Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 22 clash between the Melbourne Storm and Parramatta Eels.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Melbourne Storm Vs Parramatta Eels
Venue: Marvel Stadium, Melbourne
Date: Sunday October 2, 7:30pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Storm: 1. Nick Meaney 2. William Warbrick 3. Marion Seve 4. Young Tonumaipea 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Christian Welch 11. Trent Loiero 12. Tom Eisenhuth 13. Josh King 14. Bronson Garlick 15. Alec MacDonald 16. Eliesa Katoa 17. Tyran Wishart 18. Grant Anderson 19. Chris Lewis 20. Tepai Moeroa 21. Aaron Pene 22. Jayden Nikorima
Eels: 1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Waqa Blake 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Bailey Simonsson 5. Sean Russell 6. Daejarn Asi 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Ofahiki Ogden 9. Brendan Hands 10. Junior Paulo 11. Andrew Davey 12. Bryce Cartwright 13. J’maine Hopgood 14. Luca Moretti 15. Joe Ofahengaue 16. Joey Lussick 17. Ryan Matterson 18. Haze Dunster 19. Makahesi Makatoa 20. Wiremu Greig 21. Ky Rodwell 22. Jack Murchie
Referee: Ashley Klein
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
The Melbourne Storm and Parramatta Eels come into this round on the back of disappointing losses. For the Storm, they lost in an upset against the Newcastle Knights, while the Eels struggled to hold out an in-form North Queensland Cowboys. The Storm must win to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive, while the Eels need one to keep themselves in the eight.
There will be a new centre pairing for the Storm, with Young Tonumaipea and Marion Seve coming in for the injured Reimis Smith and Justin Olam. Furthermore, their enforcer, Nelson Asofa-Solomona, is out and will be replaced by Tom Eisenhuth. Finally, Tariq Sims misses out after being suspended.
Meanwhile, the Eels have moved Andrew Davey into the starting side to replace the luckless Shaun Lane, who is injured for the third time this season. The only other change is the inclusion of Joey Lussick, who joins the bench after signing with the Eels as a replacement for the injured Josh Hodgson.
After losing last week, the Storm are sure to turn up for a big performance. Craig Bellamy rarely sees them lose twice in a row. If there’s one player they will miss most, it’s Asofa-Solomona. Though the Eels’ forward pack is missing its own enforcer in Regan Campbell-Gillard, it is still one that boasts some great players. The last time they played, Asofa-Solomona took them on and pushed his team towards victory. If their back-line can quickly click, there will be plenty of opportunities to exploit the Eels’ edges, which began to show some fragility last week.
The Eels were far from their best last week, yet only eight points separated them from the Cowboys. It’s the story of a season that has largely featured comfortable wins or close losses. With the season now at the make-or-break stage, they need to string together a few wins against quality opposition to ensure they feature in the finals. The inclusion of Joey Lussick will help, enabling Brendan Hands to have a rest when needed. Both Clint Gutherson and Mitchell Moses can be expected to be firing as they have been over the past few weeks. It will come down to whether the rest of the team can maintain a standard of play to get them over the line. Much maligned Waqa Blake will need to vastly improve from his return showing last week.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Storm 5, Eels 5
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Eels by 2
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