Matchday Details
Friday, 20 March 2026 – 8:00pm AEDT – AAMI Park, Melbourne
📺 Broadcast: Nine / Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Todd Smith | Bunker: Chris Butler
Melbourne Storm
1. Sualauvi Faalogo, 2. Will Warbrick, 3. Jack Howarth, 4. Moses Leo, 5. Nick Meaney, 6. Cameron Munster, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. Stefano Utoikamanu, 9. Harry Grant (c), 10. Josh King, 11. Joe Chan, 12. Ativalu Lisati, 13. Tui Kamikamica, 14. Tyran Wishart, 15. Trent Loiero, 16. Davvy Moale, 17. Cooper Clarke, 18. Alec MacDonald, 19. Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown, 20. Jack Hetherington, 21. Preston Conn, 22. Trent Toelau
Brisbane Broncos
1. Reece Walsh, 2. Josiah Karapani, 3. Kotoni Staggs, 4. Deine Mariner, 5. Grant Anderson, 6. Ezra Mam, 7. Adam Reynolds, 8. Corey Jensen, 9. Cory Paix, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Xavier Willison, 12. Jordan Riki, 13. Patrick Carrigan, 14. Ben Hunt, 15. Ben Talty, 16. Aublix Tawha, 17. Gehamat Shibasaki, 18. Brendan Piakura, 19. Jaiyden Hunt, 20. Blake Mozer, 21. Jesse Arthars, 22. Thomas Duffy
Match Preview
Arguably the biggest rivalry in the NRL era resumes with both teams on either end of the ladder.
Melbourne (1st) opened the season with wins over Parramatta and St George-Illawarra and extended their Round 1 streak to 24 games. While Melbourne had their doubters after some key off-season departures, it looks like business as usual for the Storm so far.
Brisbane (15th) had a heavy loss to Penrith and a high-scoring loss to Parramatta. The most concerning part was they were both prime-time games at Suncorp Stadium. The Broncos (and the broadcasters) love their Thursday/Friday home games, so losing two in row would be a worry. Brisbane came off an eventful off-season: backlash over the controversial new logo, Payne Haas signing with Souths (with rumours on overdrive over the real reason he chose to leave), the Toowoomba pre-season camp, and the World Club Challenge loss. As one of the glamour clubs of the NRL (if not the glamour club), Brisbane must accept when the brickbats come as fast as the bouquets.
Brisbane won’t be panicking yet, but an 0-3 start could make them a little nervous. While they love playing risky, attacking footy, Madge won’t be happy with conceding 66 points in two games.
While Melbourne have dominated this rivalry since 1998 (43 wins, 16 losses, 1 draw), Brisbane are starting to pull it back, with crucial wins in Round 27 (which sealed fourth place) and the 2025 Grand Final. But they’ve struggled at AAMI Park, with only three wins in 17 games (including a 22-2 loss last season).
Trent Loiero returns from his two-match Grand Final ban and will sit on the bench. Grant Anderson makes his Broncos debut against his former club, with Deine Mariner moving to centre and Gehamat Shibasaki on the bench. While Adam Reynolds is named (after a rib injury last week), there’s doubts if he’ll actually play.
The key match-up (and potentially the most entertaining) is Sualauvi Faalogo vs Reece Walsh.
Walsh’s superstar status was cemented when he almost single-handedly won Brisbane the 2025 premiership with that incredible finals run, won the Clive Churchill Medal, and made his Kangaroos debut. The Parramatta game was textbook Walsh: while he made mistakes, he also scored two tries, but this time it wasn’t enough to beat the Eels. While he’s not everyone’s favourite player, Walsh has the cast-iron self-belief to shrug off errors and dominate games when it matters.
After playing just seven games last season, Faalogo is taking advantage of Ryan Papenhuyzen’s surprise departure to make the Storm fullback jersey his own. Faalago has already scored five tries in two games and turned the Dragons match with a hat-trick in the final 18 minutes. This could be the first of many box office battles with Walsh.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Storm by 14 points.
Bold call: Harry Grant will expose the Broncos’ defence and score another try from a dummy half run.
Related
- NRL Round 3 Hub
- NRL Round 3 2026 Predictions & Tips
- NRL Round 3 Team Lists – 2026 Season
- NRL 2026 Results Tracker
- 2026 NRL Match Review Results Tracker: Charges, Suspensions & Fines
- NRL Injury List 2026
