Melbourne Storm v Gold Coast Titans
Sunday 6 April, 2pm at AAMI Park
Broadcast: Fox Sports 1, LIVE from 2pm, NRL Digital Pass
Melbourne Storm will come up against the in-form Gold Coast Titans on Sunday from 2pm at AAMI Park.
Following from a 28-point loss in Perth to the Bulldogs, Storm will be hoping to put the Round 4 result behind them and deliver an improved performance at AAMI Park this weekend.
Melbourne looked promising early in their clash against Canterbury, compiling 10 unanswered points before the Bulldogs clicked into gear and gained the ascendency, testing the Storm defence for much of the second half.
Gold Coast will travel to Melbourne to take on Storm with plenty of confidence after a close one point win over the North Queensland Cowboys on Monday night.
The Titans have named an unchanged squad as they attempt to find consistency in their game, while Storm will bolster its line up with captain Cameron Smith returning to the squad after recovering from back spasms.
Ryan Hinchcliffe will return to hooker with Tim Glasby named on an extended bench. In a milestone moment for Storm, Hinchcliffe will play his 150th NRL game and teammate Bryan Norrie will reach 100 games for the club.
Titans lock Ashley Harrison finished the game strongly last weekend with 50 tackles while Greg Bird made a big impact, recording a game high 124 metres. A man of the match performance from playmaker Aidan Sezer also proved crucial for Gold Coast in their narrow victory.
Historically, Storm take the upper hand in terms of results, having won seven out of 11 games against the Titans. Five of those wins have been on Melbourne’s home turf. In 2013, the last time the two sides met, Storm came from four points down at half-time to win the match in golden point extra-time.
Get all the Round 5 game day information and find out about all the FREE family fun organised pre-game on Sunday.
MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referees – Ben Cummins & Brett Suttor
Sideline Officials – Luke Potter & Ricky Macfarlane
Video Referees – Steve Clark & Reece Williams
HEAD TO HEAD:
Played: 11
Melbourne: 7
Gold Coast: 4
PLAYER MATCH-UP:
Cooper Cronk v Aidan Sezer
Two of the most dynamic playmakers in the competition will shape up against each other as Storm takes on the Titans.
Dally M Medalist Cooper Cronk will look to exploit the Titans defence and ensure Storm pick up the two points. His vision and control will be key to Melbourne winning this battle in the middle of the park.
Cronk will come up against in-form Titan Aidan Sezer. Sezer was involved in all of Gold Coast’s scoring play last week and will travel to Melbourne full of confidence.
LAST TIME THEY MET:
Round 26, 2013 – Melbourne Storm 23 (Tries: Billy Slater, Will Chambers, Sisa Waqa; Goals: Cameron Smith 3; Field goal: Cooper Cronk) defeated Gold Coast Titans 22 (Tries: Anthony Don, Brad Takairangi, Dave Taylor; Goals: Aidan Sezer 5)
LAST 5 MATCHES:
Round 26, 2013 – Melbourne Storm 23 (Tries: Billy Slater, Will Chambers, Sisa Waqa; Goals: Cameron Smith 3; Field goal: Cooper Cronk) defeated Gold Coast Titans 22 (Tries: Anthony Don, Brad Takairangi, Dave Taylor; Goals: Aidan Sezer 5)
Round 15, 2013 – Gold Coast Titans 18 (Tries: Anthony Don, Kevin Gordon, Luke O’Dwyer; Goals: Aidan Sezer 3) defeated Melbourne Storm 12 (Tries: Ben Hampton 2; Goals: Maurice Blair, Gareth Widdop)
Round 23, 2012 – Melbourne Storm 24 (Tries: Cooper Cronk, Ryan Hoffman, Billy Slater, Gareth Widdop; Goals: Cameron Smith 4) defeated Gold Coast Titans 16 (Tries: David Mead, Steve Michaels, Ben Ridge; Goals: Scott Prince 2)
Round 3, 2012 – Melbourne Storm 30 (Tries: Matt Duffie 2, Billy Slater 2, Sika Manu, Anthony Quinn; Goals: Cameron Smith 2, Gareth Widdop 1) defeated Gold Coast Titans 6 (Try: Steve Michaels; Goal: Scott Prince)
Round 23, 2011 – Melbourne Storm 40 (Tries: Cooper Cronk 3, Billy Slater 2, Sika Manu, Anthony Quinn; Goals: Cameron Smith 6) defeated Gold Coast Titans 16 (Tries: David Mead, Steve Michaels, Bodene Thompson; Goals: Preston Campbell 2)
