Saturday second NRL Round 26 match is between Melbourne Storm and Gold Coast Titans with the opening kick to commence at 5.30pm local time. The game is to be played at AAMI Park which see’s home team Melbourne Storm hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Melbourne Storm and Gold Coast Titans.

WHERE AND WHEN: AAMI Park, 5.30pm (EST) Saturday

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Opening odds comparison:

Melbourne Storm	1.10	1.08	1.14	1.08	1.10	N/A
Gold Coast Titans	7.00	7.75	6.00	7.75	7.00	N/A

Preview:

The Gold Coast Titans play the Melbourne Strom on Saturday, 5.30pm at AAMI Park. The Storm should win here easily, although the Titans are on a high at the moment after upsetting the Roosters last round. While the Gold Coast are also a slight chance of making the finals, they too have to rely on the unlikely result of the Cowboys losing to the Tigers. With none of the Titans injured players returning for this game and hope of a finals berth unlikely, the Storm should be able to ride this one out.

Teams:

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

Gold Coast Titans:
Kevin Gordon, Steve Michaels, Brad Takairangi, Jordan Atkins, Anthony Don, Aidan Sezer, Albert Kelly, Luke Douglas, Beau Falloon, Ryan James, Greg Bird, Ben Ridge, Nate Myles. Interchange: David Taylor, Luke Bailey, Jamie Dowling, Matt Srama, Mark Ioane (one to be omitted).

Referees: Shayne Hayne, Gavin Morris.

Widdop on track for Storm NRL finals

Melbourne five-eighth Gareth Widdop is planning a shock return from a dislocated hip for the NRL finals.

The England international is set to play in the Storm’s Queensland Cup feeder side Easts this Sunday and is eyeing a spot in week one of the finals.

Widdop wasn’t expected to play again this season after suffering the horrific injury against Gold Coast in round 15 in late June.

He was initially only hopeful of being fit for the Rugby League World Cup, which kicks off in the UK on October 26, but is ready for an early comeback with rehabilitation well ahead of schedule.

“If he plays on Sunday, we’ll obviously see how he goes for the finals,” said Storm Football Manager Frank Ponissi.

“He’s only been training with the team for two weeks but it’s a lot better than we thought.

“He’s done a bit of contact and will do a bit more tomorrow.

“He’s well and truly been put through his paces.”

While Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy last week played down a possible return for the playmaker, the Storm dropped a big hint last weekend that Widdop was ready to get back into action.

The 24-year-old was named on the Easts Tigers’ official team sheet for their Queensland Cup final-round clash with Souths Logan Magpies.

Widdop never intended actually playing but had to be named once during the season to qualify for their semi-final against Mackay Cutters on Sunday.

It meant Easts were a player short on the bench but the move was cleared by the Queensland Rugby League and the Tigers weren’t troubled, winning 50-6.

Ponissi said Widdop still had to complete Storm training this week.

As long as he did that, he would start for Easts and then be available for Melbourne’s first final against South Sydney or the Sydney Roosters.

Meanwhile, coach Craig Bellamy has named an 18-man squad to take on the Titans in the their last regular-season game at AAMI Park on Saturday afternoon.

It’s an unchanged side from the one that was soundly beaten 28-8 by Manly, with Tim Glasby added to the bench.

While Melbourne can finish no lower than fourth, Gold Coast can still make the finals if they win and either Newcastle or North Queensland lose.