Finals Week 2: Storm v Roosters preview
Melbourne look for bounce back victory against undermanned Chooks in elimination final at home.
The Melbourne Storm meet the Sydney Roosters at AAMI Park on Friday night with both teams coming off polar opposite performances. The Melbourne Storm were frankly deplorable in their 26-0 loss to Brisbane looking completely out of sync in attack especially through their spine and displaying some very uncharacteristic lackluster defence that I'm sure Craig Bellamy will have made a focus this week.
On the flip side, the Sydney Roosters while not outstanding in the footy department showed an unbelievable amount of grit to find a win at Shark Park 13-12. Losing Joseph Sua'ali'I at half time, then Joseph Manu 10 minutes after, followed shortly by James Tedesco sent to the sin bin nobody would have backed the Roosters for a win, but they somehow found a way. Brandon Smith probably had his best game as a Rooster and will no doubt want to continue his form against his former side.
The Storm unfortunately lost Ryan Papenhuyzen again through injury, this time with a lower leg fracture that he received surgery on over the weekend. The Storm will also be without Xavier Coates who picked up an ankle injury and Young Tonumaipea who will not take his place in the centres after a head injury. Coming into the side will be Alec MacDonald on the bench, Reimis Smith on the wing and Justin Olam in the centres.
The Roosters have no shortage of wounded soldiers themselves with the aforementioned Joey squared right side duo not named after their injuries and Billy Smith is also out after it was found that he fractured his jaw during the second half against the Sharks and played on. Coming into the new look backline for the Roosters will be Paul Momirovski, Corey Allan and Jaxson Paulo on the wing.
With both sides having key outs it may just come down to who wants it more in this do or die final. I expect a much improved performance from the Storm as it's hard to imagine a Craig Bellamy coached side putting together two outings that poor in a row. The Roosters will need to rely on winning the middle third of the field given their second string backline. Look for guys like Lindsay Collins, Brandon Smith and Terrell May to continue their good form that has led the Roosters to 6 wins in a row.
Last Meeting: Round 20 2023 - Storm 30, Roosters 16 at the SCG.
Who to Watch: For the Storm it's hard to go past Cameron Munster. I hate calling guys "big game players" but Munster continues to get it done when the stakes are high. He was visibly frustrated after the game last week with the team's and his own performance so I fully expect him to take charge for the Storm on Friday night and steer them to victory.
For the Roosters I think the key man will be Victor Radley. He has been in great form the last 4 weeks as it appears he has been given a directive to run the ball and play less of a "link man" lock role. This has led to great dividends as he gets through a mountain of work and really sets the tone for the whole forward pack. The Roosters will need to win the battle of the forwards to get their halves on the front foot and be any chance in this game so look for Radley to lead that charge.
Favourite: The Storm are currently 10.5 point favourites.
My Tip: I think the Storm will be just too classy at home and kick away in the end winning 26-12.
