Blocker asks the million-dollar question: Can Melbourne be stopped?

Steve Roach | rugbyleaguelive.com | 04/09/08 | 0

We can talk all we like about classic finals match-ups and in-form teams, but let's face it - the 2008 Premiership is going to come down to one crucial, season defining question.

Can the Melbourne juggernaut be stopped?

It would take a braver man than I to answer that question with so much football left to be played. Instead, I've come up with an answer to a question on the mind of every coach in the competition.

How can the Melbourne juggernaut be stopped?

The short answer: With some fearless tactics... and a whole lot of luck.

It might be easier said than done - but if Newcastle's shock win over the Premiership favourites last weekend showed us anything - it showed us it was possible.

I'm not saying that any side can beat the Storm - far from it - but all coaches should get their hands on a copy of the Knights' win and take a huge leaf out of Brian Smith's well-credentialed book.

So many teams make the mistake of trying to beat Melbourne at their own game. It rarely works. It's like trying to beat Tiger Woods by out-driving him. You can't. Trying to out-grind the Storm is suicide.

They'll chew you up and spit you out.

No - safe, percentage football is not the way to beat Melbourne.

In fact, that's the reason why Craig Bellamy's boys are so successful.

The current crop of NRL coaches are really 'unteaching' their players how to play. They're enforcing mistake-free, safety-first football. It's all about numbers. It's boring. It's predictable. And Bellamy has made a career out of counter-acting it. He's a master of robotics.

So what's the secret?

Take a risk.

Play jungle ball. Kick for your wingers early in the count. Look for offloads at every opportunity and have players in motion at all times.

You've got to disrupt their defensive pattern. You have to have your forwards looking to pop balls out the back of every tackle. You've got to have runners each side of the ruck and... above all... you've got to be unpredictable.

The Knights, under the guidance of Brian Smith, did just that in the first half of their match last week. It worked a treat.

The Storm were rattled and Newcastle was on fire. They won by one point. That just goes to show how tough it is to snag a win against Melbourne.

Of course the scariest thing of all is that the Storm don't seem to be extending themselves. They have the ability to really destroy teams, to score long range tries and tear opponents apart.

They aren't. They're playing it safe and know that it's enough. Repeat sets. Bombs for tall backs. God help us if they decide to play real jungle ball...

So, the million-dollar question is... which teams are capable of playing the sort of footy needed to upset the favourites when it's all on the line?

At their absolute best... the Sea Eagles, the Dragons and the Broncos.

Whether they have the guts to lay it on the line remains to be seen.

But one thing is for certain... I'd rather go down swinging than get ground down over 80 painful minutes.

Of course... it's always easier said than done.

It's like trying to beat Tiger Woods by out-driving him. You can't. Trying to out-grind the Storm is suicide... Steve 'Blocker' Roach