NRL Preview - Storm v Roosters

Melbourne Storm v Sydney Roosters
Saturday June 11, 7.30pm
Allianz Stadium

Saturday night will see a rematch of last year’s memorable Qualifying Final however this time around these two teams find themselves at opposite ends of the table.
Do not be fooled though, with the return of several key personnel in recent weeks the Roosters are a vastly improved side from the one they were early on this season.
They showed they were a side still to be reckoned with in last week’s 32-18 win over Wests Tigers. While their 3-9 record may seem lopsided, the Roosters looked to be building for a strong middle part of the year.
Storm will be chasing their seventh win in a row for the first time since the start of the 2013 season.
Craig Bellamy has named the same side that defeated the Panthers 24-6 last week and the Club will also have 13 players step out in the Queensland Cup in a boost to the squad’s depth.
The Roosters will be without Dylan Napa (suspension), Boyd Cordner (foot), Isaac Liu (ankle) and have not named Mitchell Pearce (calf) but will still present a tough test with the likes of Jared Waerea-Hargreaves now up and running.

Be at AAMI Park when we take on the Tigers, Sunday 26 June, 4pm.

Key Matchups:

Jesse Bromwich v Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
The battles of the Kiwi giants sees these two big men lock horns. Waerea-Hargreaves has played the last four games after missing the early part of the year with a knee injury. His 247 metres against the Tigers showed he is back to his best and has averaged more than 10m per run since his return to the side. Bromwich continued his strong season with 196m against the Panthers and the New Zealand captain ranks in the top three at the Club for metres, offloads and tackles.

Cameron Smith v Jake Friend
The two opposing skippers will have a lot to say about the outcome of this game. Both players lead their respective sides in both try assists (9 each) and tackles. Friend has been a tackling machine with 643 for the season, 122 more than any other player in the competition. Smith has done what he does best this season and will again look to pick apart the opposition from dummy half.

History: Played 30; Storm 16, Roosters 14 – Recent history cannot separate these two sides who have split the ledger at 3-apiece heading into Saturday night.
 

What we’ve said:

“Obviously their position on the table has been a little bit different to what they’ve been the last few years. They’ve been the benchmark about this time of the year every year” - Craig Bellamy

“Different people have different ways they do things but If guys have been playing well I find it hard to keep them out of the side” - Craig Bellamy

“We are expecting a tough, aggressive team. They’ve got a big side from 1-17 and an aggressive forward pack and that is exactly what we are expecting from them, to come out hard, nice and aggressive and take us on through the middle” - Tohu Harris
 

What they’ve said:

"The boys are a lot happier after a win. Everyone's buzzing around training. Winning changes your life as well; not just at training but at home. I'm sure all the families and partners notice it as well" - Jake Friend

“There is an opportunity for us to try and get a winning streak on now” - Blake Ferguson

“They (Storm) have probably been the form team in the comp… they’ve been playing some really good footy so they are going to be tough this week” - Dale Copley
 

Match Officials: Referee – Ben Cummins; Assistant – Chris Sutton; Touch Judges – Shane Rehm & Belinda Sleeman; Review Officials – Jason Robinson & Ben Galea; Senior Review Official – Bernard Sutton.
 

Broadcast: TV – Fox Sports 1, Radio - ABC Grandstand & 2GB, Online – NRL Digital Pass.
 

Squads: