Round 22 in the NRL kicks off this Thursday night as the top of the table Melbourne Storm square off against the Canberra Raiders. As always, Greg Davis has you covered with a full preview and NRL betting tips for the big clash below.
Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders
Sunshine Coast Stadium, Thursday 11th August, 7.50pm (AEST)
Melbourne
1. Nicho Hynes 2. Dean Ieremia 3. Reimis Smith 4. Justin Olam 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Brandon Smith 10. Christian Welch 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenny Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane. Interchange: 14. Harry Grant 15. Chris Lewis 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 17. Ryan Papenhuyzen. Reserves: 18. Tom Eisenhuth 19. Tepai Moeroa 20. Jordan Grant 21. Isaac Lumelume
Canberra
1. Jordan Rapana 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Sebastian Kris 5. Harley Smith-Shields 6. Jack Wighton 7. Sam Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling 15. Emre Guler 16. Corey Harawira-NaeraIosia Soliola 17. Iosia Soliola. Reserves: 18. Sebastian Kris 19. Matt Frawley 20. Dunamis Lui 21. Siliva Havili
Prince’s iconic “Purple Rain” album spent months on top of the charts when it was released in 1984.>
And the Melbourne Storm and their very own “Purple Reign” are heading towards back-to-back NRL premierships with a bullet.
Their next victim opponent/victim (use whatever word you like to describe cannon fodder) is Canberra who will take on the Storm at their fortress of Sunshine Coast Stadium on Thursday night.
In fact, every field in Queensland has been a happy hunting ground for Craig Bellamy and his men in recent times.
The hard-fought win over Manly last weekend was Melbourne’s 17th straight win in 2021 and their 29th consecutive victory across all venues in the Sunshine State.
Their last loss this year was in Round 3 against Penrith at Penrith – in a thriller that could have gone either way in the dying seconds – while their last defeat north of the Tweed River in the home of rugby league was to the Gold Coast in 2017.
So good luck, Raiders. The rest of the competition will need some good fortune to stop the Storm from claiming the title given there is a fair chance that Melbourne will play the rest of their games in Queensland this year – including the grand final.
Canberra stayed in the hunt for the last couple of available places in the top eight with a 20-12 win over St George Illawarra last weekend.
Of the pack hunting for those two spots, the Raiders have the class and big game experience to do the most damage in September but Canberra face a massive step-up in class this week like a galloper going from a midweek regional meeting to a Group 1 at Moonee Valley.
The two teams met earlier this season when Melbourne notched up their eighth-straight win with a 34-10 victory. To Canberra’s credit, they are one of the few sides to not concede 40 points in a match to the attacking behemoth that is Melbourne.
As they close in on the club’s fifth NRL minor premiership, the fearful amount of points that Melbourne are able to produce week-in, week-out is matched by the scary depth in key positions.
Last week both Harry Grant and Ryan Papenhuyzen – two Origin quality players who are firmly in the emerging NRL superstar category – came off the bench for the Storm. They are coming off the bench again against the Raiders alongside Nelson Asofa-Solomona in what must be one of the best credentialled interchange benches in recent memory.
That sentence alone pretty much sums up Melbourne in 2021 as Bellamy’s peerless coaching has ensured that the Storm has kept rolling after the retirement of Cameron Smith. Every man in a purple jumper knows his role, understands his role and executes his role.
And execute is what the Storm will do against the Raiders who will put up a fight before the purple machine rolls on.
Other NRL Thursday Bets
Josh Addo-Carr 1st Tryscorer ($6.00 at Sportsbet)
Jahrome Hughes Anytime Try ($2.50 at Sportsbet)
Total Over 49.5 ($1.90 at Sportsbet)
