Andrew Pelechaty previews another Friday night blockbuster: with South Sydney hosting Melbourne at Homebush.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
South Sydney Rabbitohs Vs Melbourne Storm
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Date: Sunday October 2, 7:30pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Rabbitohs: 1. Latrell Mitchell 2. Alex Johnston 3. Isaiah Tass 4. Campbell Graham 5. Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson 6. Cody Walker 7. Lachlan Ilias 8. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 9. Damien Cook 10. Thomas Burgess 11. Keaon Koloamatangi 12. Jacob Host 13. Cameron Murray 14. Jed Cartwright 15. Michael Chee Kam 16. Davvy Moale 17. Hame Sele 18. Blake Taaffe 19. Dean Hawkins 20. Ben Lovett 21. Taane Milne 22. Tallis Duncan
Storm: 1. Nick Meaney 2. William Warbrick 3. Reimis Smith 4. Justin Olam 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jonah Pezet 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Christian Welch 11. Trent Loiero 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Josh King 14. Bronson Garlick 15. Alec MacDonald 16. Tariq Sims 17. Tom Eisenhuth 18. Grant Anderson 19. Tyran Wishart 20. Jordan Grant 21. George Jennings 22. Jack Howarth
Referee: Todd Smith
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Footy fans have another Friday night blockbuster to look forward to, with South Sydney and Melbourne coming off wins to improve to 2-2.
Souths had an emotional win over Manly Warringah at Homebush. Appropriately for a game honouring John Sattler’s memory, Souths were playing the same side they beat in the iconic 1970 NSWRL Grand Final – and wore special throwback ‘torn rabbit’ jerseys to commemorate Sattler’s passing. Trailing 12-6 at half-time, Souths got within two after Cody Walker scored his second try in the 49th minute. While Latrell Mitchell missed the conversion, his penalty goal with 13 minutes left tied the scores. Lachlan Ilias’ Golden Point field goal gave Souths a 13-12 win.
Melbourne were desperate to atone for the Gold Coast Titans loss, and they did enough to beat the Wests Tigers without being super dominant. The Storm led 22-6 at half-time (tries to Will Warbrick, Nick Meaney, Justin Olam, and Cameron Munster) which was more than enough. Even though Nick Meaney’s 65th minute penalty goal was Melbourne’s only points in the second half, the Tigers never threatened a comeback.
Melbourne have dominated this rivalry, with a 31-6 record, including seven in a row from 2018 to 2022. They split last year’s meetings: the Storm won 15-14 in Round 2 (Melbourne), and Souths won 24-12 in Round 19 (Sydney).
There’s minimal changes for Souths, with Hame Sele returning from his 11-day concussion stand-down, while Tom Eisenhuth is elevated to the bench (from 18th Man) for the Storm.
While Melbourne haven’t been at their best (with surprise losses to Canterbury-Bankstown and the Titans), Souths have been in every games so far (even coming home late in losses to Penrith and the Roosters), so the Rabbits have the edge in form.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Storm 8, Rabbitohs 2
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Rabbitohs by six points.
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