Forget the Big Two, Cameron Smith says Melbournes charge towards a third NRL title boils down to the form of the clubs perpetually underrated big boppers.The Storm look set to finish inside the top two, and clinch an important home semi-final, after grinding out an 18-6 win over premiers North Queensland at 1300SMILES Stadium on Saturday night.While the result was largely attibuted to the absence of Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston, Melbourne skipper Smith laid praise at the feet of his sides forwards and their ability to lock down Matt Scott, James Tamou and Jason Taumalolo.The Cowboys all-international middle forwards were well held by the Storm with Scott (82m), Tamou (78m) and Taumalolo (135m) lacking their usual impact.Smith said they went into the clash knowing that while Thurstons absence was going to blunt their attack, it would count for naught if they didnt also win the yardage game against North Queenslands much-vaunted big men.They dont get any smaller and they dont run slower because JT isnt there, Smith said.But our ruck has been fantastic all year.Maybe because were way down south in Melbourne they dont get too many raps or the raps they should get but I think theyve been exceptional.All year theyve given Cooper (Cronk) and Blake Green and Cameron Munster opportunities to do their thing out wide.Obviously Jesse (Bromwich) is having a good season again but guys like Tim Glasby, who was back tonight, Dale Finucane, Kenny Bromwich - theyre all playing really good football and thats what Ive been really pleased with.The Storms defence is shaping as the cornerstone of their premiership charge and after provisionally moving into top spot, Smith revealed the playing group resolved to improve their standards after being challenged by coach Craig Bellamy in the pre-season.Bellamys accusation that the side had lost their defensive steel has fired the group to top the league in most defensive stats this year.Going into round 21, they had conceded the least points, tries and linebreaks, missed the least tackles, as well as boasting the best completion rate and making the least errors, according to Fox Sports Stats.In the last two seasons I think weve fallen away from our standards in defence, Smith said.We always pride ourselves on defence.The coaches challenged us during our season review to make that better. 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LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Not much went wrong for No. 8 Louisville on Wednesday night as it caught a dangerous foe at a vulnerable time.Jazmine Jones scored a career-high 15 points to lead the Cardinals to a dominating 83-30 victory over South Dakota State.The Cardinals (9-2) extended their winning streak to three games thanks to a strong start and finish to the first half. Louisville scored the games first 11 points and then finished the first half on a 15-0 run to take a 38-14 lead.Jones played a big role in getting the huge lead as she scored 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first half, easily surpassing her previous high of eight points against Chattanooga on Nov. 21.Itll definitely boost my confidence as we go along this season, Jones said.South Dakota State (8-3), which announced Wednesday that Macy Miller would miss the rest of the season, struggled without their leading scorer. The Jackrabbits committed a season-worst 30 turnovers and shot 19.6 percent from the field.Even without Miller, Louisville coach Jeff Walz said he told his team to not let the Jackrabbits dictate the pace. The Cardinals responded, he said, by playing their best defense all season.I was just really, really pleased with our physical and mental effort tonight, he said.Kerri Youngs 13 points led South Dakota State.Jackrabbits coach Aaron Johnston said the biggest enemy his team has had since Millers leg injury, which she suffered last Friday against Green Bay, has been time. Louisville marked the second game South Dakota State has played in less than a week and the team has also had finals to take.Weve had about three hours in the gym to redefine a lot of roles, he said.Myisha Hines-Allen and Sydney Zambrotta added 10 points each for Louisville.BIG PICTURESouth Dakota State: Granted the Jackrabbits pplayed one of the top teams in the country, but they seemed lost for major stretches of the game.dddddddddddd Some of that could be due to missing Miller. Since she went out on Friday, the Jackrabbits have yet to shoot better than 33 percent from the field.Louisville: What was considered a possible upset threat at the beginning of the season turned into a laugher early against the short-handed Jackrabbits. While the Cardinals struggled for a stretch in the first half, they still put on an impressive display against one of the top mid-major programs in Division I.STAT OF THE NIGHTLouisville entered Wednesday having held opponents to single-digit scoring quarters six times this season. On Wednesday, they added three more to that total, with the Jackrabbits getting 11 points in the third quarter. When you factor in the fourth quarter against Western Kentucky, the Cardinals have had four such periods in the past five quarters.INJURIESIn announcing Millers status, school officials said the junior guard, who was averaging 14.9 points a game, would seek a medical redshirt for this season.POLL IMPLICATIONSBeating a team like South Dakota State, which Walz said will still likely pile up victories even with Millers absence, will only serve to boost Louisvilles profile among voters. In the last 10 days, Louisville has registered solid victories over Kentucky, Western Kentucky and the Jackrabbits, all teams which figure to be in the running for tournament bids come March.UP NEXTSouth Dakota State returns home to face Bowling Green on Sunday, a team Louisville beat 83-58 on Nov. 19.Louisville hosts Charleston on Friday in the fifth of six straight home games. ' ' '