Melbourne can't fail
July 22nd 2008 08:57
Always under pressure - the Dragons found it hard to match the power of Folau and Melbourne
Everything the Dragons pulled off last night did little to dent the Melbourne Storm's winning record at Olympic Park.
They tried everything. The play the ball was very slow and the match itself was anything but a footballing spectacle.
There were fights and arguments galore. One team suffered the consequences while the other proved too powerful once again.
The Dragons had no altenative to combat the might of the Storm. Forcing the likes of Billy Slater and Adam Blair to the sin-bin only proved to slow down the inevitable result that was about to occur.
When Dragons prop Jason Ryles was sent off for the wrong reasons, his sides challenge was over and Melbourne dominated the rest of proceedings.
Melbourne's roots are so deep. They are a side really hellbent on beating any opposition who poses the smallest of threats.
Rarely do you see a side of the Storm's calibre get unstuck by such foolish tactics. The Storm simply have too much tricks in the bag for anything to unsettle them.
While the Dragons turned the game into something major early in the first half, the Storm were not the least bit worried. They appreciated the challenge thrown to them and acted accordingly.
A 26-0 scoreline was the final result. The Storm rarely put a foot wrong.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy was calm about the incidents that marred the match. His side basically stay focused with the task at hand.
For about 60 minutes in yesterday's contest, the Storm were having their hair pulled. When the Dragons let go, Melbourne knocked them out, in the process forcing Nathan Brown's men to swallow their tongues.
Do not get me wrong, Manly are playing terrific football, but the Storm are something else.
Their consistency in games is deadly and those that are eager to challenge them better show up with their best football.
What makes the Storm such a frightning prospect is their ability to win the games they should.
No one gave the Dragons a chance last night, Everyone predicted the Storm to rain supreme. And so they did.
A Dragons side containing the likes of Matt Cooper, Ben Hornby, Mark Gasnier, Jason Ryles and Ben Creagh could not match it against their Melbourne counterparts.
It now seems playing the Storm in Olympic Park is the equivalent of trying to tackle All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu one on one. The likely hood of such things happening are very small.
The only thing capable of stopping this machine is the salary cap itself, and it will.
It stopped the Roosters in their tracks after dominating for three straight years in 2002,03,04. It also tore the Bulldogs to shreads.
While the Storm are yet to reach that mark, money in the end will force their star roster to part.
But not this year.
With the likes of Greg Inglis, Cameron Smith, Israel Folau and Billy Slater all under the one roof, the Storm look well positioned to make it back to back titles in the NRL's centenary year.
But i guess everyone knows that.
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