The Sharks timing was right but window may close quickly. Mike Nott Jersey Store .The time was right for Cronulla to win the competition this year. Generally the winning side they will be smiling and having fun during the games. It shows they are having fun and enjoying their job and they play some tough and resilient football.If you look at Cronulla in 2016 I think you can say that about them - the fact they went unbeaten for 16 straight games, they were able to handle pressure throughout the season and breaking a hoodoo for the Sharks.Theyve only been in three previous grand finals but theyve failed in a lot of grand final qualifiers so maybe they have the monkey off their back now. This is a great roster theyve been able to assemble - Ben Barba is back in Dally M form, Valentine Holmes is a superstar, Jack Bird plays for New South Wales, Sosaia Feki and Ricky Luetele are great footballers and James Maloney is probably the best signing of the whole season.Paul Gallen, Wade Graham and Luke Lewis is probably an international backrow combination so the roster the Sharks have is unbelievable but that roster will unfortunately get cut apart extremely quickly. Michael Ennis is retiring and that will hurt them a lot. I dont think they can fill his position - what he contributes on and off the field is tough to replace. I think they will go backwards a little and I would not be surprised if either Holmes or Bird will leave soon because rival clubs will put enormous figures in front of them.On the back of grand final success, most teams get picked apart so they should enjoy these 50 year celebrations.Most one-sided Grand Final atmosphere I have seen.It was amazing what the Sharks fans have done in the semi-finals. I think the fans helped the team get off to a massive lead against the Cowboys in Week 3 and an unbelievable atmosphere created at ANZ Stadium in the Grand Final had to have knocked the Storm around.If youve waited 50 years for probably the best opportunity the Sharks have ever had, its a fair reason why there was a bit of passion in the crowd last night and a little bit of nervousness at the end of the game.I am led to believe the Sharks had 5000 members join the club last week because it was members only were allowed in the club, the fan day and any other event they staged.It s a huge result in all areas for the Sharks because they get the injection of funds from the new memberships plus they get a great influx of sponsorships and corporate opportunities.?Football is a simple game when you run hard.I thought this was the difference between the two sides. The game of football was determined on the Cronulla Sharks running with more pace and they used that to their advantage. They played the ball at a faster pace and that hurt Melbourne as we all know they like to wrestle.The Sharks did very well getting away from the three-man tackle and they gave James Maloney and Chad Townsend a lot of football. Luke Lewis getting the Clive Churchill Medal meant he got a fair bit of football which is very good coaching, very smart control of the football.?I thought the Broncos showed teams a number of weeks ago the blueprint to beat the Melbourne Storm is to avoid the wrestle, make them chase the ball and when they do that they struggle to get in their normal groove and its pretty hard to score tries when youre regularly kicking from inside your own fifty.It was certainly won on the back of Andrew Fifita, Paul Gallen and Matt Prior - they were unbelievable. Those three middle forwards just took it to the Melbourne forward pack and generally turned up and won that physical battle.That meant that Melbourne didnt get much field position probably until around the 50th minute in the game and that was draining for the Storm but a very smart way for Cronulla to win the grand final.The best defence in the league kept the Storm in the Grand Final.Melbourne werent in the game and had no right to win the game but the brilliance of their defence and their ability to only concede 8 points in that first half was absolutely amazing.The effort of Cameron Smith over the full 80 minutes was incredible - it just blows me away that a bloke can make 72 tackles, can be at every play the ball, can come up with the right decision and then still be the leader of that football side.The fact they were a chance of winning the game and probably shouldve won the game if Will Chambers passes the ball to Cooper Cronk wouldve been one of the greatest grand final wins for a side with their backs against the wall in a long while.Ive rarely seen a team be so dominated in a match, have to do that work defensively and still have the ability to execute some plays and score some tries. I know they didnt win the game but Melbourne should be extremely proud of their football team.The Storms future still bright despite Grand Final defeat.The emergence of Suliasi Vunivalu was very special for Melbourne, Cameron Munsters had a breakout season at fullback as were still unsure about the future of Billy Slater, they have Jordan McLean who I think will play Origin next year.They lose Blake Green so they need to find a five-eighth but a young guy called Brodie Croft is the kid in their system, another young bloke called Scott Drinkwater, a third talented player in Curtis Scott who played NRL this season as well as Brandon Smith from the Cowboys.What Melbourne have done is theyve started building for the future - Brandon Smith is a the Queensland under 20s hooker, he was the NYC hooker of the year - has quite a large frame, great defender and theyll inject some game management into him and then give him time under Cameron Smith as an apprenticeship.They know they have to prepare for life after Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater at some stage - theyll probably go from Cronk and Smith to Croft and Smith so theyre