Is it Melbourne's year?

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As we look at the NRL ladder at an important stage of the season, Melbourne Storm are sitting pretty at the top. Three Premierships and runners up on four occasions, can they go all the way this year at the expense of last season's winners Sydney? They're the favourites to do so! If you fancy backing them, be sure to check out industry-leading betting sites in order to find the best price available.

How Good are Storm This Season?

Very good. With the Finals not too far away, fans are excited to see how much they can improve before the end of the regular season. One of Melbourne Storm's leading men, Cameron Munster, reckons his side can still improve before the season's out:

"I feel like we have at least two more gears, as we haven't played our best footy this year," Munster said at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Wednesday.

"I know in previous years we played some really good footy and we lost by two points or just lost a tight game.

"We haven't been playing great footy, but we have found a way to win, which is exciting and pleasing for us as a team."

This was all in retaliation to legendary coach Phil Gould's comments that he doesn't think Storm have another gear. Only time will tell if they can continue their impressive form, but there's nothing to suggest Melbourne Storm can't gain revenge for the 21-6 drubbing at the hands of the Sydney Roosters in last year's NRL Grand Final.

Can the Roosters Close the Gap?

It's a tough ask, but do not write the holders off just yet. Ok, so they may be struggling to put together back-to-back wins at the moment, but Boyd Cordner is feeling refreshed after a recent break and is raring to put in the hard work to hopefully give the Roosters another title:

"I booked a trip with my girlfriend - we went up to the Hunter just to unwind and enjoy the wine country.

"It's mainly white wine up there, and I'm a red man but we just relaxed. It was such a hectic time of the year I needed a small break. It freshened me right up to get back into the swing of things for the Roosters."

Soon after his return from time away, the Roosters had a team bonding break in Gosford, which went really well according to the captain:

"We've had a lot of players in and out of the side to it's important to get together as a team - it's not a long camp - but it's a camp where we can get connected again and get that really clear understanding of what we want to do,"

"There's no secret about our motivation this year. We want to win the comp again," said Cordner.

The Roosters are closing the gap at the top, but there's still a lot to play for before the Finals.

Telstra Premiership - A Brief History of Finals

As we've touched on above, the Roosters won it last year after annihilating Melbourne Storm in the Grand Final. Melbourne did win it the season before, but that was their first success since 2012. Let's not forget they were stripped of the 2007 and 2009 Premierships as they were found to have cheated the salary cap.

The Roosters won it last year for the first time since 2013, so they'll be eager not to be waiting another five years for success. Here's a quick rundown of Grand Finals over the last decade:

• 2009 - Melbourne 23-16 Parramatta
• 2010 - St George Illawarra 32-8 Sydney Roosters
• 2011 - Manly Warringah 24-10 Warriors
• 2012 - Melbourne 14-4 Canterbury
• 2013 - Sydney Roosters 26-18 Manly Warringah
• 2014 - South Sydney 30-6 Canterbury
• 2015 - North Queensland 17-16 Brisbane
• 2016 - Cronulla 14-12 Melboune
• 2017 - Melbourne 34-6 North Queensland
• 2018 - Sydney Roosters 21-6 Melbourne

It remains to be seen who will hold their nerve to take the 2019 NRL crown but write off the South Sydney Rabbitohs at your peril. They're going under the radar this year but have a very, very good team. They enjoyed a nice confidence boosting comeback win over the Cowboys recently too. Everyone's talking about a Storm vs Roosters Grand Final, but there will be plenty of twists and turns before the end of the season, that's for sure.