Masters article today
Orford the eye of the twister that trumped the Storm
By ROY MASTERS - SMH |
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4717715a2201.html
With a combination of guts, guile and glitzy play, a relentless Manly surged over the Melbourne side that looked like a savage storm that had already blown its last breath, the Sea Eagles reversing last year's grand final result in an emphatic display.
Redemption surged across the ANZ Stadium field like an unstoppable maroon and white current, with Melbourne, drained by the loss of their captain, Cam Smith, and the recent controversies, unable to offer any counter.
Manly captain Matt Orford, formerly of Melbourne, played like a toy tornado, a high-pressure cell twisting and turning and terrorising Storm defenders in the line, teasing them with multiple options to kick, run or pass.
In terms of margin of victory, effort and variety, the game was a mirror reverse of last year's comprehensive win by Melbourne. The game was effectively over by the 51st minute, when left winger Michael Robertson scored his third try to make it 18-0.
Manly always threatened with a greater range of options in attack, while their defence appeared to suck the passion from their disbelieving and shocked opponents.
The Storm's sameness in attack, relying on moving relentlessly forward up the middle, presented little challenge, particularly with stand-in hooker Russell Aitken offering little subtlety and being too slow from dummy half.
A team that kicks together sticks together and Manly's game with the boot far surpassed Melbourne's, both in tempo and territory gained. Melbourne, whenever in a try-scoring position, launched a kick for Israel Folau, he of the spring-loaded leap - but it yielded nothing.
Manly, however, cleverly used halves Orford and Jamie Lyon, who seemed to have all the time to kick via the relentless go-forward of their hard working pack.
Manly's forward pack made 651 metres; Melbourne's 396. The go-forward domination extended to team figures: Manly 1612 metres; Melbourne 1162.
The entire Sea Eagles team played with heart and hustle, yet the head ruled often when opportunities opened out wide, such as long links or a kick to the flanks.
The score was 8-0 at half-time, but a measure of Manly's method in ripping the game open in the second half were the line-break statistics. Overall, their line breaks were 9-2 - but the second-half figures were 6-1.
Earlier in the day, Manly's No.1 ticket holder and the code's most eminent intellectual, Tom Keneally, said on TV - speaking the unadorned yet passionate language of the rugby league supporter - "I hope Michael Crocker gets sent off."
As events transpired, Melbourne could have had two Crockers on the field and it would have made little difference to the shocking scoreline. The premiers were impotent. Perhaps a fortnight of defying dramas debilitated the Storm. The try that produced the highest winning margin in a grand final came three minutes from the end and demonstrated the majesty of Manly and the misery of Melbourne.
Second-rower Anthony Watmough surged forward and unloaded to benchman Heath L'Estrange, who found Orford. He passed to Glenn Hall, who slipped a pass to Brett Stewart, who flicked it to Steve Bell for 40-0, surpassing the Roosters' humiliation of St George in 1975.
Watmough played with a fire lit by an inner desire to atone for an ineffectual performance in the last year's grand final and persistently punched holes in the Melbourne line and intimidated in defence.
There were times in the first half when the game turned to aerial circus. Storm fullback Billy Slater was placed under enormous pressure by a variety of kicks - high, short, low for the sideline - whereas Melbourne didn't enjoy the same field position to pepper Brett Stewart.
The Storm's kicking battery missed Smith's left-foot grubber kicks from dummy half.
The early forward exchanges were brutally tough but lacked the fiery confrontations anticipated. Rugby league is now a 17-man game and in terms of the effort from the bench, the 2008 grand final demonstrated that emphatically.
Manly's replacements totalled 330 metres with the ball; Melbourne's 210.
The Sea Eagles' bench included last year's starters; Melbourne's 2007 bench travelled the opposite direction - into this year's starting team.
Manly lock Glenn Stewart has an amazing engine for someone who still looks roly-poly compared to his cut rivals - a little incongruous, like a boxer with a thin nose.
Stewart made 38 tackles and ran the ball 17 times for 140 metres.
Like his teammates, he trained tirelessly over the past 12 months to redeem for last year's loss and send the club's universally admired back-rower and equal first-grade games record-holder, Steve Menzies, out of the NRL with another premiership.
Another forward, prop Brent Kite, played as if he were seeking revenge for being overlooked by NSW and Storm coach Craig Bellamy for this year's State of Origin series. Kite made 19 runs for 167 metres, together with 26 tackles, missing none.
Orford, the Dally M winner, summed up the redemptive mood of the day and a year of hard work when asked whether the pain of 2007 had passed. "That's well and truly gone," he said.