NRL Round 1 concludes with what looks to be the most lopsided game of the week, as the Eels head south of the border to take on the Storm, missing their halfback and captain Mitch Moses. It has not been pretty for the Eels the last few years against the Storm, and they once again could be on the receiving end of a big loss in round 1. Plenty to bet on, with some tasty same game multis available.
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Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels
Location: AAMI Park – Melbourne
Date: Sunday, 9th March
Time: 4:05pm AEDT
Odds: Storm ($1.10) vs Eels ($7.00)
Line: Storm -18.5
Points: 44.5
Odds and lines provided with thanks to Ladbrokes. Note that odds and lines can fluctuate throughout the week and are correct at the time of writing.
Match Preview
The Storm come into the season as the Premiership favourites, and it’s hard to argue with the market. After coming agonisingly close to their first Premiership since 2020, losing the Grand Final to the Panthers, the Storm come into season 2025 largely unchanged, with the only change to their Grand Final 17 being the loss of Christian Welch to retirement. He has been replaced though, with NSW prop Stefano Utoikamanu joining from the Tigers. The Storm are a force to be reckoned with, there’s no doubt.
Looking at the Eels, and they bring plenty of fresh faces to their team, not least of which is first time Head Coach Jason Ryles. Ryles has had a great build up for the Head Coaching position, learning his trade behind Craig Bellamy and Trent Robinson. Whilst Ryles may turn into a great coach, this year might not be the year. There is upheaval in key positions, with long term captain Clint Gutherson let go, and five eighth Dylan Brown seemingly on the way out. With Moses set to miss the first six weeks, this could be a tough season for the Eels.
The Storm opened as 8.5-point favourites, with early money coming in on the Storm. Once Moses was confirmed out, money poured in all week on the home side, to where they now sit as massive 18.5-point favourites. Interestingly, there was only four games all season in 2024 that had larger spreads than this. Underdogs were 3-1 against the spread for those games.
The sides met twice last year, with the Storm closing 11.5-point favourites during Magic Round, winning easily 48-16. They played 10 weeks later at CommBank Stadium, where the Storm closed 18.5-point road favourites. The Storm won easily 32-14, with the Eels scoring a late consolation try to cover the spread.
It’s impossible to back the Eels in this situation. The Storm will want to start strong, and should be far too good for the Eels, but how much will they put in given their next matchup is a Grand Final replay against the Panthers. My numbers say Storm -19.5, but I’ll look to bet on a team total here. The Storm shouldn’t have any problems scoring against an Eels defence that should be better this year but may take some time to gel. With their total set around 30.5, I’ll take it as my best bet.
Looking at the match total, I like the over, but there’s a concern the Eels cannot score points here and therefore I will just look at the Storm to cover their team total.
Storm (team total) over 30.5
$1.88 (1.5 Units)
Same Game Multi
Throughout the 2025 NRL season we’ll be putting together a fun same game multi for every match at BoomBet using their BetShare feature.
To follow our multi, just click on the BoomBet BetShare button below and our same game multi selections will be added straight into your bet slip on BoomBet. You can then enter how much you wish to wager, and with a single click, your bet has been placed!
Leg 1: W Warbrick (1+ try) – Warbrick built on his impressive rookie campaign in 2024, scoring 15 tries to go with his 17 in 2023. Three tries in his past three games against the Eels, expect the towering winger to score again here.
Leg 2: R Papenhuyzen (1+ try) – Papenhuyzen knows how to find the line, scoring 13 tries last year. Against this Eels defence, the Storm fullback should be a great chance of at least one try.
Leg 3: H Grant (1+ try) – This leg gets the odds up nicely and is a great bet too. Grant has absolutely dominated the Eels lately, scoring seven tries in his past five games against the Eels.
SGM Odds: $7.50 at BoomBet
