Dragons v Storm preview

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St George Illawarra Dragons v Melbourne Storm Thursday 7:50pm at WIN Stadium, Wollongong / Dharawal

Origin depleted teams lock horns at WIN Stadium.

Both the Dragons and Storm head into Thursday night's encounter with vastly different line-ups due to a total of 10 players on State duties ahead of next Wednesday's decider.

The Dragons will be looking to string back to back wins together at WIN Stadium after accounting for the Cowboys last Friday night. Sitting just two points outside the top eight, the clash looms as a vital point in the Red V's season in order to stay as close as possible to the finals contenders heading towards the back half of the year.

Coach Paul McGregor will be hoping young halves Jai Field and Darren Nicholls can fill the sizeable voids left by Corey Norman and Ben Hunt, whilst the depth in his forward pack will heavily be tested with Tyson Frizell, Paul Vaughan and the suspended Tariq Sims all unavailable.

Korbin Sims, Jeremy Latimore and Blake Lawrie all move into the run-on side with Josh Kerr, Mitchell Allgood and mid-season recruit Patrick Kaufusi coming onto the bench.

In a positive change for the Dragons, Tim Lafai has been named to make his injury return in the centres with Lachlan Maranta making way. 

The Storm will be looking to continue their mid-season roll after winning their last six games to have them sitting six points clear at the top of the premiership ladder.

Like his counterpart, Craig Bellamy will be relying on the depth of his squad with Josh Addo-Carr, Will Chambers, Cameron Munster, Christian Welch, Felise Kaufusi and Dale Finucane all out of action for the men in purple.

Sandor Earl (wing), Solomone Kata (centre), Billy Walters (five-eighth), Albert Vete and Tino Faasuamaleaui (both interchange) come into the seventeen, whilst Jahrome Hughes has been named to return from a back injury in a boost for Bellamy's men.

Last meeting: Round 17 2018 - Storm 52 Dragons 30

Who to watch: In the absence of Norman and Hunt in the halves, plenty of responsibility will fall onto the shoulders of Cameron McInnes. The Dragons co-captain has been his usual consistent self in 2019 with his strong work ethic and line-speed in defence the cornerstones of his game. With his dominant halves pairing calling for the ball regularly, the diminutive rake doesn't get out of dummy half a lot, but will be looking to show a little more attacking flair in their absence on Thursday night.

In an ironic twist at this time of year, Billy Walters - the son of Queensland coach Kevin, will make his long awaited NRL debut in place of Munster in the number six jersey. At the age of 25, Walters has been forced to bide his time behind the likes of Cronk, Munster and more recently Brodie Croft to get his first crack at the top grade. Plying his trade in recent years with the Easts Tigers in the Intrust Super Cup, Walters has racked up 30 tries in 83 appearances and is averaging over 100 run metres this season. Look for him to take the line on often in his debut game.

The favourite: Despite a number of stars missing for the Storm, Melbourne are hot favourites to continue on their winning ways.

My tip: With both teams so heavily depleted, who copes with their missing stars best should decide the outcome. The inclusion of Cameron Smith at this time of the year is a luxury and the champion skipper will ensure the Storm stay on task. Their depth also looks stronger with Nelson Asofa-Solomona, Joe Stimson and Brandon Smith handy replacements in the run-on forward pack. Storm by 12.

1. Matthew Dufty 2. Jonus Pearson 3. Euan Aitken 4. Timoteo Lafai 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Jai Field 7. Darren Nicholls 8. Korbin Sims 9. Cameron McInnes 10. Jeremy Latimore 11. Jacob Host 12. Luciano Leilua 13. Blake Lawrie 14. Josh Kerr 15. Reece Robson 16. Patrick Kaufusi 17. Mitchell Allgood

1. Jahrome Hughes 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. Justin Olam 18. Marion Seve 5. Sandor Earl 6. Billy Walters 7. Brodie Croft 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Cameron Smith 10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 11. Joe Stimson 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Brandon Smith 14. Albert Vete 15. Tino Faasuamaleaui 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Ryan Papenhuyzen

Referees: Ben Cummins, Dave Munro; Sideline Officials: Rickey McFarlane, Michael Wise; Video Referees: Steve Chiddy, Ben Lowe;