Dylan Jhugroo previews the Round 24 clash between the Storm and the Raiders.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Melbourne Storm Vs Canberra Raiders
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Date: Sunday August 13, 2:00pm
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. Eliesa Katoa 16. Tepai Moeroa 17. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 18. Alec MacDonald 19. Reimis Smith 20. Jonah Pezet 21. Tariq Sims 22. Tyran Wishart
Raiders: 1. Jordan Rapana 2. Albert Hopoate 3. Ethan Strange 4. Matthew Timoko 5. Nick Cotric 6. Jack Wighton 7. Jamal Fogarty 8. Josh Papali’i 9. Zac Woolford 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Corey Horsburgh 14. Adrian Trevilyan 15. Emre Guler 16. Pasami Saulo 17. Ata Mariota 18. Brad Morkos 19. Matt Frawley 20. Tom Starling 21. Trey Mooney 22. Utuloa Asouma
Referee: Grant Atkins
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
There are some things in the NRL that defy logic. Where there is no reason you can point to as to why a certain event occurs, and yet it occurs again and again. Rugby league mysteries.
As former Raider Craig Bellamy sat down to plot his gameplan for this Sunday’s clash with the Canberra Raiders, he would’ve once again struggled to put a finger on why Canberra are the only team in the NRL with a winning record against the Storm in Melbourne, winning five in a row from 2019 to 2022.
The Storm are rightfully viewed as one of the most dominant sporting organisations in Australia, achieving consistent success by bringing through lower-profile players and turning them into stars. But not even that stops the ears of the NRL world from prickling up when the Raiders play at AAMI Park.
The job will be made a little more difficult for Canberra, with star outside back Sebastian Kris ruled out of this game, seeing Ethan Strange join his father John and sister Jasmin on the NRL/NRLW scene. Zac Woolford and Adrian Trevilyan retain their spots in the dummy-half rotation, with Tom Starling still sitting in the reserves.
Meanwhile, the Storm see the returns of halfback Jahrome Hughes and winger Xavier Coates, in two major boosts to a side looking to re-state their premiership credentials after a 26-6 loss to Penrith last week. Reimis Smith and Tariq Sims are named in the reserves list, and are two possible late inclusions before kick-off.
The last time these two teams met was down in Melbourne. It was a game that’ll live in the minds of everyone in purple on Sunday, because the Raiders’ win knocked Melbourne out of the 2022 premiership. With the two sides sitting in equal fourth spot at the moment, it’ll be another high-stakes affair.
I can’t tell you what the latest chapter of this rugby league mystery will look like. But I do know that it’ll be quality entertainment.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Storm 5, Raiders 5.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Raiders by two points.
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