Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 20 clash between the Roosters and the Storm.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Sydney Roosters Vs Melbourne Storm
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground
Date: Saturday July 15, 7:35pm.
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Roosters: 1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Joseph Manu 5. Joseph Suaalii 6. Luke Keary 7. Sandon Smith 8. Jared Waerea-Hargreaves 9. Jake Turpin 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Victor Radley 12. Nat Butcher 13. Nathan Brown 14. Brandon Smith 15. Egan Butcher 16. Siua Wong 17. Naufahu Whyte 18. Drew Hutchison 19. Terrell May 20. Corey Allan 21. Fetalaiga Pauga 22. Dylan Napa
Storm: 1. Nick Meaney 2. William Warbrick 3. Reimis Smith 4. Justin Olam 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Tui Kamikamica 9. Harry Grant 10. Christian Welch 11. Trent Loiero 12. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 13. Josh King 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Tom Eisenhuth 16. Tariq Sims 17. Bronson Garlick 18. Grant Anderson 19. Alec MacDonald 20. Jayden Nikorima 21. Marion Seve 22. Chris Lewis 23. George Jennings
Referee: Grant Atkins
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Right, it’s crunch time now.
Over the Trent Robinson era, the Sydney Roosters have garnered a reputation for underachieving for the first portion of a season, then timing their run of form perfectly and making a push for the premiership. We saw it last year when the Roosters went into the bye with a 7-9 record and put together an eight-game winning streak, rocketing them into the top six.
Incredibly, Easts find themselves in the exact same position now. The same record, coming off a bye, and with eight games remaining. That presents a real opportunity for this squad, particularly with the returns of Billy Smith, Egan Butcher, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, and former Melbourne star Brandon Smith. Coming off consecutive two-point losses, the Roosters will be looking to a little SCG magic to revive their season before it’s too late.
The Storm, on the other hand, are sitting nicely in the top four despite performing below the club’s lofty standards on the field. Also coming off a bye, the Storm will be looking to put a 34-16 loss to Penrith at Marvel Stadium behind them and push towards the top two. Craig Bellamy’s men are unchanged heading into this fixture, with Harry Grant, Xavier Coates, and Cameron Munster expected to back up from Origin III.
When these two sides met earlier in the season, Melbourne treated the home crowd to a dominant 28-8 victory, featuring a Xavier Coates hat-trick. The Storm has won six of their last seven matches against the Roosters, but when JWH and NAS clash on Saturday night, history will be the furthest thing from anybody’s minds.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Roosters 3, Storm 7.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Storm by 6 points.
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