Sunday’s third NRL Round 13 match is between Melbourne Storm and Cronulla Sharks with the opening kick to commence at 6:30pm local time. The game is to be played at AAMI Park with the home team Melbourne Storm hold favouritism in the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Melbourne Storm and Cronulla Sharks.

AAMI Park

Sunday 6.30pm

Featured Bookmakers:

Melbourne Storm $1.35 vs Cronulla Sharks $3.20 at Sportsbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Melbourne Storm $1.35 vs Cronulla Sharks $3.30 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison by NRL Odds:

Melbourne Storm	1.35	1.30	1.35	1.30	1.35	1.34
Cronulla Sharks	3.20	3.65	3.30	3.65	3.20	3.17

Preview:

The Storm registered their first win in four matches when defeated the Roosters 26-18.

It was a much needed win as several of the Storm’s key players will be facing a testing schedule over the next two months with Origin having kicked off on Wednesday.

It rounded out a tough month in terms of the draw for the Storm having had faced Manly and an in-form Panthers outfit but things will not get any easier for them here, facing the Sharks that have strung three wins together.

Wins over West and Canberra were just the tonic the Sharks needed heading into their round 11 clash against competition front-runners South Sydney in their last game.

They turned in their best performance of the season and defeated South 14-12.

This form and their recent record against Melbourne, will have the Sharks fancying their chances here plus, expect Todd Carney, who this year missed out on a sport in the New South Wales side this year, out to prove the selectors wrong.

Only two points separated the two teams when they met twice last year, with honours split.

Only once in the past four five clashes, has more than six points separated these two sides when the siren has sounded.

Expect another tough clash here.

Teams:

Melbourne Storm:
Billy Slater, Sisa Waqa, Maurice Blair, Will Chambers, Justin O’Neill, Gareth Widdop, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith (capt), Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Ryan Hoffman, Ryan Hinchcliffe. Interchange: Jason Ryles, Tohu Harris, Junior Moors, Jordan McLean, Brett Finch, Tim Glasby, Kenneath Bromwich (three to be omitted).

Cronulla Sharks:
Michael Gordon, Sosaia Feki, Ben Pomeroy, Jonathan Wright, Beau Ryan, Todd Carney, Jeff Robson, Andrew Fifita, John Morris, Ben Ross, Luke Lewis, Wade Graham, Paul Gallen (c). Interchange: Chris Heighington, Jayson Bukuya, Isaac De Gois, Anthony Tupou, Tyrone Peachey, Sam Tagataese.

Storm confident NRL form slump is over

Defending NRL premiers Melbourne Storm have regained their self-belief but face another massive test in Sunday’s clash with Cronulla, centre Will Chambers says.

The Sharks are sixth on the table and scored an upset win over competition leaders South Sydney in round 11.

Melbourne and Cronulla both had a bye last week and Chambers says the second-placed Storm have put their mini form slump, which resulted in consecutive losses to Canberra and Penrith, behind them.

Following a draw with arch rivals Manly and victory over the third-placed Roosters on May 25, the Storm’s squad returned to training on Monday fresh from the bye and armed with plenty of confidence.

“A lot of people wrote us off. Everyone was doubting us,” Chambers told reporters on Monday.

“We knew amongst ourselves we weren’t far off.

“We just knew we had to get back to playing basic footy which we did and got some really good momentum out of it.

“I just relaxed (last weekend). I went down to Sorrento and I just got away from footy for a bit. A lot of the boys got away from Melbourne.

“It has a been a very long and tough start to the year.

“We’ve had a run this morning and everyone’s full of energy.

“Everyone was bagging us there for a bit about the slump we were in. But we’ve all freshened up now.”

The Storm will sweat on the fitness of Queensland Origin trio Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and NSW star Ryan Hoffman for the AAMI Stadium clash with the Sharks.

The visitors have Paul Gallen, Luke Lewis and Andrew Fifita in action for NSW on Wednesday night.

“They are going very well,” Chambers said of the Sharks.

“They have a dominant forward pack so it’s going to be a tough game.

“State of Origin is a pretty physical game so you don’t know who’s going to get through it.”