Matchday Details
Friday, August 29 – 8pm (AEST) – AAMI Park
📺 Broadcast: Nine / Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Todd Smith | Bunker: Liam Kennedy
Storm
1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Kane Bradley 3. Marion Seve 4. Grant Anderson 5. Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown 6. Cameron Munster 7. Tyran Wishart 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Bronson Garlick 10. Alec MacDonald 11. Shawn Blore 12. Joe Chan 13. Trent Loiero 14. Jonah Pezet 15. Ativalu Lisati 16. Lazarus Vaalepu 17. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 18. Sualauvi Faalogo 19. Josiah Pahulu 20. Will Warbrick 21. Keagan Russell-Smith 22. Angus Hinchey
Roosters
1. James Tedesco 2. Daniel Tupou 3. Billy Smith 4. Robert Toia 5. Mark Nawaqanitawase 6. Sandon Smith 7. Hugo Savala 8. Spencer Leniu 9. Connor Watson 10. Lindsay Collins 11. Angus Crichton 12. Victor Radley 13. Naufahu Whyte 14. Benaiah Ioelu 15. Egan Butcher 16. Salesi Foketi 17. Siua Wong 18. Ethan King 19. Blake Steep 20. Toby Rodwell 21. Tom Rodwell 22. Taylor Losalu
Match Preview
Two rounds remain in the Telstra Premiership regular season for 2025 and battle for positions continues to heat up when the Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters meet on Friday night.
The Storm are locked into the top two, but remain in the hunt for the minor premiership, while the Roosters are clinging to eighth and will take a huge step towards the finals if they can claim victory.
Melbourne have lost Harry Grant for two games due to suspension, so Bronson Garlick joins the side at hooker. Craig Bellamy has also taken the opportunity to rest some of his big guns ahead of the finals, with Nick Meaney, Xavier Coates, Josh King, Eliesa Katoa, and Tui Kamikamica all sitting out. Into the side comes Kane Bradley, Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown, and Lazarus Va’alepu, while Shawn Blore returns from injury, and Nelson Asofa-Solomona is included on the bench – having made his return from injury via the Sunshine Coast Falcons in the Hostplus Cup.
Trent Robinson has called on Sandon Smith to join Hugo Savala in the halves following Sam Walker’s concussion against Parramatta last weekend. Daniel Tupou will return on the left wing in place of Junior Tupou after missing the Eels’ loss due to delayed concussion symptoms. Spencer Leniu has been named to start at prop with Lindsay Collins, while Naufahu Whyte has been named at lock, with Victor Radley in the second row, and Siua Wong on the bench.
Although they haven’t been super clinical at times, the Storm have been the form team of the second half of the competition, winning 11 of their past 12, including the past five in a row. Their only loss since round 12 was a two-point loss to Manly in round 20, while their 20-14 win over Canterbury was their fourth win in the past five weeks by a converted try or less. Although they only had 46% of the ball against the Bulldogs, they made it count, completing at 90% for the match. The Storm are comfortably the best attacking team in the competition, while they rank second in terms of fewest missed tackles and fewest points conceded. They will need to keep that form up against a Roosters side that also knows how to score and save points.
The Roosters have been their own worst enemy in so many of their losses in 2025, but their efforts in the 30-10 loss to Parramatta may have been a new low. They made a dismal 22 errors in the 80 minutes, including completing just six of their 18 second half sets, and are second only to North Queensland (who have played an extra game) for handling errors in the competition. If there was one positive to come from their collapse on Saturday night, it’s the remarkable fact that they did not concede a line break despite conceding six tries. If they are to return to the winners’ circle, they need to return to the form that saw them win their three games before the Eels.
It’s been just five weeks since the Storm escaped Allianz Stadium with a 34-30 win, their seventh in a row against the Roosters and their 12th in 13 games since 2020. The Roosters will be hoping for a repeat of their most recent win over the Storm in 2022, when they travelled to AAMI Park in the penultimate round and won 18-14.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy will make history on Friday night when he becomes the first person to coach 600 games for a single club. Only Wayne Bennett, Tim Sheens, and Brian Smith have coached 600 games prior to Bellamy.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Storm by 12.
See our full Round 26 Predictions (live Wednesday 12pm) here: 2025 NRL Tipping: Round 26 Writer Predictions
Have your say: Who wins? Drop your tip in the comments or vote in our poll.
