Sunshine Coast Stadium will play host to Thursday's Round 22 NRL game between Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders. The game kicks off at 7:50 pm with Melbourne Storm heading into the game as favourites with the bookmakers. Continue reading for our in-depth preview of the Melbourne Storm vs. Canberra Raiders game and give you our free tips and bets.
When: Thursday August 12, 2021 at 7:50 pm
Where: Sunshine Coast Stadium
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders Odds
Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders Preview
The freight train that is the Melbourne Storm just keeps on chugging as Craig Bellamy’s side now looks to extend their winning streak to 18 in a row against the Raiders on Thursday night.
The premiership favourites had their hands full in the first half against Manly last week before kicking clear to win by 10 points in the late stages to maintain their lead atop the table.
The Raiders, on the other hand, find themselves back in the eight following a gutsy win over the Dragons.
Ricky Stuart’s men were electric in the first half and showed some promising signs in the second to keep St George off the scoreboard.
Unfortunately, the Raiders face a much tougher test this week against a Storm team that has beaten them on the last three occasions.
Melbourne rattled off a comfortable 34-10 win when these two sides met back in Round 11 as the Raiders struggled to get their hands on the ball.
Given the Storm’s outstanding record on the Sunshine Coast it is no surprise to find them laying a healthy -22.5 points at the line.
Ryan Papenhuyzen looks likely to play after suffering a slight knee injury last week, while Nelson Asofa-Solomona is set to return – a worrying sign for the Raiders after scoring twice in their previous meeting.
The way Canberra has played defensively recently should see them remain competitive in this contest, but this still shapes as a serious reality check for the Green Machine against the benchmark in the competition.
With an 11-3 record as the home favourite at the line to their name, you’d be mad not to back the Storm to cover.
Content provided by Ladbrokes
Head To Head Bet
We're tipping Melbourne Storm to win at $1.05 odds.
First Try Scorer
First Try Scorer: Josh Addo-Carr at $6.00.
Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders Teams
Storm team: 1. Nicholas Hynes 2. Dean Ieremia 3. Reimis Smith 4. Justin Olam 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Brandon Smith 10. Christian Welch 11. Felise Kaufusi 12. Kenneath Bromwich 13. Dale Finucane 14. Harry Grant 15. Chris Lewis 16. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 17. Ryan Papenhuyzen 18. Tom Eisenhuth 19. Tepai Moeroa 20. Jordan Grant 21. Isaac Lumelume
Raiders team: 1. Jordan Rapana 2. Bailey Simonsson 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Matthew Timoko 5. Harley Smith-Shields 6. Jack Wighton 7. Sam Williams 8. Josh Papalii 9. Josh Hodgson 10. Joseph Tapine 11. Hudson Young 12. Elliott Whitehead 13. Ryan Sutton 14. Tom Starling 15. Emre Guler 16. Corey Harawira-Naera 17. Iosia Soliola 18. Sebastian Kris 19. Matt Frawley 20. Dunamis Lui 21. Siliva Havili