Funkerstation » thinks McLaren has simply built on the st

Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett is glad Fridays NRL clash with Melbourne didnt come a month ago because he feels his team is only now ready to face the ladder-leading Storm.The Broncos have rebounded from a mid-season slump to win three consecutive matches and give themselves a chance at a top four finish.Its a far cry from round 17 when the Storm faced an undermanned Broncos at Suncorp Stadium and secured a ruthless 48-6 victory - with halfback Cooper Cronk picking up five try assists.Bennett says that defeat means little given he was forced to play Kodi Nikorima and Alex Glenn in his backline due to injuries, with Cronk relentlessly targeting the makeshift left edge.They exploited it as well as Ive seen any team exploit our dilemma, Bennett said.I cant take much out of it considering the circumstances of that game.Were in good shape to play the Storm now. We werent in good shape a month ago ... weve got a bit more confidence and the guys are doing the things they know works for them.Brisbane skipper Corey Parker had a scare in training on Thursday when he rolled an ankle but the veteran backrower returned to complete the session and Bennett says he will play on Friday night.Playmaker Anthony Milford and winger Corey Oates are also good to play as the Broncos take an unchanged lineup into the clash.The Storm, who can wrap up the minor premiership with victory, are unchanged from their team which beat Manly last weekend.Winger Suliasi Vunivalu, who scored a hat-trick against the Broncos in that round 17 thrashing, comes into the match after a four-try first half display against the Sea Eagles.Bennett said both teams possess firepower out wide and he expected a strong battle on both flanks.Those two (Storm) wingers are very good but Im confident in the two wingers weve got, Bennett said.Its good to have Jordan (Kahu) back and Coreys playing well again so they might be thinking to themselves theyve got a handful too.MELBOURNE v BRISBANE - Key match stats* Brisbanes Sam Thaiday will play his 250th NRL match. In 21 encounters with the Storm Thaiday has four wins and theyre the only club he hasnt scored a try against.* With one more try this year, Storm winger Suliasi Vunivalu will become the first player since Canberras Noa Nadruku in 1993 to score 22 tries in his debut season.* Melbourne have won all 11 games against Brisbane in Melbourne with Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith in the team. Jakub Voracek Flyers Jersey . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Ivan Provorov Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. http://www.nhlflyersproauthentic.com/ivan-provorov-hockey-jersey/ . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Bernie Parent Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Michael Raffl Jersey . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Fernando Alonso thinks McLarens performance at Silverstone so far is proof of the steady progress being made by the team.Alonso continued McLarens recent good Saturday form by securing the teams fifth Q3 appearance in six attempts, qualifying tenth for tomorrows British Grand Prix. His impressive performance came after regularly being in the top ten in the weekends practice sessions.The Spaniard thinks McLaren has simply built on the strength of recent weekends.Asked if Silverstone represented a sudden turning point in McLarens season, Alonso said: I think its been positive and strong for us. Obviously its a circuit that is demanding on car efficiency, power, on everything. So far, we have been more or less consistent in the top 10 in all sessions, so thats positive news.Thats probably the trend that we have seen in the last two months that we keep improving race after race. Thats positive but I dont think thats a grand prix different point from now on. Its just continuing to be consistent.Honda has introduced a power upgrade for Silverstone and Alonso is confident of some good batttles on Sunday as the team continues to find performance from the car.dddddddddddd.Asked if a strong race was in store, the Spaniard said: I think so. I think the situation on the grid order and the strategies will be a little bit of a mix tomorrow with the people starting in the top ten and the people not, so I think we can see some good battles tomorrow and hopefully we can be in the points with both cars at the end of the race and keep this positive trend.McLarens recent form has been overshadowed slightly by reliability issues, something Alonsos teammate Jenson Button has put down to the team pushing the limits of the car. Alonso hopes to bounce back from his recent frustrations with a top-ten finish.Obviously Ive missed being in the points in the last few races with some reliability issue. I didnt finish in Baku, I didnt finish in Austria, and in Canada we were P11 with not very competitive pace so hopefully tomorrow we can come back on that road. ' ' '