42 min: Melbourne receive the kick-off and return it solidly, Welch once again to the fore. He’s had a good game. Nothing flash from Sydney in response, although Tedesco looks a livewire at first receiver. He’s got a big burst in him tonight, I can feel it.
The sides are out and ready for the second half. Can the Roosters make a comeback?
I came into tonight thinking the narrative was all about the Roosters. We know the Storm are good, we know they’re a lock for the top-four and that home advantage means nothing for them in the Covid-influenced finals. But at this rate, and with their growing injury list, Sydney are at risk of missing out on the double chance.
Confirmation that Aubusson will not feature in the second half while Lam is “unlikely to return tonight”.
It must be up there, but on the flipside, the Roosters can hardly have played many worse in the last decade.
Melbourne Storm
(@storm)Reckon that was our best first half so far this year.
Y’all on the same page? pic.twitter.com/x9yrSHyZYh
Half-time: Roosters 0-14 Storm
Well, who saw that coming? The Roosters with a real aberration of a half of footy. They stunk it up for 30 minutes and only started to play just before half-time. To make matters worse they’re down to no more that two on the interchange with Lam and Aubusson looking done for the night.
Roosters players react after conceding a try during the round 14 NRL match between the Sydney Roosters and Melbourne Storm at the SCG. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
39 min: Kaufusi loses the ball in tackle on halfway. One final set for Sydney to get on the board this half.
38 min: Sydney go right sharply for three, then slowly left, and the momentum ebbs out of the drive. The final tackle begins chaotically with a terrible pass out of dummy half. Keary makes a silk purse out of a sow’s ear though, gathering smartly then kicking in one movement to the left corner, where a Roosters overlap has emerged – but the final pass evades hands and Melbourne escape.
Updated
37 min: Despite those challenges, the Roosters deliver their best attack of the half, sniping down the left, allowing Keary field position to launch a bomb – and Papenhuyzen fails to claim it. Sydney have a full set 20m from the line.
36 min: Now Aubusson is walking off holding his left arm in his jersey. That does not look good. Ouch! He got caught under a riptide of bodies in a tackle on Asofa-Solomona, the big Storm forward landing full force on the Roosters’ twisted left forearm. I’m no physio, but I’d be surprised that’s not a break.
34 min: Decent attack from Easts and the kick to the right wing is a beauty, that Ikuvalu catches on the burst. Addo-Carr is fortunate to lay the tackle just at the right time and force the handover.
Melbourne then bust a couple of tackles and Papenhuyzen kicks on tackle two, deep into the unguarded defensive territory. But the one man nearby is James Tedesco, and he shows guile and poise to step his way out of trouble and into play.
Injury news: Lam is out for the day with a syndesmosis injury and there’ll be some HIAs going on for both sides.
Sydney Roosters 🏆🏆
(@sydneyroosters)31′ Head clash there between Tuipu and Eisenhuth. He’s strapped up and back on his feet #EastsToWin #NRLRoostersStorm
32 min: A meek Sydney drive is returned with interest by Melbourne. The set looks solid but unspectacular until Asofa-Solomona finds a miraculous offload to jolt some life into the attack. Hughes then targets Vunivalu with a bomb, and this time the pattern looks to have worked, the flying Fijian tapping back the kick about 15 feet off the ground and watching it gathered by a white jersey and touched down. However, the touch judge inches from the action reckons he spotted Vunivalu’s boot on the touchline, and after a series of replays that assessment is confirmed by the bunker. Excellent adjudication but a let-off for Sydney.
30 min: Melbourne make 95m on their drive, highlighted by a scintillating burst form Addo-Carr. The Roosters defensive line holds firm though, closing space when it mattered with the Storm lacking a schemer around the play-the-ball.
28 mins: Friend makes amends, hammering the ball loose from Fa’asuamaleaui’s grasp after the big Storm forward slipped on the cricket square. Can that be a turning point?
No, is the short answer, another unenforced error with ball in hand – Collins this time – curtails the most promising attack of the half.
27 mins: Lam almost breaks the line on tackle four as Sydney get to Melbourne’s 40m line, then Friend is penalised for the sloppiest forward pass you can imagine from dummy half. Trent Robinson must be wondering who the impostors are in his team’s jerseys.
To make matters worse, Lam now looks a bit proppy after landing awkwardly following a tackled laid just after he offloaded.
25 mins: Ikuvalu needs to be at his best to keep Melbourne out a third time, but the pressure is released somewhat when Hughes almost kicks his bomb back to Melbourne when he was targeting Vunivalu in the air once more. The Roosters just need a set or two to settle and buy territory.
24 mins: Solid from Melbourne after the restart, and no sooner do Easts take possession than they cough it up again in possession. This is the most un-Roosters-like showing I can remember.
