97
The period of the game between the 50th and 60th minute was the standout for Melbourne. During those 10 minutes Storm had an incredible 97 per cent of possession. That amount of ball allowed the team to charge forward, pile on three tries and take an eight-point lead into the final stages. We will now archive those 10 minutes and showcase it once again when that young talent on display are all household names.
63
That is how many more tackles Storm made than the Cowboys. What is more impressive is that they missed 12 fewer tackles than their opponents. Tohu Harris and Jesse Bromwich lead the way with 90 tackles between them while Mark Nicholls was right in the thick of it with 21 tackles in his 25 minutes off the bench.
Storm v Eels at AAMI Park. July 8. Book now!
45
The average games played for this Storm team is an exciting aspect of Saturday night’s win. Only six of Melbourne’s 17 had more than 40 games of experience under their belt. Jesse Bromwich was the oldest (28-years-old) and most experienced (168 games). In fact Bromwich had played more NRL games than 11 of his teammates combined. When you consider numbers like that, it makes a thrilling win even sweeter.
19, 14, 3
They likely won’t be wearing those numbers long term but Storm fans will be loving what they saw from Brodie Croft, Brandon Smith and Curtis Scott. Croft slotted the game-winning field goal straight through the middle and played with the coolness of a player in his 200th game, not his second. Melbourne have no doubt found a player in Smith. He has scored two tries in two his games and is as tough as nails. Scott also crossed for two tries and with athletic ability like his, the sky is the limit for what he can achieve in the purple jersey.
9
Storm broke through the Cowboys line on nine occasions compared to just three the other way. Felise Kaufusi led the way with three of his own, including a crucial solo effort that resulted in a try in the 58th minute. Cameron Munster, playing at fullback, was a nightmare for the Cowboys defence with three line break assists while Brandon Smith had two.
