The NRL is now through a third of the season and things are heating up as we reach one of the best weeks on the NRL calendar. Magic Round is such an exciting weekend and arguably the most anticipated 2022 match will take place on Saturday night.
The Penrith Panthers will face the Melbourne Storm, and I will be lucky enough to have my bum on a seat at Suncorp.
Penrith are coming off the back of their first loss of the season as they fell two points short of their cross-town rivals the Parramatta Eels. It was a close contest all game before the Eels scored back-to-back tries which placed them in front, holding an eight-point cushion.
Spencer Leniu crossed the line in the 77th minute which set up a grandstand finish. Unfortunately for Panthers fans, Nathan Cleary was unable to slot the two-point field goal attempt which handed them their first home loss in three years.
Despite this loss, you can’t take much away from how superb their season has been so far and they will have a chance to redeem themselves this week.
The Melbourne Storm are currently the best performing team in the league and if the Mountain Men are able to pull off a win, it would certainly make up for last week’s loss. Many fans have described the chase for the premiership as a two-horse race. This is a very fair description as Melbourne and Penrith have been by far the standout teams of 2022.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Following last week, many have decided on the Storm as the favourite to hold their second premiership in two years. From my perspective, there is certainly lots riding on Saturday nights blockbuster as I believe it will gift the winning side a high boost of momentum. We can’t forget that the Storm also lost to Parramatta earlier in the season, which adds another fascinating factor to this contest.
Melbourne will head into the Magic Round clash without the duo of Ryan Papenhuyzen and Reimis Smith. Ryan was creating a Dally M-calibre season, however, this injury may apply a bump in the road, as well as reportedly being in doubt for the Origin opener.
Tyrone Wishart was one of the standout stars on the weekend and I believe he should be the man to take over Smith’s position in the centres or even fill in at fullback. I can’t really see Bellamy opting with that decision as I think Nick Meaney will be the better option. Meaney simply just seems like a better-built fullback than Wishart, and I believe that Tyrone is a suitable centre.
The battle that I will be most looking forward to is in the halves. It will be incredible to see which duo will perform better and take over the game. Whichever pairing is more dominant will take home the two points. I believe that the Storm will just win this game, despite the absence of their superstar fullback.
However, if Penrith win, expect thoughts of fans to shift to the premiership race.
farkurnell
Roar Rookie
Astro the Panthers have had a soft draw ,few injuries and a heap of home ground advantage to date.Also a big leg up from the Refs.I suspect it will flatten out towards the end of the season and they will come back to the chasing pack.It will be good to see how they go at a neutral venue against quality opponents.
dogs
Guest
My tip is Penrith. Just think their line speed is too good, and the way they hold players up and push them backwards is way ahead of any other team. If any team can lose the ruck and still win the game, it's Melbourne, but I think it'll just be a bridge too far for them.
astro
Roar Rookie
I think if Melbourne win without Paps, it's meaningful re. the finals, mainly because of what it could mean for Penrith. Of course anything can happen before the end of the season, but Melbourne beating what will be a pretty full strength Penrith side would be a blow for the Panthers and put a 'gap' between them and the Storm. The Panthers have been great, but so far, they've mainly played teams outside the 8. They beat a flat Manly team in week 1, but lost to the only other top 8 team they've played this year in Parra (although Brisbane are now 8th and Penrith thumped them, so I guess we have to include them). They play Melbourne, then the Roosters, then the Cowboys over the coming 3 weeks, so we'll soon see if they're as good as they were last year (I probably think they are, by the way), or if factors like some key players suffering a drop in form, the loss of Burton, Capewell and TPJ and the knowledge that Kikau and Koroisau are on their way out, are all having an impact...
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! And unfortunately, looking at the weather forecast in Brisbane this week, all players might need a snorkle & goggles especially in that North-west corner of Suncorp !
Dionysus
Guest
Let me say up front that I am really looking forward to this game. Whilst the outcome of this game might well determine the destination of the minor premiership and will certainly count for a heck of a lot of bragging rights, it will augur little for the Premiership in October. These two will finish the season in the top 2. I think that is as close to a fact that you will see in sports tipping anywhere but when it comes to the finals series anything can happen. 1. There is still 2/3 rds of the season to go 2. Origin can wreak havoc or inspire 3. Key injuries can derail 4. Any of the also ran teams (teams 3-8) can suddenly hit a purple patch (Manly last year). 4. In the finals series, a single unexpected loss to an also ran team can ruin even the best of preparations or even finish the run itself. So this weekend counts for very little as far as the Premiership is concerned. We already know that both teams are very very good. Better that we just sit back and enjoy it.