TRY! Roosters 0-14 Storm (Olam, 22)
And from the drop-out Melbourne cross again on the second tackle. Sharp hands spread the ball left, Addo-Carr then darts inside while Olam stays on the outside. The Fox passes inbound to Papenhuyzen who then rattles instinctively out to Olam on the touchline who dashes over. Brilliant team try.
Papenhuyzen continues his excellent form, 3/3 with his boot, none of them gimmes.
NRL
(@NRL)Slickkk 👌#NRLRoostersStorm #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/3hhu3pC62t
Updated
20 mins: Melbourne don’t really threaten to penetrate despite a dull set inside 30m. Some excellent defence in particular from Aubusson. Again Hughes is forced to kick high to the right corner but this time debutant Tuipulotu out-jumps Vunivalu to claim the ball – before getting dragged over the line.
18 mins: From that platform set by Addo-Carr Melbourne attack solidly until Hughes kicks high to Vunivalu’s corner. His contest with Tuipulotu is a fingertip affair, but it ends with a knock-on, not the try, as the Storm hoped. The bunker making itself useful.
Only a couple of plays into Sydney’s response and Manu drops a soda, trying to spend a pass before he earned it.
17 mins: Melbourne again keep the flash stuff up their sleeves for the time being in a drive punctured by a massive hit from Ikuvalu. The Roosters carry the ball over halfway before Keary kicks – and he looks to be tackled pretty dangerously but it goes unpunished – and the ball is claimed by Addo-Carr who then pierces a couple of needles to gain 35m on the rebound. Everything going the Victorians’ way early.
PENALTY! Roosters 0-8 Storm (Papenhuyzen, 15)
Papenhuyzen might be third choice off the tee for Melbourne, but he’s kicking beautifully tonight. From 40m out on a slight angle he makes no mistake.
13 mins: Sydney make decent yardage with ball in hand then Lam lofts a massive bomb that only just lands Melbourne’s way after an aerial contest. The Steeden then gets stuffed up the jerseys of the Storm forwards to minimise any danger until Papenhuyzen kicks long. That kick looks to be returned with interest but play is quickly halted for not one but two screening offside Easts forwards. Shot for goal coming up…
11 mins: The Roosters’ ill-fortune continues with a deflection inviting Melbourne to enjoy another set of six in dangerous territory. Welch, then Finucane, hammer like wrecking balls at Sydney’s defensive line, but what happens there? Welch takes the tackle on the last, seemingly oblivious to the context. That’s the cost of missing the pair of Camerons I guess.
9 mins: Another solid if unspectacular drive from Melbourne that ends with a flash of brilliance from James Tedesco, taking a couple of tacklers with him about 20m after contact. It’s all for nought though with Ikuvalu spilling in contact 30m from his line.
7 mins: Storm restart play with a solid drive then back it up with some fierce tackling, forcing Lam to kick form inside his own half.
TRY! Roosters 0-6 Storm (Hughes, 5)
And Melbourne make that first attack pay. A snipe down the left gains metres, then a well judged kick to the right corner on tackle four is marked by the flying Vunivalu, but he’s stopped inches from the line. Easts’ respite lasts just one play though with Hughes stepping out to the right, beating his man and reaching out with go-go-Gadget arms to place the ball on the whitewash. Superb start for the visitors.
Papenhuyzen slots the extra two.
NRL
(@NRL)Jahrome Hughes just didn’t give up 💪#NRLRoostersStorm 0-6 after six minutes. #TelstraPremiership pic.twitter.com/33IItYuSEI
Updated
4 mins: Conservative again from Easts, until Tedesco almost breaks the line on the fourth tackle. That sets up decent field position for a dangerous kick but Melbourne don’t contest Keary’s kick to the left corner, then the second punt toward the posts is marked in-goal. Soon after the restart Friend is penalised for intering in the ruck and Storm will have their first decent attacking base.
2 mins: The Roosters take no risks with their opening drive, and Melbourne tackle firmly down the corridor. The Storm make little ground with ball in hand and rely on a Jacks boot to get them over halfway.
And here come the Roosters in their traditional tricolour, trotting down the famous SCG pavilion steps.
Out come the Storm, in their change strip of white jerseys and purple shorts.
With Flanagan missing for Easts and the two Camerons absent for Melbourne, we could be in for a wild night of goal-kicking. With so little separating these sides in recent years, that could become a decisive factor.
It wouldn’t be an NRL discussion without referencing the floundering Broncos, would it? No club has endured more turbulence in recent weeks and the negative headlines aren’t easing up any time soon. 2020 cannot end soon enough.
Paul Gallen has just told Nine he reckons this is a grand final preview. I’m sure that will go down well in Penrith and Parramatta.
The blowtorch has been especially fierce on the coaches of the NRL’s underperformers this season, and it’s little surprise to see Paul McGregor and the Dragons part ways after a turbulent few weeks.
