Raiders v Storm preview

Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm
GIO Stadium - Sunday 2:00pm

How Will The Storm Fare Without "Billy The Kid?"

Canberra fans were delighted to see their side finally stand up to be counted and put in a committed performance against the struggling Manly-Warringah outfit.

On the back of a quality performance from Blake Austin and a steady kicking game from the under rated Sam Williams the Raiders looked a completely different side to the one that got dismantled by the Roosters only a week earlier. They will be hopoing to continue this momentum against a Melbnourne Storm side that bounced back last week but will be without their star fullback in Billy Slater.

Slater has succumbed to a shoulder injury and will be out for up to 4 weeks. Cameron Munster is tipped to replace him although Kurt Mann may also shift from the centre's to cover the injury. That will be the only change for the Storm, Canberra are unchanged from last week.

Last meeting: Round 19 2014 - Melbourne Storm 28 Canberra Raiders 14

Canberra have won 3 of the past 5 between both these sides although have an ordinary track record against the Storm winning only 10 of 35 matches dating back to 1998. Melbourne have won 4 of the last 5 at GIO Stadium.

Who to watch: Canberra will be relying on another workman's like performance from Lock Forward Shaun Fensom. After recovering from a torn ACL that he suffered last year whilst playing for the Green Machine, Fensom has picked up where he left off in 2014. So far in 2015 he has recorded 448 Metres (Averaging 89 Metres per game), 235 tackles (Averaging 47 tackles per game) and 12 offloads (Averaging 2 per game). These are wonderful stats for any player let alone a player coming off a serious injury. If he can continue to offload and be a string defender in the middle of the park then he'll make things hard for the Storm to get anything going.

The Storm will have to rely more heavily on there experienced starts due to the injury to Billy Sltaer. One of these players is Blake Green. Since his move from English Super League Club Wigan, Green has been a revelation. In 2015 he has been a strong defensive figure for the Styorm and has taken a lot of the heat off Cooper Cronk. I'll be looking for his link up play with his outside men such as Tohu Harris and Dale Finucane to cause havoc to the Canberra Outfit. Green's running game is also very valubale and can catch any defense napping. He has run for 40 metres in 3 of the 5 games he has played in.

The favourite: Storm have money on them and are deserved favourites.

My tip: Storm will make things very tough for Canberra, looking at the Raiders shocking record not only against Melbourne but also at GIO Stadium against Melbourne, sees me betting against them. Storm to win by 8

1. Jack Wighton 2. Edrick Lee 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Sisa Waqa 5. Jeremy Hawkins 6. Blake Austin 7. Sam Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Dane Tilse 11. Jarrad Kennedy 12. Iosia Soliola 13. Shaun Fensom
Interchange: 14. Glen Buttriss 15. Frank Paul Nuuausala 16. Paul Vaughan 17. Mark Nicholls

1. Billy Slater 2. Mahe Fonua 3. Will Chambers 4. Kurt Mann 5. Marika Koroibete 6. Blake Green 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Jordan McLean 11. Kevin Proctor 12. Tohu Harris 13. Dale Finucane
Interchange: 14. Ryan Hinchcliffe 15. Tim Glasby 16. Dayne Weston 17. Felise Kaufusi

Referees: Matt Cecchin, Gavin Morris; Sideline Officials: Dave Ryan, Phil Henderson; Video Referees: Steve Chiddy, Luke Phillips;

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