AAMI Park will play host to Saturday's Round 2 NRL game between Melbourne Storm and Canterbury Bulldogs. The game kicks off at 7:35 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. Canterbury Bulldogs game and give you our free tips and bets.
When: Saturday March 11, 2023 at 7:35 pm
Where: AAMI Park
Bet: Bet On This Match HERE
Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs Odds
Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs Preview
Melbourne kept its incredible Round 1 streak alive with a textbook Storm performance, grinding it out for 80 minutes and getting up in golden point on the back of individual brilliance – this time a dummy-half snipe from Harry Grant.
Cameron Munster was gutsy and classy in battling through a badly broken finger, but he’s out this week and replaced by Mr. Fix-it Tyran Wishart at five-eighth.
Fullback Nick Meaney and captain Christian Welch also starred as the Storm navigate injuries and off-season departures.
If not for the Roosters, Canterbury would have waltzed away with the mantle as Round 1’s most disappointing team.
Pumped 31-6 by Manly, the big-spending Bulldogs still look a team without a general, were made to pay for errors and lacked defensive resolve at times.
Reed Mahoney’s industrious display on club debut was thick silver lining – the hooker appears set to rapidly become Canterbury’s most important player.
The Storm are on a seven-match winning streak against the Bulldogs (after losing the clubs’ previous six encounters), with the last four coming by margins of 22-plus, last season the Storm romped to a 44-0 victory at AAMI Park in Round 4.
Munster’s absence opens the door somewhat for the Bulldogs, but it has to start with a vastly improved effort from a middle-forward contingent that got steamrolled by the Sea Eagles, which is the only way to unlock the scintillating talent of Burton, Addo-Carr and co.
The Storm will play this one tight and conservative with so many top-liners out, but Jahrome Hughes and Grant are smart enough to play the percentages and see the hosts rectify a usually dominant AAMI Park record that fell away in late-2022.
Content provided by Ladbrokes
Head To Head Bet
We're tipping Melbourne Storm to win at $1.36 odds.
First Try Scorer
First Try Scorer: Jahrome Hughes at $14.00.
Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs Teams
Storm team: 1. Nick Meaney 2. William Warbrick 3. Reimis Smith 4. Young Tonumaipea 5. Xavier Coates 6. Tyran Wishart 7. Jahrome Hughes 8. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 9. Harry Grant 10. Christian Welch 11. Trent Loiero 12. Eliesa Katoa 13. Josh King 14. Bronson Garlick 15. Alec MacDonald 16. Aaron Pene 17. Jordan Grant 18. Grant Anderson 19. Chris Lewis 20. Joe Chan 21. Kane Bradley 22. Jonah Pezet
Bulldogs team: 1. Hayze Perham 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Jake Averillo 4. Paul Alamoti 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Matt Burton 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Ryan Sutton 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Fa’amanu Brown 14. Jayden Tanner 15. Corey Waddell 16. Franklin Pele 17. Jacob Preston 19. Braidon Burns 20. Karl Oloapu 21. Kurtis Morrin 22. Jackson Topine 23. Jayden Okunbor