Matchday Details
Sunday 10 May – 2pm (AEST) – AAMI Park, Melbourne
📺 Broadcast: Fox League / Kayo
Referee: Adam Gee | Senior Review Official: Chris Butler
Melbourne Storm: 1. Sualauvi Faalogo, 2. Will Warbrick, 3. Jack Howarth, 4. Nick Meaney, 5. Hugo Peel, 6. Cameron Munster, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. Stefano Utoikamanu, 9. Harry Grant, 10. Josh King, 11. Shawn Blore, 12. Ativalu Lisati, 13. Trent Loiero, 14. Trent Toelau, 15. Joe Chan, 16. Davvy Moale, 17. Cooper Clarke, 18. Stanley Huen, 19. Manaia Waitere, 20. Jack Hetherington, 21. Lazarus Vaalepu, 22. Moses Leo.
Wests Tigers: 1. Heath Mason, 2. Sunia Turuva, 3. Patrick Herbert, 4. Taylan May, 5. Luke Laulilii, 6. Jarome Luai, 7. Jock Madden, 8. Terrell May, 9. Tristan Hope, 10. Fonua Pole, 11. Sione Fainu, 12. Kai Pearce-Paul, 13. Alex Twal, 14. Latu Fainu, 15. Bunty Afoa, 16. Alex Seyfarth, 17. Royce Hunt, 18. Mavrik Geyer, 19. Jeral Skelton, 20. Charlie Murray, 21. Tony Sukkar, 22. Javon Andrews.
Match Preview
Sunday afternoon footy for Round 10 heads to Melbourne, as the Storm look to end their seven-game losing streak against the Tigers at AAMI Park.
A disappointing second half last week saw the Storm fall 28-10 to the Dolphins, while the Tigers got a huge wake-up call in the form of a 52-10 thrashing at the hands of the Sharks. The loss has kept the Storm languishing in 16th. The Tigers on the other hand have fallen out of the top four and find themselves in fifth.
For the Storm, bittersweet news with Jahrome Hughes named to return at halfback. His inclusion comes at the expense of Tyran Wishart, who is out after suffering an ankle injury last week. Stanley Huen is named on the six-man bench and is in line for a potential debut.
For the Tigers, Benji Marshall has rung the changes after a disappointing performance last week. Heath Mason is named at fullback, with Sunia Turuva shifting to the wing in place of Tino Tavana. Patrick Herbert returns at centre, replacing Starford To’a. Adam Doueihi is out after dislocating his shoulder last week, with Jock Madden named at halfback. Kai Pearce-Paul returns after missing last week due to concussion, replacing Tony Sukkar who drops to the reserves. Samuela Fainu is out with a fractured foot, with his brother Sione Fainu named to start in the back-row. Mavrik Geyer and Bunty Afoa join the six-man bench.
The key for the Storm will be maintaining their energy in defence. Last week they held the Dolphins to just four points in the first half, which was the first sign of the old Storm we’ve seen in several weeks. Unfortunately, that trend didn’t continue in the second half, as they leaked 24 unanswered points. If they can fix those defensive questions, the return of Hughes will help steady the ship in attack. His leadership and cool hand under pressure was sorely missed last week. Expect him to test the leaky Tigers edges that will have new combinations this week.
Meanwhile, if the Tigers are to bounce back, they’ll need to put last week out of their minds quickly. Coach Marshall has replaced the entire right edge combination. Kai Pearce-Paul’s return should plug some holes in that side of the field, and the last time he played with Patrick Herbert, they put on a show in Newcastle. In attack, they’ll be looking to exploit the Storm’s recent lack of cohesion on their edges. This will be difficult with the majority of their spine sidelined, but Madden has already proven this year he’s capable of causing headaches for some solid defences. While he hasn’t played a lot of footy with Jarome Luai, it’s their combination that holds the key to a Tigers win.
Royce Hunt makes his 100th NRL appearance. The Tigers have not won at AAMI Park since 2018.
Prediction
RLZ Tip: Storm by six.
Bold call: Hugo Peel scores the match-winning try in the final few minutes.
Related
- NRL Round 9 Review
- NRL Round 10 Predictions
- NRL Round 10 Team Lists
- NRL Round 10 Hub
- NRL Injury List
- NRL Match Review Tracker