buying the cream of the crop and getting them in the system at a young age.Grand Final day revealed reasons for Dragons fans to be optimistic.Jason Demetriou is the Illawarra Cutters coach and he has won a Queensland Cup, hes now won a NSW Cup and an Interstate Championship with the Dragons feeder club and he also used to be an assistant coach at North Queensland Cowboys.Paul McGregor has already been assured for next season but with this new committee overlooking the system in Wollongong, he might be under some pressure because Demetriou has been very successful in his apprenticeship.Drew Hutchison was Man of the Match in the Interstate Championship and he will likely be the player that the Dragons will start the year at halfback, Taane Milne and Kurt Mann look very good so the Dragons have got a reasonable forward pack - they lack pace in the outside backs, they lack creativity, they cant score points but maybe next year they can be competitive again on the back of some of these young kids.Maybe they just need to give these kids an opportunity. I believe the Dragons NRL team only scored more than 20 points in five games this year and the Cutters team looked brilliant in laying on more than 50 against the Queensland Cup champions.Maybe the solution for the Dragons is giving the young kids an opportunity - sometimes we are critical of what is under our noses because you think theres something wrong with it but what have they got to lose? Walt Schupp Jersey Store . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Cedric Killings Jersey Store . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. https://www.chinacheapjerseys.net/dennis-mckinnon-jersey-store/ .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. STILLWATER, Okla. -- Leyton Hammonds had 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as Oklahoma State rolled to a 117-72 victory over New Orleans Wednesday night.Six different players scored in double digits for Oklahoma State (3-0), which hit the 100-point plateau for the third consecutive game -- for just the second time in school history and first since the 1993-94 season.Hammonds had just eight points on 4-of-8 shooting in the first two games combined, getting completely shut out in the Cowboys opener, and surpassed those totals in the first eight minutes against New Orleans.We had a lot of guys in double figures, we shared the ball really well today, Hammonds said. But our main thing was defense. We were just playing great on defense, everybody was. It kind of gave us some energy on offense to share the ball and get easy baskets. It made it easy for us.Erik Thomas scored 18 points and had five rebounds, while Jorge Rosa contributed 14 points, for New Orleans (1-1).We did very few things at a high level, and we have to get better on all aspects offensively, said Privateers coach Mark Slessinger. We have to execute at a much higher rate. We have to be able to communicate defensively at a higher rate, which we did not do.The Cowboys led from wire-to-wire, jumping out to a big lead early and building on it the rest of the way. They led 68-36 at halftime, with their first-half offensive output setting a new school record.All in all, I thought it was a terrific first half, said first-year OSU coach Brad Underwood. I really challenged them in the second half to maintain that, I know human nature becomes a little more difficult. Six guys in double figures, 22 assists, 10 turnovers -- good numbers. I think weve improved.BIG PICTURENew Orleans: Following a 103-67 win over Division III LaGrange College last Friday in their season opener, the Privateers appeared out of their depth for much of the night. After holding LaGrange to just 36 percent (23 for 64), New Orleans allowed OSU a 53.5 shooting percentage. Starting forward Makur Puou scored 10 points and had eigght rebounds against LaGrange, but was held off the score sheet while picking up four rebounds. Frank Nesser Jersey Store. New Orleans also turned it over just 11 times in the opener, but had 23 in this one.Oklahoma State: For a team that had already scored 102 points in each of its first two victories, the Cowboys found another offensive gear this time. With no starter playing more than 20 minutes, Oklahoma State still received 13 points and eight assists from Jawun Evans, while Phil Forte scored 13. Jeffrey Carroll scored 14 points with three steals off the bench, while freshman Lucas NGuessan scored 11 points with six rebounds, and fellow freshman Lindy Waters also scored 11. But among all the impressive statistics was that they turned the ball over just 10 times, including just twice in the first half.TURNING POINTWhen Michael Zeno drove the lane and dunked 4:38 into the contest, it cut Oklahoma States lead to 14-8, but the Cowboys erupted for a 24-4 run over the next five minutes that enabled them to take over the game. After Mitchell Solomon sank a free throw with 7:25 left in the first half, Oklahoma State had stretched its advantage to 48-16, and the outcome was never in doubt again.STAT OF THE NIGHTThe Cowboys outrebounded New Orleans 47-29, limiting the Privateers to just eight offensive rebounds. New Orleans had 47 rebounds (22 offensive) in its opener against LaGrange.A big challenge coming into this game was controlling the glass, Underwood said. The Thomas kid had nine offensive rebounds in their first game -- I dont care who you do that against, thats a big-time effort. We took that challenge on, and it was great to see.UP NEXTNew Orleans: remains in Oklahoma, visiting Tulsa on Saturday. The Golden Hurricane is 0-2 after losing to Wichita State 80-53 Wednesday night.Oklahoma State: travels to Hawaii to take part in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tournament on Monday, first facing UConn, who have started 0-2 so far this year. ' ' '