Conditions are excellent at the unfamiliar terrain of the Sydney Cricket Ground. It’s dry, cool, and there’s little wind to speak of. There’ll likely be some dew on the ground making the pill a little slippy, but there’s a but of “that’s not a knife” about such a minor inconvenience if you saw the synchronised swimming that was Cronulla v Parramatta on Sunday.
The Roosters have won 11 of their past 12 games at the SCG, whereas not one member of the Storm’s line-up has tasted victory there. Could that be important?
Melbourne Storm
(@storm)Let’s trot. pic.twitter.com/amngXpQYxA
The Roosters may be enduring an inconvenient run of injuries, but their finals campaign is set to feature a certain SBW with the Kiwi superstar all set to link up with his new teammates after serving his time in quarantine.
Storm XVII
Craig Bellamy welcomes back Ryan Papenhuyzen and Dale Finucane after giving both the week off against the easybeat Bulldogs. “It took a bit of convincing to get them to take the game off,” Bellamy said. “Dale especially – I don’t think we could have made him rest another week.”
Storm also make a late change by adding Brenko Lee to the starting XIII with Tom Eisenhuth dropping to the bench and Albert Vete missing out altogether.
1 Ryan Papenhuyzen, 2 Suliasi Vunivalu, 4 Justin Olam, 21 Brenko Lee, 5 Josh Addo-Carr, 6 Ryley Jacks, 7 Jahrome Hughes, 8 Jesse Bromwich, 9 Brandon Smith, 10 Christian Welch, 11 Felise Kaufusi, 12 Kenneath Bromwich, 13 Dale Finucane.
INT: 3 Tom Eisenhuth, 14 Nicho Hynes, 15 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, 17 Nelson Asofa-Solomona.
In: Papenhuyzen, Finucane, Lee
Out: Munster, Lewis, Vete
Melbourne Storm
(@storm)
Roosters XVII
There’s one very handy inclusion for the Roosters with Josh Morris making his return in the centres after two weeks on the sidelines. And there’s a surprise debut outside him on the left wing with Christian Tuipulotu becoming Easts cap number 1195 in a last-minute reshuffle that sees Ryan Hall miss out.
It remains a high calibre injury list on the Bondi beachfront but despite the absences there’s still no place for Kyle Flanagan. The custodian of Sydney’s No.7 jersey for much of the season, Flanagan has found himself on the outer over the past fortnight. “Lachie Lam is in the seven, he played there last week and he’ll be out there,” a forthright Trent Robinson told reporters earlier this week.
1 James Tedesco, 19 Christian Tuipulotu, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Joseph Manu, 5 Matt Ikuvalu, 6 Luke Keary, 7 Lachlan Lam, 16 Nat Butcher, 9 Jake Friend, 10 Siosiua Taukeiaho, 11 Sitili Tupouniua, 12 Mitchell Aubusson, 13 Isaac Liu.
INT: 8 Lindsay Collins, 14 Drew Hutchison, 15 Poasa Faamausili, 17 Daniel Suluka-Fifita
In: Morris, Tuipulotu
Out: Hall, Bailey
Nat Butcher makes his 50th NRL appearance for the Tricolours. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the opening match of round 14 of the 2020 NRL premiership season. Sydney Roosters v Melbourne Storm will be underway at the SCG around 7.50pm.
We should be in for a treat. In my opinion this is the highest quality rivalry in modern Australian sport (tweet me any alternatives).
The Roosters are two-time defending NRL premiers, Storm lifted the Provan-Summons Trophy the season before that, and have two other grand final appearances since 2016 for good measure. Since 2017, the average margin when these teams have met is fewer than five points, and only once in that period has there been a double digit victory. When these sides came together in round eight a captivating encounter went to golden point after an extraordinary last 12 minutes that featured three tries and two last-ditch field goals.
Unsurprisingly, it’s another all top-four collision with the Storm arriving in second place on the ladder, the Roosters in fourth. But while Melbourne, with a six-point buffer, seem destined for a double chance in the finals, the stakes are higher for Sydney. Defeat tonight would open the door for Canberra to move level on points, while Newcastle, Souths, and Cronulla are all just one win further back. The Chooks have also been handed a treacherous run home with their final four fixtures all against top-eight neighbours.
During this rivalry’s recent golden age, the team lists will not often have taken on such a depleted look. Melbourne are without both inspirational captain Cameron Smith and star playmaker Cameron Munster, while the Roosters are missing their own skipper Boyd Cordner, as well as Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Brett Morris, Angus Crichton, Daniel Tupou, and Victor Radley.
That level of disruption makes the Roosters a difficult side to gauge for form. They have won their past three on the bounce, but without much to spare, and they were upset by the Raiders before that. Storm, by contrast, are on a seven-match tear featuring four scores in excess of 40. Craig Bellamy’s side have only been kept below 20-points once since round two.
Who wins? You’d be a brave punter to call with any certainty.
I’ll be back in a short while with line-ups and some more news from around the league. If you want to get in touch at any point, you can reach me on Twitter or email.
