The Stats Zone
· Ash Wheldon

2019 NRL – Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels Preview & Prediction

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THE FACTS

When is Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels taking place? Saturday 11th May, 10:35

Where is Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels taking place? Suncorp Stadium

What channel is Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels on?
UK – Sky Sports Arena
Australia – Fox Sports

Where can I stream Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels?
UK – Sky Sports subscribers can stream the match via Sky Go
Australia – https://www.telstra.com.au/tv-movies-music/sports-offer

Where can I get tickets for Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels?
Melbourne Storm – https://tickets.nrl.com/team/500021

Parramatta Eels – https://tickets.nrl.com/team/500031

THE TEAM NEWS

MELBOURNE STORM

Head Coach: Craig Bellamy

Starting 13: Hughes, Vunivalu, Chambers, Seve, Addo-Carr, Munster, Croft, J. Bromwich, C. Smith, Welch, F. Kaufusi, K. Bromwich, Finucane – Interchanges: B. Smith, Asofa-Solomona, Kamikamica, Papenhuyzen – Reserves: Walters, P. Kaufusi, Stimson, Scott

Unavailable: Scott Drinkwater, Tom Eisenhuth

  • Melbourne suffered a shock defeat at the hands of an under-strength Cronulla side with the Storm having big issues to fix which have been made worse by rumours of a rift within the camp.

  • The Storm will have Brandon Smith back for this contest after he was a late withdrawal last week with a calf injury and he will come onto the bench in place of Patrick Kaufusi who will drop into the reserves.

  • Melbourne are otherwise unchanged as Craig Bellamy looks for a big response from his side after several poor showings recently but all eyes will be on his side to see if those rumours of issues between some of the Storm players are true.

PARRAMATTA EELS

Head Coach: Brad Arthur

Starting 13: Gutherson, Sivo, M. Jennings, Takairangi, Ferguson, Salmon, Moses, Alvaro, Mahoney, Paulo, Lane, Niukore, Moeroa – Interchanges: Terepo, Mannah, Kaufusi, Ma’u – Reserves: Stone, Evans, Smith, G. Jennings

Unavailable: Kaysa Pritchard, Nathan Brown, Dylan Brown, David Gower

  • Parramatta made it two wins from two at their new home with an impressive victory over St. George last week to improve to 5-3 for the year but will be looking for a better result than after their previous home game when they went down to Newcastle.

  • The Eels have prop Tim Mannah available once again after he overcame a foot injury which sees him come onto the bench in place of Kane Evans but David Gower hasn’t recovered from a neck injury so will miss out.

  • That is the only change for Parramatta although the inclusion of Will Smith in the reserves is a good sign for the Eels as he edges closer to a return from injury that has blighted his season so far.

THE PREDICTION

This will prove a big test of where Parramatta are at this season as they face Melbourne. The Storm have been poor in recent games and that came to a head in a shock defeat to the Sharks last week with big improvements needed and a buoyant Eels side have the talent to beat the Storm. They will need to produce a display similar to their last two home games when they have won impressively and they could take advantage of some of the uncertainty amongst the Storm players with another loss for Melbourne set to ring alarm bells.

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