Friday has two NRL matches with the first game for Round 22 is between Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs with the opening kick to commence at 7:35PM local time. The game is to be played at AAMI Park with the favourite for the match being Melbourne Storm. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Melbourne Storm and South Sydney Rabbitohs.

WHERE AND WHEN: AAMI Park, Friday, 09/08, 7:35PM

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Opening odds comparison:

Melbourne Storm	1.35	1.36	1.30	1.36	1.35	1.38
South Sydney Rabbitohs	3.20	3.20	3.65	3.20	3.20	3.20

Preview:

Round 22 of the NRL kicks off this weekend, with a number of matches to look forward to as we get closer to the finals. The first game is between the Melbourne Storm and the South Sydney Rabbitohs, 7.35pm Friday night at AAMI Park. The Storm should be able to win here, with South Sydney losing momentum at the wrong time of the season. With Greg Inglis and John Sutton both out, they may struggle to regain lost momentum against an in-form Storm outfit. In contrast, Melbourne are on the rise, and will be keen to stay in front of the Bulldogs going into September.

Teams:

Melbourne Storm:
Billy Slater, Sisa Waqa, Will Chambers, Maurice Blair, Mahe Fonua, Brett Finch, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith, Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Ryan Hoffman, Ryan Hinchcliffe. Interchange: Jason Ryles, Tohu Harris, Jordan McLean, Kenneath Bromwich, Slade Griffin

South Sydney Rabbitohs:
Nathan Merritt, Dylan Farrell, Bryson Goodwin, Dylan Walker, Matt King, Luke Keary, Adam Reynolds, Sam Burgess, Issac Luke, George Burgess, Chris McQueen, Ben Te’o, Ben Lowe. Interchange: Nathan Peats, Jeff Lima, Roy Asotasi, Thomas Burgess

Inglis will play for Souths, say Storm

Greg Inglis remains a 50/50 proposition to be fit to face his former club Melbourne on Friday night at AAMI Park but the coach Craig Bellamy is preparing his side to expect the superstar fullback’s NRL return.

Souths have lost two of the three games Inglis has been absent since injuring his knee in the State of Origin decider but he ran freely at training at Redfern Oval on Thursday.

The Rabbitohs remain tight-lipped about whether Inglis would face his former teammates but Bellamy said they were preparing for his presence.

“I spoke to GI (Inglis) a couple of weeks ago and he said it was going along better than expected so we’re certainly expecting him to play,” Bellamy said.

“Part of our training has been around Greg, which you have to do for a player of his ability.

“There will be no surprises for us if he plays.”

The Storm are still to make a decision on in-form centre Maurice Blair, who escaped a serious neck injury after landing awkwardly in a tackle.

Bellamy said Blair was still sore despite not suffering any major damage.

Luke Keary will make his first NRL start after being named Souths five-eighth following an ankle injury to John Sutton, with Bellamy impressed by the 21-year-old.

“I’ve watched him over the last few years in the under-20s and he’s been coming off the bench in the last few games and he’s a very talented player.

“He’s got a really good running game, he shows the ball a fair bit and he’s got really good pace so hopefully we can defend well enough to control him tomorrow night.”

Bellamy wasn’t entirely convinced Keary would start and thought his opponents might lead with Dylan Farrell at No.6.

Playmaker John Sutton is one Rabbitoh who is certain to miss the clash due to an ankle injury.

And Bellamy has challenged his players to back up their stunning win over Canberra against Souths.

Melbourne flexed their premiership muscle in the 68-4 win while Souths have hit a flat spot.

“Last week was a real reward for the players for being consistent for 80 minutes and starting the game well and we need to back that up this week,” Bellamy said.

“We don’t want to go into week on, week off so I expect the players’ effort and attitude that was on display in Canberra to be on again display again.”