Roar Guru
A tight tussle is expected at AAMI Park tonight as the Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bulldogs do battle in Monday night football. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7pm (AEST).
Despite an unconvincing win over Newcastle last week, Melbourne have started the season very well, and start favourites tonight against a Bulldogs outfit coming off a surprise defeat to the Raiders last week.
Melbourne will have to improve significantly if they are to erase a recent poor record against Canterbury tonight. The Storm have lost their past five matches against the Bulldogs and a repeat of last week’s performance against Newcastle will most likely see them lose again, even at home.
In good news for Melbourne, winger Marika Koroibete comes back into the side after serving a one-match suspension. His presence reinforces a solid Melbourne backline that knows its way to the try-line.
Tonight’s battle however will be won upfront. James Graham and Aiden Tolman serve as the cornerstones of a very strong Bulldogs pack. They will be keen to perform tonight given that they were outmuscled by the Raiders pack last week.
The same can be said for Melbourne’s pack. Cameron Smith is yet to truly play at his highest level this season and should be expected to lead from the front tonight in a bid to blow the Bulldogs away early.
The form of fellow Storm forward Jesse Bromwich should set alarm bells ringing for Canterbury. Bromwich has established himself as one of the strongest props in the game, and another solid performance tonight will provide the foundations required for Smith, Cooper Cronk and Blake Green to dictate terms.
While the Bulldogs will put up a fight in this contest, the Storm are difficult to tip against at home and one feels that they will be primed for a big performance after a lengthy nine day recovery period.
Storm by 10
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