Saturday’s NRL Finals 2017 match is between Melbourne Storm and the Parramatta Eels. The opening kick is set to commence at 16:10 local time with the game to be played at AAMI. The home team Melbourne Storm are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Melbourne Storm and the Parramatta Eels.
When: 16:10 | Saturday 9/9/2017
Where: AAMI
Preview:
Melbourne love a milestone almost as much as they love their skipper Cameron Smith so put the two together and they will take some stopping. While booking a preliminary final comes first, they will want to do Smith proud as he plays his 356th NRL game to break Darren Lockyer’s record. The Eels have won their past two at AAMI Park so can take some confidence from that, albeit against Storm teams missing a swag of Origin stars. Parramatta’s game rests on the performance of young halfback Mitchell Moses. The 22-year-old has been a major factor in the Eels’ best regular-season showing since their minor premiership of 2005, with the club winning 11 of 14 games after his mid-season arrival. The Eels have been in fine form but stopping the minor premiers on Smith’s big day is a mammoth ask.
Key: How will Parramatta counter the Storm’s domination in the ruck?
Tip: Storm
Odds:
OFFER: Deposit $50 BET with $200 via this link – Ends Soon!
Tip: Melbourne Storm at $1.20
Value BET: First Try Scorer – Billy Slater at $12.00
More Info:
Head to Head: Storm 19 Eels 13
Last clash: Round 18, 2017 – Eels 22 bt Storm 6 at AAMI Park.
Tab Sportsbet: Storm $1.20 Eels $4.75
FootyTAB: Eels +12.5
Teams:
Storm: 
1. Billy Slater 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. William Chambers 4. Curtis Scott 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Jordan McLean 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Tohu Harris 13. Dale Finucane 14. Kenneath Bromwich 15. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 16. Tim Glasby 17. Slade Griffin 18. Jahrome Hughes 19. Robbie Rochow 20. Joe Stimson 21. Young Tonumaipea
Eels: 
1. Will Smith 2. Semi Radradra 3. Michael Jennings 4. Brad Takairangi 5. Kirisome Auva’a 6. Corey Norman 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Daniel Alvaro 9. Cameron King 10. Tim Mannah 11. Manu Ma’u 12. Tepai Moeroa 13. Nathan Brown 14. Beau Scott 15. Kenny Edwards 16. Siosaia Vave 17. Suaia Matagi 18. Kaysa Pritchard 19. Josh Hoffman 20. David Gower 21. Frank Pritchard
NRL News:
Anthony Seibold is expected to be named as South Sydney’s new coach on Thursday morning, just two days after Michael Maguire was sacked by the club.
The Rabbitohs will unveil their new coach on Thursday morning, where Seibold is expected to edge out fellow assistant David Furner to take the reins.
Seibold’s manager was also spotted at the Rabbitohs base this morning, while the quick announcement means the club is unlikely to have had time to call for other expressions of interest.
The news comes as Queensland State of Origin stars Darius Boyd and Valentine Holmes threw their weight behind the Maroons assistant.
Seibold has formed a key part of Queensland camp for the past two years, and arrived at Redfern this year from previous stints at Manly and Melbourne.
“I think he is really good to be honest,” Boyd said.
“He knows a lot about his footy and gets along well with the players.
“We’ve had him at Origin for two years now and I have been really impressed with what he has done.
“It’s easier when you are an assistant, I don’t know what he is like as a full-time coach but around the blokes at Origin he is quiet but gets through what he needs to say and gets his point across.”
The 42-year-old Seibold is considered extremely composed by those who have played under and worked alongside him, and is understood to be a very deep thinker of the game.
He was coincidentally a teammate of Maguire in his only NRL season at Canberra in 1998, while he has a history in teaching and sports science.
He moved from Mackay’s Queensland Cup coach into a development role at Melbourne in 2014, where he was highly regarded by the likes of Craig Bellamy and the Storm playing group.
Working centrally in development and planning, he played a key role in the growth of Cameron Munster and Tim Glasby, and also coached Queensland’s under-16s and under-18s sides between 2012 and 2014 which Holmes played in.
They’re factors which could be considered important given Souths had five rookies play for them this season.
“He’s really good – really direct,” Holmes said.
“He knows his footy and he has obviously played it before. I think if he does get the job I’m sure he will do fine with the team he’s got.
“He’s obviously coached younger guys like me as a head coach, so it wouldn’t be a big step for him.”
