A tough fortnight continued for the Storm last week with a two point loss to the Gold Coast Titans, suffered right on the full-time siren.
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It followed a big 40 – 12 defeat to the Bulldogs in Perth in round 4 and the suspension of Storm forward Jordan McLean for seven weeks for his involvement in the tackle on Newcastle’s Alex McKinnon.
The Storm scored first through Sisa Waqa in the sixth minute and he crossed again in the twenty-third, taking his season tally to four but the Titans countered with three first half tries of their own.
It was all locked up when, with less than a minute to go, a controversial penalty was awarded to Titans which Greg Bird dutifully slotted.
It hasn’t been the same ruthless Storm side this season that we’ve come to expect in recent years. In both losses, they’ve started well but uncharacteristically haven’t been able to capitalise on their position.
Like the Strom, the Dragon are also coming off two losses after having recorded three wins to start the season.
They were defeated by the Broncos 36 – 20 at Win before succumbing to an improved South Sydney side last week 26 – 6.
The Dragon were holding there own against Souths early last week and it wasn’t until the 27th minute that there defence cracked. Disappointingly though, Souths scored another just five minutes later and took a 12 – 0 nil into the break.
Possession and a staggering 40 missed tackles allowed the Rabbitohs two more tries in the second half and to close out the match.
Gareth Widdop, who has been fantastic for the Dragons this year, plays his first game against his former club.
It’s coming up to a very tricky period of the season for the Dragons who have to face Sydney, Canterbury, the in-form Eels and South Sydney again in the next five weeks following this game, so a win here could be worth twice as much.
It’s been a long, long time since the Dragons were successful in Melbourne and by Storm’s Coach Craig Bellamy’s own admission his side hasn’t been up to its usual standard in recent weeks.
With Melbourne capable of starting better the Dragons, they should be able to maintain that advantage for the remainder of the game.
Odds Comparison:
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| Melbourne Storm | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.33 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 |
| St George Illawarra Dragons | 3.65 | 3.60 | 3.40 | 3.60 | 3.65 | 3.50 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Melbourne Storm:
Billy Slater, Sisa Waqa, Will Chambers, Justin O’Neill, Young Tonumaipea, Ben Hampton, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith (c), Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Ryan Hoffman, Ryan Hinchcliffe. Interchange: Kenny Bromwich, Tohu Harris, Mitch Garbutt, Tim Glasby
St George Illawarra Dragons:
Josh Dugan, Brett Morris, Dylan Farrell, Gerard Beale, Jason Nightingale, Gareth Widdop, Michael Witt, Jack Stockwell, Mitch Rein, Dan Hunt, Joel Thompson, Ben Creagh (c), Trent Merrin. Interchange: Bronson Harrison, Kyle Stanley, Mike Cooper, Leeson Ah Mau, Adam Quinlan, Josh Ailaomai
