Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 1 clash between the Storm and the Panthers.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Melbourne Storm Vs Penrith Panthers
Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
Date: Friday March 8, 8:05pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Storm: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Will Warbrick 3. Reimis Smith 4. Nick Meaney 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Joe Chan 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Christian Welch 16. Chris Lewis 17. Alec MacDonald 18. Shawn Blore 19. Kane Bradley 20. Jonah Pezet 21. Marion Seve 22. Sua Fa’alogo
Panthers: 1. Dylan Edwards 2. Sunia Turuva 3. Izack Tago 4. Taylan May 5. Brian To’o 6. Jarome Luai 7. Nathan Cleary 8. Moses Leota 9. Luke Sommerton 10. James Fisher-Harris 11. Luke Garner 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Tyrone Peachey 15. Lindsay Smith 16. Liam Henry 17. Matt Eisenhuth 18. Daine Laurie 19. Soni Luke 20. Brad Schneider 21. Preston Riki 22. Mavrik Geyer
Referee: Gerard Sutton
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
“We went into the Grand Final [in 2020] and we thought nobody can beat us. As it turns out the Melbourne Storm kicked our arses that night. That’s not easy for me to say”.
As Ivan Cleary took to the podium of the 2023 Panthers awards night, he recapped his second stint as coach of the club. Cleary has won an historic three-peat with the club and built the most dominant and regenerative system we’ve seen in decades.
But his line about the 2020 Grand Final was more solemn. It’s a result that still deeply hurts the Panthers despite all their success since. It’s why every time we see these two teams meet, Penrith have that added bit of determination to get another inch of payback from Melbourne. It’s why they’ve won six of their last eight meetings.
On the other hand, the Storm will be stinging from the 38-4 preliminary final thrashing they suffered at the hands of the Panthers last season. From the outside looking in, Melbourne seemed a little short of quality coming into last season’s finals series. But there’d have been nobody within Craig Bellamy’s organisation who expected less than a grand final, and they’d have been shattered not to be there.
Round 1 can shape you – it can define who you are for the rest of the season by setting you on a trajectory many teams tend to stick to. These two sides begin 2024 with a baptism of fire and it gets no easier for either of them: Melbourne go on to face Warriors, Knights, and Broncos; while the Panthers will face Eels, Broncos, and Roosters.
For these two heavyweights of our competition, a loss here could quickly spiral into two or three in the coming weeks, and that’s not something you can afford in a competition as tight as ours.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Round 1 Number Crunch.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Storm by 2 points.
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