Saturday’s NRL 2018 Round 20 match is between Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:35 local time with the game to be played at AAMI Park, Melbourne. The home team Melbourne Storm are the favourites for the match.

View our preview and teams for the game between Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders.

When: 19:35 | Saturday 28/07/2018

Where: AAMI Park, Melbourne

Preview:

Off a clinical workmanlike performance last week which saw the Storm pick up the 2 points, this game poses to be a real danger.

Melbourne struggle to defend ad-lib play and the Raiders have a stack of it.

They are one of the best attacking sides in the comp averaging 25 points a game with the pressure valve lifted.

A very hard team to stop once they have a roll on.

Look for the Storm to slow them down as much as possible and kick early to turn the big forwards around and fatigue them out.

KEY BATTLE: Cameron Smith v Josh Hodgson

So many good matchups across the park but the one for me is the two hookers.

Both these players have the ability to single handedly change the game.

Smith has been outstanding through the Origin period guiding his troops to victory while Hodgson has been electric since his return from injury.

The Verdict

The Storm will make you earn every point and I think at home, they will get the job done.

I do however think they will be very much tested and it wouldn’t surprise me if they were beaten.

Melbourne leads the Raiders 10-5 since 2010 and have an 8-5-1 (60.7 percent) line record in games played during July since 2015.

Unibet Odds:

Melbourne Storm at $1.30

Canberra Raiders at $3.60

Odds:

Tip: Melbourne Storm at $1.30

Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Curtin Scott at $17.00

More Info:

Teams:

Melbourne Storm:

1 Billy Slater, 2 Suliasi Vunivalu, 3 Will Chambers, 4 Curtis Scott, 5 Josh Addo-Carr, 6 Cameron Munster, 7 Jahrome Hughes, 8 Jesse Bromwich, 9 Cameron Smith (c), 10 Nelson Asofa-Solomona, 11 Felise Kaufusi, 12 Ryan Hoffman, 13 Dale Finucane

Interchange: 14 Kenny Bromwich, 15 Tim Glasby, 16 Christian Welch, 17 Joe Stimson

Reserves: 18 Tui Kamikamica, 19 Brodie Croft, 20 Cheyse Blair, 21 Albert Vete.

Canberra Raiders:

1 Brad Abbey, 2 Michael Oldfield, 3 Nick Cotric, 4 Joseph Leilua, 5 Jordan Rapana, 6 Blake Austin, 7 Sam Williams, 8 Dunamis Lui, 9 Josh Hodgson (c), 10 Junior Paulo, 11 Joseph Tapine, 12 Elliott Whitehead, 13 Josh Papalii

Interchange: 14 Liam Knight, 15 Luke Bateman, 16 Siliva Havili, 17 Iosia Soliola

Reserves: 18 Jack Murchie, 19 Makahesi Makatoa, 20 Royce Hunt, 21 Emre Guler.

NRL News:

Melbourne Storm superstar Billy Slater is yet to decide on his NRL future but says this time he won’t leave his club hanging until after grand final day.

The 35-year-old is weighing up whether to extend his decorated career into a 17th season, having made his final representative appearance during this year’s State of Origin series.

Slater last year helped the Storm to the premiership but waited until their end of season awards night to announce that he would play on in 2018.

The Storm are top of the ladder with six rounds remaining and eyeing off back-to-back titles but Slater says that won’t factor into his decision-making.

“I would have thought that I’d make the decision before we get to that,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“I’ve been fortunate to play in many grand finals, I’ve won four. That’s not going to determine whether I go on next year.

“It’ll be everything. It’ll be my body, it’ll be my mind and whether I feel I can give 100 per cent next year.”

The Storm have enjoyed enviable depth this season with Jahrome Hughes impressing while filling in for Slater at fullback during the State of Origin window.

“It doesn’t impact on my decision but it is great for the club,” Slater said.

“We’ve had guys come through in the past, Cameron Munster, Brodie Croft, young Brandon Smith. The club’s in good hands, obviously doing a great job at recruitment and bringing these young guys in and turning them into consistent first-grade footballers.

“With Craig (Bellamy) at the helm for another three years, it’s in a good position moving forward. It certainly gives you comfort that the club’s going to be competitive.”

Melbourne host 10th-placed Canberra at AAMI Park on Saturday night and Slater said the Storm were well-placed to extend their seven-game winning streak.

“This time of the year, you want to be playing good football,” he said.

“There’s only six games to go until the finals and for us, we’re all back together now.

“Origin’s over, we’ve got a few guys back from injury. It’s about the time that we need to start building on our performances.”