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Melbourne assistant coach Jason Ryles has stood up for Storm skipper Cameron Smith, who has been accused of dirty play during their NRL preliminary final win over Canberra.Ahead of Sundays grand final against Cronulla, Smith has come under fire for appearing to knee Raiders skipper Jason Crokers injured leg and pushing him over following a Storm try late in in the first half.The incident wasnt deemed worthy of any action by the match review committee with Ryles saying that Melbourne were the team that others loved to hate, particularly during the NRL finals.That has gone up a notch with the ANZ Stadium decider being billed as a state against state showdown.You can make a lot out of a still shot, Ryles said of a newspaper photograph of the collision.Its the same thing, different year for the Storm.When I was playing the same thing happened and now Im coaching four or five years later its still happening so we certainly dont read into it.The former Kangaroos prop, who played two years for Melbourne before his retirement, didnt believe Smith was a protected species.He said as the Australian captain Smith had earnt the respect of referees.Hes obviously a quality player and hes the Test captain and the referees have a lot of respect for him and he has respect for the referees.If I was the referee and the Test captain came up to me and spoke politely than I would speak to him and I think thats basically all he does.Since Ryles took over as forwards coach this season the Storm have taken their game to a new level.But he was quick to deflect his own efforts, making special mention of the improvement from lock Dale Finucane and prop Jordan McLean, and said that was a key to Melbournes success.Probably the biggest thing for Jordan this season is that he had a really solid pre-season which was unbroken with injury, Ryles said.That consistency in the pre-season seems to be showing through in the season that hes having.Ryles heart-breakingly sat out Melbournes 2012 grand final triumph over the Bulldogs due to a hamstring injury.He said being a part of this campaign was just as special.It still meant a lot in 2012 winning the grand final and this would as well, he said.Theres a lot of work that goes into it during the season culminating in this weekend and its an honour and a privilege to be part of it. 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Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Chris Wood has warned Team USA that the Ryder Cup is only on loan to them until Paris in 2018 -- when some of the players facing Europe wont know what has hit them.Wood, who won a point on debut in the Saturday foursomes with Justin Rose, said he enjoyed the event despite his sides 17-11 defeat at Hazeltine and is hungry for more.The cup is only on loan. When they come to Paris, the course will be set up very differently, Wood said. It was a soft setup there, made for the Americans, and they get that choice. But when they come to Paris, a lot of them wont know whats hit them. Its one of the most demanding courses we play [on the European Tour], for the French Open, and thats not been set up for the Ryder Cup, so bring it on!We will undoubtedly be stronger as a team as a result of the defeat. Youd like to think 6-10 of those players would be on the next team and I want to be one of them. My mind has already gone to Paris and what I need to do to make sure Im there.I have got over that hurdle of the first appearance at the Ryder Cup, and playing it in America was being thrown in at the deep end. I loved every minute of it -- and we lost. Now I want to be in that team room on a Sunday night having won. I dont just want to play in one edition, I want to play in five or six and win as many as I can.Wood indicated it was hard for Darren Clarke to keep all of his 12-man team happy because settling on a strategy with six rookies among them was difficult. But the captain wass still firing up his players for the next edition as they prepared to leave Minnesota.ddddddddddddhe BMW PGA champion said: As soon as we finished and were getting ourselves ready for the presentation in our locker room, Clarkey was saying: Right lads, Paris 2018, well get it back. Even though he is not going to be captain then, and it was probably one of the hardest times for him in the week, the passion in Europe for the Ryder Cup is so strong.The week of the biennial event is as intense for the players, and Wood has felt a bit of relief returning to preparations for the familiar situation of a European Tour competition.Hes playing in the British Masters, which starts at The Grove in Hertfordshire on Thursday, and is hosted by Luke Donald, who narrowly missed out on a place on the team for Hazeltine.Everything after the PGA Championship was about making the European Ryder Cup team and the buildup to the competition, Wood said. My mind was so in cup mode that it took over my life: I moved house and wouldnt lift a box because I didnt want to risk any sort of injury.Life has moved on now and were back in normal tournament mode, ready to get back in my own bubble and carry on playing. I have five events now until the end of the year -- the beginning of the end of the season. I want to finish strongly and have a nice break over the winter. ' ' '