Monday last NRL match for Round 6 is between Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons with the opening kick to commence at 7pm. The game is to be played at AAMI Park with the favourite for the match being Melbourne Storm. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Melbourne Storm and St George Illawarra Dragons.
WHERE AND WHEN: AAMI Park, Monday, 7pm (AEST)
Odds Comparison:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| 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.
Preview:
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.
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.
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
Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy has given prop Jordan McLean a 10-day break from training after the NRL club opted not to appeal against his seven-match ban for his lifting tackle on Alex McKinnon.
McLean has returned home to be with his mother Julie at the town of Young in the south west of NSW.
The NRL and Melbourne have said they’ve been consistently monitoring the welfare of the 22-year-old and Bellamy said he had left the club ahead of Monday’s clash with St George Illawarra and would return for their round-seven match in Canberra in two weeks.
“He is having a bit of a break at the moment,” Bellamy said on Friday.
“He has gone home to see his mum, which is good for his mum. I can’t imagine how she has been feeling.
“So he will stay up there for about 10 days.
“We play the Raiders up there next weekend so he will come and join us then and get back into his training.
“At the end of the day, we decided not to appeal for the welfare of the people involved, certainly Jordan, and certainly in respect to Alex.
“We think that was the right way to go and that is what we have done and we will now move on.”
Melbourne sought clarification from the NRL this week regarding Match Review Committee charges from round five.
The Storm were left bemused after Gold Coast hooker Beau Falloon was cleared of a lifting tackle on Storm centre Will Chambers and St George Illawarra’s Joel Thompson wasn’t charged over a tackle on South Sydney fullback Greg Inglis.
But Bellamy said that wasn’t his main concern after watching his team slump to two straight defeats.
“They have their job to do. I can only worry about the things I can control,” he said.
“I’m more concerned about getting our defence right … it has been in the past and is not where we want it to be.
“That is something we have worked really hard on and hopefully you will see some results on Monday night.
“There has been some poor decision-making at times.
“The lack of urgency in certain situations has been quite alarming.
“That is what we expect to improve on.”
Former playmaker Gareth Widdop faces the Storm for the first time on Monday and Bellamy said he was pleased the England international had been a success so far in his move to the Dragons.
“We are really happy that Gaz is doing really well,” he said.
“He has come out of playing with these guys here, where I wouldn’t say he was playing second fiddle but he was not getting the ball all the time when he wanted it.
“At St George, he seems to be the head man there and that has helped him really blossom.
“He has always had a cool head. I think that role is perfectly made for him.”