The Sharks timing was right but window may close quickly. Mike Nott Jersey Store .The time was right for Cronulla to win the competition this year. Generally the winning side they will be smiling and having fun during the games. It shows they are having fun and enjoying their job and they play some tough and resilient football.If you look at Cronulla in 2016 I think you can say that about them - the fact they went unbeaten for 16 straight games, they were able to handle pressure throughout the season and breaking a hoodoo for the Sharks.Theyve only been in three previous grand finals but theyve failed in a lot of grand final qualifiers so maybe they have the monkey off their back now. This is a great roster theyve been able to assemble - Ben Barba is back in Dally M form, Valentine Holmes is a superstar, Jack Bird plays for New South Wales, Sosaia Feki and Ricky Luetele are great footballers and James Maloney is probably the best signing of the whole season.Paul Gallen, Wade Graham and Luke Lewis is probably an international backrow combination so the roster the Sharks have is unbelievable but that roster will unfortunately get cut apart extremely quickly. Michael Ennis is retiring and that will hurt them a lot. I dont think they can fill his position - what he contributes on and off the field is tough to replace. I think they will go backwards a little and I would not be surprised if either Holmes or Bird will leave soon because rival clubs will put enormous figures in front of them.On the back of grand final success, most teams get picked apart so they should enjoy these 50 year celebrations.Most one-sided Grand Final atmosphere I have seen.It was amazing what the Sharks fans have done in the semi-finals. I think the fans helped the team get off to a massive lead against the Cowboys in Week 3 and an unbelievable atmosphere created at ANZ Stadium in the Grand Final had to have knocked the Storm around.If youve waited 50 years for probably the best opportunity the Sharks have ever had, its a fair reason why there was a bit of passion in the crowd last night and a little bit of nervousness at the end of the game.I am led to believe the Sharks had 5000 members join the club last week because it was members only were allowed in the club, the fan day and any other event they staged.It s a huge result in all areas for the Sharks because they get the injection of funds from the new memberships plus they get a great influx of sponsorships and corporate opportunities.?Football is a simple game when you run hard.I thought this was the difference between the two sides. The game of football was determined on the Cronulla Sharks running with more pace and they used that to their advantage. They played the ball at a faster pace and that hurt Melbourne as we all know they like to wrestle.The Sharks did very well getting away from the three-man tackle and they gave James Maloney and Chad Townsend a lot of football. Luke Lewis getting the Clive Churchill Medal meant he got a fair bit of football which is very good coaching, very smart control of the football.?I thought the Broncos showed teams a number of weeks ago the blueprint to beat the Melbourne Storm is to avoid the wrestle, make them chase the ball and when they do that they struggle to get in their normal groove and its pretty hard to score tries when youre regularly kicking from inside your own fifty.It was certainly won on the back of Andrew Fifita, Paul Gallen and Matt Prior - they were unbelievable. Those three middle forwards just took it to the Melbourne forward pack and generally turned up and won that physical battle.That meant that Melbourne didnt get much field position probably until around the 50th minute in the game and that was draining for the Storm but a very smart way for Cronulla to win the grand final.The best defence in the league kept the Storm in the Grand Final.Melbourne werent in the game and had no right to win the game but the brilliance of their defence and their ability to only concede 8 points in that first half was absolutely amazing.The effort of Cameron Smith over the full 80 minutes was incredible - it just blows me away that a bloke can make 72 tackles, can be at every play the ball, can come up with the right decision and then still be the leader of that football side.The fact they were a chance of winning the game and probably shouldve won the game if Will Chambers passes the ball to Cooper Cronk wouldve been one of the greatest grand final wins for a side with their backs against the wall in a long while.Ive rarely seen a team be so dominated in a match, have to do that work defensively and still have the ability to execute some plays and score some tries. I know they didnt win the game but Melbourne should be extremely proud of their football team.The Storms future still bright despite Grand Final defeat.The emergence of Suliasi Vunivalu was very special for Melbourne, Cameron Munsters had a breakout season at fullback as were still unsure about the future of Billy Slater, they have Jordan McLean who I think will play Origin next year.They lose Blake Green so they need to find a five-eighth but a young guy called Brodie Croft is the kid in their system, another young bloke called Scott Drinkwater, a third talented player in Curtis Scott who played NRL this season as well as Brandon Smith from the Cowboys.What Melbourne have done is theyve started building for the future - Brandon Smith is a the Queensland under 20s hooker, he was the NYC hooker of the year - has quite a large frame, great defender and theyll inject some game management into him and then give him time under Cameron Smith as an apprenticeship.They know they have to prepare for life after Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater at some stage - theyll probably go from Cronk and Smith to Croft and Smith so theyre buying the cream of the crop and