Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 16 clash between the Dolphins and the Melbourne Storm.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
The Dolphins v Melbourne Storm
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Date: Friday June 21, 8:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Dolphins: 1. Trai Fuller, 2. Jamayne Isaako, 3. Jake Averillo, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Jack Bostock, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Isaiya Katoa, 8. Jesse Bromwich, 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Kenny Bromwich, 11. Connelly Lemuelu, 12. Euan Aitken, 13. Max Plath, 14. Josh Kerr, 15. Mark Nicholls, 16. Ray Stone, 17. Tevita Pangai Junior, 18. Oryn Keeley, 19. Sean O’Sullivan, 20. Mason Teague, 21. Tesi Niu, 22. Anthony Milford
Storm: 1. Ryan Papenhuyzen, 2. William Warbrick, 3. Grant Anderson, 4. Nick Meaney, 5. Sualauvi Faalogo, 6. Tyran Wishart, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. Tui Kamikamica, 9. Bronson Garlick, 10. Josh King, 11. Shawn Blore, 12. Eliesa Katoa, 13. Trent Loiero, 14. Jack Howarth, 15. Christian Welch, 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 17. Joe Chan, 18. Reimis Smith, 19. Dean Ieremia, 20. Lazarus Vaalepu, 21. Chris Lewis, 22. Kane Bradley
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Last season the Dolphins came into the NRL as somewhat of a laughing stock. Legends like Andrew Johns had made the claim that there wasn’t enough talent in the NRL to have a competitive 17th team – and he seemed to be proven correct when you looked at their side on paper. A 17 made up of bit-part players and declining veterans painted a bleak picture coming into their first season of NRL.
But they impressed everyone last year, overachieving at the start of the season before tapering off once the competition’s quality sides really clicked into gear. This year they started in much the same way. Except by round 15 last year they were sat in 11th, but they come into the same round this year sitting in fourth.
The Dolphins come into this off the back of their first ever win in Sydney: a game where they completely dominated the table-topping Sharks early, and just did enough to stave off a comeback and get the two points. They’ve showed signs of being able to comfortably beat the best sides in the competition, but weren’t yet able to do it for 80 minutes.
This game will be arguably an even tougher test. I have a number of reservations about the Melbourne Storm this year – in that they seem to be making a number of mistakes that in recent years we’d have categorised as ‘Un-Melbourne-like’. Yet, there they sit nonetheless in first place. That purple jersey represents finding a way to win, and that is what they’ve consistently managed to do.
For the Storm, this is a difficult clash away from home against one of the more in-form sides in this competition (despite their excellent record at Suncorp Stadium). But for the Dolphins, it’s an absolute test of their top four (and indeed premiership) credentials. Bennett vs Bellamy is always about more than just the two competition points, and Friday Night will be no different.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Dolphins by 4 points.
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Storms by 12points