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Melbourne Storm v Warriors Sunday 2:00pm at AAMI Park, Melbourne / Wurundjeri

The ANZAC Day clash between the Melbourne Storm and the NZ Warriors have been brought forward a few weeks this season, as the two sides come together at AAMI Park on Sunday afternoon. 

Melbourne very nearly put the Sea Eagles premiership hopes on ice, putting 48 on Manly at Brookvale Oval last weekend while the Warriors were able to enjoy a nice weekend off. 

The Storm came out firing against a pretty meager Sea Eagles line-up, with Cameron Munster and Jahrome Hughes controlling the Storm attack in the first half before absolutely unloading in the second to put Manly to bed. 

It got to the point where Scott Bailey was on speed dial, with the Storm up 48-10 at one point before taking the foot off the accelerator to allow Manly to make it look a little more respectable. 
It wasn't as if Manly weren't attacking well, but the Storm just did not allow the Sea Eagles attack to get rolling until it was way too late. 

The Warriors, coming off the bye last weekend, are riding a wave of momentum thanks to a three-game winning streak. Having taken down the aforementioned Sea Eagles, alongside a gritty win against the Roosters and a win away from home against the Tigers, the Warriors will look to take the scalp of the arguable title favourites back to Auckland for a three game home stretch. 

The Storm have gone with the same 17 that ran Manly ragged last weekend, with Ryan Papenhuyzen and Xavier Coates both good to go. Will Warbrick remains at least a week away, so Moses Leo gets a second game in the centres. Joe Chan is the 18th man this week.

The Warriors welcome back Rocco Berry to the side, who missed the game against the Tigers two weeks ago thanks to a hamstring injury. THat pushed Adam Pompey to the wing, with Ed Kosi dropping to the reserves. The rest of the side remains unchanged, with Te Maire Martin waiting in the wings for his first top flight action in 2025. 

Last meeting: Round 15 2024 - Warriors 24 Storm 38

Who to watch: Jahrome Hughes came back remarkably early from his broken hand and it looked like he did not miss a step last weekend. Hughes set up two tries, with two line break assists and a line break for himself as well as 114 running metres to break the Sea Eagles wide open. His last game against the Warriors saw Hughes set up four tries in the 38-24 win last year, and he will be looking to re-create that performance as the Storm chase the top of the ladder. 

Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad has arguably been the best of the Warriors during the first five rounds of the season so far. Whilst the statistics only show two try assists and a line break to his credit, the Warriors fullback is averaging over 200 metres a game and very quickly chiming into an ever growing Warriors attack. While there are still questions about the fluidity of the Warriors attack, there's no doubt that if the Warriors are to win in Melbourne, Nicoll-Klokstad will be a big focal point in the attack. 

Favourite: Melbourne, comfortably.

My tip: Playing at AAMI Park is never an easy task for any side. Playing against a firing Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park is an even more daunting task. The Warriors haven't beaten the Storm in over 11 years, last time being Anzac Day in 2024. I expect this to be relatively close, but with the Storm now firing on all cylinders, it should be comfortable enough for Melbourne to keep their run against the Warriors going. Storm by 10.

1. Ryan Papenhuyzen 2. Grant Anderson 3. Jack Howarth 4. Moses Leo 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Shawn Blore 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Trent Loiero 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Alec MacDonald 16. Tui Kamikamica 17. Bronson Garlick 18. Joe Chan

1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Taine Tuaupiki 3. Rocco Berry 4. Ali Leiataua 5. Adam Pompey 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Luke Metcalf 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Marata Niukore 13. Erin Clark 14. Bunty Afoa 15. Jackson Ford 16. Demitric Vaimauga 17. Leka Halasima 18. Tanah Boyd

Referees: Ashley Klein; Sideline Officials: Jon Stone, David Munro; Video Referees: Liam Kennedy;