Melbourne host Manly in the final match of the round and surprisingly, both clubs come into this game having lost two of their past three matches.
Melbourne had their fifteen game winning streak broken by Canberra in Round 8 (24-20) and then struggled against the Penrith last week who, after jumping to an early lead, were able to defy Melbourne’s challenges late and scored a 12-10 win.
Neither performance is what we’ve come to expect from Melbourne and had no genuine excuse in either loss.
With Sydney Roosters next week and then losing several key players to Origin duty, Melbourne must win this game.
Manly’s loss to Souths (20-12) and last week to Roosters (16-4) were separated by a hard fought win over St. George (24-18) in round 8.
Each of these games has been tough encounters and will serve as good preparation for the Storm who by their own admission, have been poor.
The Storm beat Manly twice last year (both high-scoring games) and are a professional unit capable of turning it around and have to no option at the current moment in time but to win here.
Odds Comparison by NRL odds:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Melbourne Storm | 1.50 | 1.45 | 1.44 | 1.45 | 1.50 | 1.50 |
|
Manly Sea Eagles
|
2.65 | 2.80 | 2.85 | 2.80 | 2.65 | 2.65 |
Teams:
Melbourne Storm:
Billy Slater, Sisa Waqa, Will Chambers, Justin O’Neill, Mahe Fonua, Gareth Widdop, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith (c), Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Ryan Hoffman, Tohu Harris. Interchange: Jason Ryles, Junior Moors, Maurice Blair, Slade Griffin, Lagi Setu.
Manly Sea Eagles:
Peta Hiku, Jorge Taufua, Jamie Lyon (c), Steve Matai, David Williams, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Brenton Lawrence, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Justin Horo, Glenn Stewart. Interchange: David Gower, Tom Symonds, Jamie Buhrer, George Rose, James Hasson
