Roar Guru
The Melbourne Storm will be favoured to flex their premiership muscle when they tackle wooden spoon contenders the Parramatta Eels today. Join us for live scores from 3.00pm AEST.
Melbourne found themselves in a real arm wrestle against Newcastle last week but showcased tremendous defensive resolve to secure a 23-10 victory away from home.
Back in their AAMI Park fortress, the Storm will be expected to pile on the points against Parramatta as they continue to maintain their strong winning momentum with finals football just around the corner.
The Eels are coming off a morale boosting win over the Tigers and also pushed Brisbane up at Suncorp Stadium last week.
With Melbourne firing at the right time of the season however, the Storm are very capable of putting on a cricket score this afternoon if the home side manages to start quickly.
Prediction
Melbourne would have to be terribly off their game today if the Eels are to cause arguably the biggest upset of the season.
With key stars Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith all in fine form for Melbourne, all signs point to a very one sided Storm victory.
Given that they have nothing to lose, the Eels do possess the potential to cause some trouble if they can somehow score the opening try against the run of play.
The Storm have lost their way at times this season when they concede opening points and may do so yet again if they fail to put the Eels to the sword in the first half.
Melbourne’s players may also have one eye on next week’s blockbuster clash against Manly, meaning the Eels may catch the Storm off guard if they play error free and disciplined football.
A loss today however will be intolerable for Storm coach Craig Bellamy, and he will demand nothing less than a complete performance from the reigning premiers.
With this in mind, the Storm should show up with the intensity required to win very comfortably at home.
Storm by 36