getting them in the system at a young age.Grand Final day revealed reasons for Dragons fans to be optimistic.Jason Demetriou is the Illawarra Cutters coach and he has won a Queensland Cup, hes now won a NSW Cup and an Interstate Championship with the Dragons feeder club and he also used to be an assistant coach at North Queensland Cowboys.Paul McGregor has already been assured for next season but with this new committee overlooking the system in Wollongong, he might be under some pressure because Demetriou has been very successful in his apprenticeship.Drew Hutchison was Man of the Match in the Interstate Championship and he will likely be the player that the Dragons will start the year at halfback, Taane Milne and Kurt Mann look very good so the Dragons have got a reasonable forward pack - they lack pace in the outside backs, they lack creativity, they cant score points but maybe next year they can be competitive again on the back of some of these young kids.Maybe they just need to give these kids an opportunity. I believe the Dragons NRL team only scored more than 20 points in five games this year and the Cutters team looked brilliant in laying on more than 50 against the Queensland Cup champions.Maybe the solution for the Dragons is giving the young kids an opportunity - sometimes we are critical of what is under our noses because you think theres something wrong with it but what have they got to lose? Walt Schupp Jersey Store . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Cedric Killings Jersey Store . Ryan Garbutt had a goal and two assists as Dallas snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. https://www.chinacheapjerseys.net/dennis-mckinnon-jersey-store/ .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. STILLWATER, Okla. -- Leyton Hammonds had 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds as Oklahoma State rolled to a 117-72 victory over New Orleans Wednesday night.Six different players scored in double digits for Oklahoma State (3-0), which hit the 100-point plateau for the third consecutive game -- for just the second time in school history and first since the 1993-94 season.Hammonds had just eight points on 4-of-8 shooting in the first two games combined, getting completely shut out in the Cowboys opener, and surpassed those totals in the first eight minutes against New Orleans.We had a lot of guys in double figures, we shared the ball really well today, Hammonds said. But our main thing was defense. We were just playing great on defense, everybody was. It kind of gave us some energy on offense to share the ball and get easy baskets. It made it easy for us.Erik Thomas scored 18 points and had five rebounds, while Jorge Rosa contributed 14 points, for New Orleans (1-1).We did very few things at a high level, and we have to get better on all aspects offensively, said Privateers coach Mark Slessinger. We have to execute at a much higher rate. We have to be able to communicate defensively at a higher rate, which we did not do.The Cowboys led from wire-to-wire, jumping out to a big lead early and building on it the rest of the way. They led 68-36 at halftime, with their first-half offensive output setting a new school record.All in all, I thought it was a terrific first half, said first-year OSU coach Brad Underwood. I really challenged them in the second half to maintain that, I know human nature becomes a little more difficult. Six guys in double figures, 22 assists, 10 turnovers -- good numbers. I think weve improved.BIG PICTURENew Orleans: Following a 103-67 win over Division III LaGrange College last Friday in their season opener, the Privateers appeared out of their depth for much of the night. After holding LaGrange to just 36 percent (23 for 64), New Orleans allowed OSU a 53.5 shooting percentage. Starting forward Makur Puou scored 10 points and had eigght rebounds against LaGrange, but was held off the score sheet while picking up four rebounds. Frank Nesser Jersey Store. New Orleans also turned it over just 11 times in the opener, but had 23 in this one.Oklahoma State: For a team that had already scored 102 points in each of its first two victories, the Cowboys found another offensive gear this time. With no starter playing more than 20 minutes, Oklahoma State still received 13 points and eight assists from Jawun Evans, while Phil Forte scored 13. Jeffrey Carroll scored 14 points with three steals off the bench, while freshman Lucas NGuessan scored 11 points with six rebounds, and fellow freshman Lindy Waters also scored 11. But among all the impressive statistics was that they turned the ball over just 10 times, including just twice in the first half.TURNING POINTWhen Michael Zeno drove the lane and dunked 4:38 into the contest, it cut Oklahoma States lead to 14-8, but the Cowboys erupted for a 24-4 run over the next five minutes that enabled them to take over the game. After Mitchell Solomon sank a free throw with 7:25 left in the first half, Oklahoma State had stretched its advantage to 48-16, and the outcome was never in doubt again.STAT OF THE NIGHTThe Cowboys outrebounded New Orleans 47-29, limiting the Privateers to just eight offensive rebounds. New Orleans had 47 rebounds (22 offensive) in its opener against LaGrange.A big challenge coming into this game was controlling the glass, Underwood said. The Thomas kid had nine offensive rebounds in their first game -- I dont care who you do that against, thats a big-time effort. We took that challenge on, and it was great to see.UP NEXTNew Orleans: remains in Oklahoma, visiting Tulsa on Saturday. The Golden Hurricane is 0-2 after losing to Wichita State 80-53 Wednesday night.Oklahoma State: travels to Hawaii to take part in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational Tournament on Monday, first facing UConn, who have started 0-2 so far this year. ' ' '
