Bulldogs v Storm preview - 2017 Round 1

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Back to Belmore for the 'Dogs, can they make it a fortress in 2017?

Friday Night football travels out to suburbia as we get to see the Canterbury Bulldogs back at their spiritual home in a huge clash against the Melbourne Storm.

There is a lot of history between these two clubs as well as the two coaches Des Hasler (Bulldogs) and Craig Bellamy (Storm). They both played each other in the 2012 decider which Melbourne won. Furthermore, Hasler coached Manly to the 2007 grand final defeat against the Storm as well as securing Premiership glory the following year against the same team whilst Bellamy was at the helm. Strap yourselves in folks, this could be a very good game of football.

The Bulldogs are at full strength after suffering injury after injury last year before bowling out in the finals at the hands of Penrith in the elimination final. With a fully fit Brett Morris to go along with talented playmakers in Moses Mbye and Josh Reynolds, Bulldogs fans will be hoping to break their 13-year premiership drought.

Melbourne are without a few important players for this round one fixture. Tohu Harris is missing after fracturing his foot, adding to this is Billy Slater who is still missing after shoulder surgery. In the offseason they lost Kevin Proctor to the Titans and Marika Korobiete to rugby union. Their depth will be tested this year but Craig Bellamy is well known for assembling talented young players year after year, which bodes well for the Storm who will be desperate to reverse last season's grand final defeat to the Sharks.

Last meeting: Round 6 2016 - Storm 12 Bulldogs 18

No NRL side has dominated the Storm over a short period of time as the Bulldogs have. The Dogs have won the last six in a row against the Storm including the last match at Belmore between the two sides in 2015 which was to the tune of 20-4.

The Storm haven't tasted victory over the Bulldogs in Sydney since the 2012 decider and will be desperate to change that come Friday night. Melbourne have lost both its clashes at Belmore with the first defeat coming all the way back in Round 23, 1998 - the last match hosted at Belmore until the aforementioned match in 2015.

Who to watch: After a injury plagued start to his Bulldogs career, Brett Morris will be out to prove his worth to the Blue and White army. Morris has only been able to play 24 of 51 matches played since arriving at Belmore. Look for him to be heavily involved from dummy-half runs especially when the Dogs forwards start to feel fatigued. Still one of the deadliest finishers in the NRL, Morris and the Bulldogs will be hoping he can stay fit and finish off some attacking raids on Friday and throughout 2017.

Josh Addo-Carr was one of the Storm's highest profile offseason signings and will be tasked with filling the big boots of Fijian flyer Marika Korobiete. Addo-Carr bagged six tries in just nine games with the Wests Tigers in 2016. He is blessed with speed to burn and somehow manages to be in the right positions at the right time. With a full offseason under his belt down in Melbourne look for Addo-Carr to have a breakout year for the Storm. Their wingers are well known for getting across the line as evident in 2016 season when Korobiete and Suliasi Vunivalu combined for 35 tries. Could be good value for being first try scorer on Friday night.

The favourite: The Storm have the slight favourtism in this match which could go either way.

My tip: Storm to record their first win at Belmore with a controlled, team effort. They have the class to get the job done and we all know Bellamy is the master of motivation. The Dogs will no doubt be better than last year and this match will be a good test of their resolve and what they could do in 2017. Storm by 7.

1. William Hopoate 2. Brett Morris 3. Josh Morris 4. Brenko Lee 5. Kerrod Holland 6. Josh Reynolds 7. Moses Mbye 8. Aiden Tolman 9. Michael Lichaa 10. James Graham 11. Josh Jackson 12. Greg Eastwood 13. David Klemmer 14. Sam Kasiano 15. Danny Fualalo 16. Adam Elliot 17. Raymond Faitala-Mariner

6. Cameron Munster 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. William Chambers 4. Cheyse Blair 5. Josh Addo-Carr 20. Ryley Jacks 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Jordan McLean 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane 1. Young Tonumaipea 14. Christian Welch 15. Tim Glasby 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Referees: Gerard Sutton, Matt Noyen; Sideline Officials: Jeff Younis, Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski; Video Referees: Jared Maxwell, Luke Patten;