The Melbourne Storm and Brisbane Broncos prepare for battle in Sunday afternoon footy at AAMI Park.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Storm
The Storm have scored just one try in their last two games. Before the first bye round, the Storm edged out a narrow win against the Cowboys 7-6. The week before that, a team without Cameron Smith had no direction in a 4-24 loss to Manly.
Their attack has failed to fire but in their favour, they’ve scored more than 30 points in their last 3 matches against the Broncos.
Broncos
Despite a long injury list, the Broncos have strung together victories against the Roosters and Eels. Young guns like Pangai Jr and Ofahengaue have stepped up in the absence of Josh McGuire and Matt Gillett to win the forward battle while Oates, Roberts and Isaako have all been in strong form on the flanks.
SQUAD NEWS
Both teams have been allowed to name additional players in the reserves due to Origin.
Storm
Billy Slater remains out with the hamstring injury that ruled him out for QLD. Tim Glasby shifts to Lock in the absence of Dale Finucane while Ryan Hoffman and Christian Welch join the bench. The likes of Brodie Croft and Cheyse Blair provide cover if Munster, Addo-Carr or Chambers don’t back up from Origin.
Broncos
Despite their impressive performances in the last few weeks, Pangai Jr and Ofahengaue shift to the bench to make way for the returns of Alex Glenn and Josh McGuire.
PREVIEW
Last Time Out
In Round 7 the Storm prevailed 34-20 over the Broncos. The outside backs ran rampant as Addo-Carr and Slater grabbed doubles. The Broncos mounted a brief comeback, closing the margin to 4 points at one stage but they were ultimately outclassed.
Key Battle
The defensive performance of the Broncos outside backs. The Storm’s 1-5 have torn apart their edge defence in recent times. The Broncos are going to need to improve their defensive reads and shut plays down or it’ll be a case of deja vu as Addo-Carr and Vunivalu stroll over again.
Key Players
Cameron Munster and Anthony Milford. Both players have strong running games and their creativity in attack determines how many points their team scores.
The defence needs to be weary of leaving any gaps in the line and around the ruck because these players are masters of exploiting them. Any opportunity they get is going to result in a try or two which could be the difference maker.
KEY STAT
The Storm have won 14 of their last 16 encountersย with the Broncos.
SQUADS
Storm
1 Jahrome Hughes
2 Suliasi Vunivalu
3 Will Chambers
4 Young Tonumaipea
5 Josh Addo-Carr
6 Cameron Munster
7 Ryley Jacks
8ย Jesse Bromwich
9 Cameron Smith (c)
10 Nelson Asofa-Solomona
11 Felise Kaufusi
12 Joe Stimson
13 Tim Glasby
Interchange:ย
14 Brandon Smith
15 Kenny Bromwich
16 Ryan Hoffman
17 Christian Welch
Reserves:
18 Patrick Kaufusi
19 Brodie Croft
20 Scott Drinkwater
21 Cheyse Blair
22 Justin Olam
23 Tui Kamikamica
Broncos
1 Darius Boyd (c)
2 Corey Oates
3 James Roberts
4 Jordan Kahu
5 Jamayne Isaako
6 Anthony Milford
7 Kodi Nikorima
8 Matthew Lodge
9 Andrew McCullough
10 Sam Thaiday
11 Alex Glenn
12 Jaydn Su’A
13 Josh McGuire
Interchange:
14 Patrick Mago
15 Joe Ofahengaue
16 Tevita Pangai Jr
17 Kotoni Staggs
Reserves:
18 Sam Tagataese
19 Todd Murphy
20 Troy Dargan
21 David Fifita
22 Tom Opacic
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: Sunday June 10th
Venue: AAMI Park
Kick-off:ย 4:10pm
WHO WILL WIN?
Could not load the poll.
https://nothingbutleague.com/2018/06/06/report-nsw-22-12-qld/
