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Storm out to stop Maumalo's try spree

3 minute read

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy says his side will pay Wests Tigers recruit Ken Maumalo plenty of attention in Saturday night's NRL clash on the Gold Coast.

CRAIG BELLAMY.
CRAIG BELLAMY. Picture: Racing and Sports

Winger Ken Maumalo will have a target on his back when he lines up for his second successive match against Melbourne but for different NRL clubs.

Maumalo played his final match for the Warriors last round against the Storm, and will line-up against them for his new club Wests Tigers at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Saturday night.

The match was originally scheduled to be played at Melbourne's AAMI Park but was relocated north due to the COVID-19 situation in Victoria.

Despite Melbourne posting a convincing 42-16 win over the Warriors, Maumalo proved a thorn in the Storm's side by scoring three tries.

He's only scored two hat-tricks in his NRL career but both have come against the Storm.

Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy says his team will be going all out to prevent a third.

"Ken's a very talented player and dangerous with the footy - right from his first run last week we didn't do such a good job with our contact on him so hopefully we can improve that and hopefully he doesn't score three tries again," Bellamy said on Friday.

"The Tigers got a good player there but also he will be keen to make his mark there in his first game."

While Maumalo has been in sparkling form, Melbourne's own attack has been firing.

Their haul of points against the Warriors was the eighth time this season they've scored 40 points or more.

It took their total points after 14 rounds to 472 which is the second most by any team in history at this stage of the season.

Bellamy said there hadn't been a shift in mindset but they had adapted well to the new NRL rules designed to speed up the game, and he felt they were playing to the strengths of their players.

"It wasn't a change in mentality in how we wanted to play our footy," Bellamy said.

"But when we saw the rule changes and interpretations to the rules we had to make some changes like every team did and our guys seem to have handled that well.

"To add to that, this year with some of the new players we've brought in like George (Jennings) and Reimis (Smith) they might be a bit more attack orientated.

"We want to use players' strengths and make sure our game plan does that."

Melbourne have welcomed back props Christian Welch (concussion) and Nelson Asofa-Solomona (suspension) while Tigers playmaker Moses Mbye is set to return from a knee injury.

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