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Melbourne Storm v Warriors Saturday 7:30pm at AAMI Park, Melbourne / Wurundjeri

Just when you though Easter was over the Storm's bunnies arrive in Melbourne.

Melbourne are on a 17-game winning streak against the Warriors, which began in 2016. And its not just victories, they're big victories - scores like 42-0, 50-10, 32-10, 50-6, 42-20, 42-16, 70-10 and 42-14. The Warriors defence has served as little more than a training run for the Storm for a decade now.

But then last weekend happened.

The Storm started the season racking up big scores against Parramatta (52-4) and the Dragons (46-20) but then something happened. They lost their Grand Final replay 18-14 to Brisbane and then the erratic Cowboys completely out-enthused them to win 28-24. Then last weekend the Storm came up against the in-form Panthers and got spanked 50-10. There were no excuses. Penrith were magnificent. Melbourne are struggling. Their attack looks clunky and impatient. Their defence is inconsistent. They're off their game. Initially, it was not by much, but by enough. But last week it was by a long way. How they respond is key this week and if history is any guide, Melbourne will come out determined to win. Storm coach Craig Bellamy, since he became the Storm coach in 2003, has managed to get his side to bounce back from a 20+ losing margin with a win the very next week on 23 of 31 occasions.

The Warriors started their season in strong form, putting the sword to the first three opponents. They opened with a 42-18 win over the Roosters, followed by a 40-6 hiding of the 2025 Minor Premiers Canberra. Then they belted the Knights 38-12. However, the last fortnight has seen them picked off by the in-form Wests Tigers 32-14 and the always competitive Sharks 36-22 last week.

The Warriors defence is struggling against multi-faceted attacks, while their attack is struggling in the middle. They are in marginally better form, considering they've been more heavily impacted by injuries, but both sides are performing well below the form they showed in their opening 2-3 weeks of the season.

The Warriors have not won in Melbourne since 2014 and have lost all 10 games there since. And they'll come into this game without their gun playmaker Luke Metcalf, who succumbed to a hamstring complaint last weekend. His loss to the Warriors last year saw them go from Premiership front runners to barely scraping into the finals, before departing quietly in a week 1 loss. His absence this weekend could be catastrophic for the team. However he will be replaced by the experienced and reliable Chanel Harris-Tavita.

Meanwhile the Storm have Xavier Coates still recovering from an achilles injury and is not expected back for another 4 weeks, while Marion Seve is also recovering from a bicep injury and is due back in a fortnight. Rookie winger Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown is replaced by the returning Moses Leo, while centre Manaia Waitere drops back to the bench to make way for the returning Jack Howarth.

Last meeting: Round 6 2025 - Storm 42 Warriors 14

Who to watch: Storm fullback Sualauvi Fa'alogo has been tremendous so far this year, quickly becoming the most dangerous attacking weapon in the Storm side. His elusive ball running was always known, but he has added some very impressive ball-playing skills to his repertoire for the 2026 season. Harry Grant has also been in strong form early in the season, as has his front row partner Stefano Utoikamanu. The Warriors have been guided around superbly by Tanah Boyd, who has been one of the form players in the first month of the 2026 NRL season. The Warriors forwards have all been solid and consistent with front rower and captain James Fisher-Harris and lock Erin Clark leading through the middle

Favourite: The Storm on home soil and with a decade of unbeaten dominance over the Warriors, and coming off a shellacking, are clear favourites.

MY TIP: This really could be anybody's guess. It will either been a Storm win by 40 points or a Warriors win by 2 points. I flipped the coin and it landed on Warriors by 2 - I might have to do a best of three...

1. Sualauvi Faalogo 2. William Warbrick 3. Jack Howarth 4. Nick Meaney 5. Moses Leo 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Stefano Utoikamanu 9. Harry Grant 10. Josh King 11. Joe Chan 12. Cooper Clarke 13. Trent Loiero 14. Tyran Wishart 15. Alec MacDonald 16. Jack Hetherington 17. Davvy Moale 18. Lazarus Vaalepu 19. Manaia Waitere

1. Taine Tuaupiki 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 23. Ali Leiataua 20. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck 5. Alofiana Khan-Pereira 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Tanah Boyd 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Wayde Egan 10. Jackson Ford 11. Leka Halasima 15. Marata Niukore 13. Erin Clark 14. Jacob Laban 14. Samuel Healey 16. Demitric Vaimauga 17. Tanner Stowers-Smith 18. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava 22. Luke Hanson

Referees: Grant Atkins; Sideline Officials: Michael Wise, Drew Oultram; Video Referees: Chris Butler;