80 metres for the opening try of the night in the early exchanges.
Scott, who was brought back into the team despite playing just one NRL game since round nine, then combined with Suliasi Vunivalu to push the Storm out to an 8-0 lead.
The Eels looked to have withstood a Storm onslaught, only for Maika Sivo to cough up the pill coming out of his own half and it turn allowed Cameron Munster to dive on a deflected Smith grubber for a 12-0 lead.
The boot of Smith, off target to start the game, kept the Eels within two converted tries despite the home side notching three tries in the opening quarter of the contest.
But the nightmare continued for Parramatta, with Suliasi Vunivalu batting a kick back to Jahrome Hughes to push Melbourne's lead out 18 points.
The Storm were in a mood and Parramatta had no answer for what was being thrown at them, this time Addo-Carr chasing down a Munster grubber for their fifth try of the night.
The reprieve the Eels were after came in the form of a sin bin to Smith, who latched out Reed Mahoney with a slap that slightly collected the hooker's head.
Despite the controversy around the Storm captain's sin-binning, the Storm didn't let it distract them from the task at hand – holding out a frantic Parramatta who were guilty of playing too sideways in the search of quick points.
The Eels began the second half the better of the two teams, however head knocks to Clint Gutherson, Tapai Moeroa and Marata Niukore halted the Eels momentum and left them with just one on the bench with 25 minutes remaining.
A well executed set play from the scrum saw Ryan Papenhuyzen take advantage of extra numbers down the narrow blind side, before big Nelson Asofa-Solomona put an exclamation mark on the result when he crashed over from close range in the dying minutes.
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:22:59 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:23:36 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:24:16 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:24:51 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:25:23 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:26:04 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:26:39 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:27:15 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:28:00 GMT 10
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Post by Electric Eel on Dec 21, 2020 20:28:51 GMT 10
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