Matchday Details
Friday, August 22 – 8pm (AEST) – AAMI Park
📺 Broadcast: Nine / Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Adam Gee | Bunker: Ashley Klein
Storm
1. Cameron Munster 2. Grant Anderson 3. Marion Seve 4. Nick Meaney 5. Xavier Coates 6. Jonah Pezet 7. Tyran Wishart 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Joe Chan 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero 14. Bronson Garlick 15. Alec Macdonald 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Ativalu Lisati Shawn Blore 18. Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown 19. Lazarus Vaalepu 20. Kane Bradley 21. Ryan Papenhuyzen 22. Nelson Asofa-Solomona
Bulldogs
1. Connor Tracey 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Bronson Xerii 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Enari Tuala 6. Matt Burton 7. Lachlan Galvin 8. Max King 9. Bailey Hayward 10. Samuel Hughes 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Jacob Preston 13. Jaeman Salmon 14. Kurt Mann 15. Harry Hayes 16. Josh Curran 17. Reed Mahoney 19. Toby Sexton 20. Jake Turpin 21. Daniel Suluka-Fifita 22. Marcelo Montoya 23. Sitili Tupouniua
Match Preview
An all-top four battle closes a fantastic Friday of footy when the second-placed Melbourne Storm play host to the third-placed Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at AAMI Park.
There’s plenty at stake for both sides, particularly a top two finish and two home finals.
Fresh off their thrilling Golden Point victory against Penrith last weekend, Storm coach Craig Bellamy has stuck with the winning formula, naming Cameron Munster at fullback and Jonah Pezet and Tyran Wishart in the halves. Joe Chan has been promoted to the starting side in the back row with Shawn Blore unavailable due to an ankle complaint, with Bronson Garlick joining the bench. Ryan Papenhuyzen has been named among the reserves as he aims to return from concussion. Centre Marion Seve, who made his return from a serious eye injury last week, has been named to play his 50th first grade game.
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has stuck solid, naming an unchanged 17 to the one that was defeated by the Roosters last Friday. Marcelo Montoya has been named among the reserves as he nears his return from a neck injury and may take the place of Enari Tuala, who struggled under the Roosters’ aerial attack. Sitili Tupouniua has also been named among the reserves as he aims to come back from a hamstring issue.
With their for-and-against far better than Canterbury’s, a win in this match would guarantee a top two finish for Melbourne. They could climb to first if they win and Canberra are beaten by Penrith in Mudgee earlier in the evening.
The Bulldogs could still earn a top two finish with a loss, but would need to win their last two games and have the Raiders lose all their remaining games in order to do so. Victory would guarantee the Bulldogs cannot finish below third.
If the Bulldogs are to win, they’ll need backrower Viliame Kikau at his best. Kikau has had 43 offloads this season (fifth most in the NRL), but only two in the past three matches. He’s also run for less than 100 metres in each of those matches and missed 24 tackles in his past five (81.9% tackle efficiency). His struggles are putting additional pressure on Matt Burton on the left but won’t get any easier against Eliesa Katoa, who has failed to run for 100 metres only twice this season and has a 92% tackle efficiency. Katoa is one of the Storm’s best attacking weapons, scoring 10 tries for the season, the equal-most of any forward in the NRL.
After being bombarded by Daniel Tupou last weekend, the job for Tuala only gets harder this week, facing off against the competition’s leading tryscorer and another aerial specialist in Xavier Coates. Coates is in career-best form and is among the most athletic wingers in the competition.
For a long time, the Bulldogs were one of the few teams to boast a winning record against the Storm, however an 8-1 run in favour of the Storm (including 16-14 in their last meeting in round 6 last year) since 2017 has swung the ledger in favour of the Victorians. The Storm have won seven of the 11 matches between the two sides at AAMI Park, however only one game (in 2022) has been decided by more than 14 points.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Storm by 6.
See our full Round 25 Predictions (live Wednesday 12pm) here: 2025 NRL Tipping: Round 25 Writer Predictions
Have your say: Who wins? Drop your tip in the comments or vote in our poll.
Related Links
- Round 25 Late Mail
- 2025 NRL Round 24 Injury List
