Round 6 - Match Preview

Melbourne Storm v Canterbury Bulldogs
Monday April 11, 7pm
AAMI Park

After five straight defeats the time is now for Storm to put a stop to recent history against the Bulldogs.
Des Hasler’s troops have proven to be a thorn in Melbourne’s side for a number of years now, having won the past five meetings.
Led by two of the greatest coaches of the modern era, Storm and the Bulldogs have played finals football every year since 2011 and their rivalry is characterised by tough, hard-nosed football.
Storm will be looking to maintain their unbeaten home record in 2016 after coming from behind to topple the Knights last Saturday.
The side will be bolstered by the return of leading try scorer Marika Koroibete from suspension while Christian Welch joins an extended 19-man squad.
The Bulldogs have plenty to ponder this week after being humbled by the Raiders at Belmore on Monday night.
Youngster Kerrod Holland has been named in the centres to replace the injured Chase Stanley with the visitors to board Sunday’s flight to Melbourne with an 18-man squad.
 

Key Match-ups:

Jesse Bromwich v James Graham
Two of the game’s best forwards going head-to-head, what more could you want as a rugby league fan? Canterbury rank third in metres gained this season and skipper James Graham is a big reason for that. The English international is averaging 163m per game, fourth best in the NRL. Bromwich has also made a strong start to the season, again leading an emerging Storm pack. Games between these teams are always physical and Bromwich and Graham will be smack bang in the middle of it.

Cameron Munster v Will Hopoate
The battle of the prodigious fullbacks. Both youngsters have given their clubs some much-needed X-factor this season. Munster is ranked No.1 at Storm for total metres and has rarely put a foot wrong, especially under the high ball. Hopoate heads into Round 6 as his side’s leading try scorer and averages 8.5m per run (2^nd at Buldogs). Both players have electrifying talent capable of the blitzing the opposing line. Whichever team you support on Monday night, expect highlights a-plenty from these two young men.
 

History: Played 36; Storm 16, Bulldogs 20. Canterbury are the only NRL side to have a winning record against Storm but have won just two of their past nine games in Melbourne.

What we’ve said:

“You’ve only got to look at their forward pack, they’ve got some world class players, some big players, so that’s what makes them tough for us” – Jesse Bromwich

“We’ve got a lot to work on with our attack but we are certainly happy with all the defensive things that we are doing” – Tohu Harris

“We know inside our four walls that we can improve. We are sitting at 4-1 at the moment with a big game on Monday night against the Bulldogs who will try and come down here and ambush us” – Will Chambers

What they’ve said:

“It’s another opportunity that I have and hopefully I can take it with both hands, it’s there for me now so while it’s not the best thing for Chase to be sitting out, it’s another opportunity for me” – Kerrod Holland

“I always enjoy playing against Will (Chambers), he’s up there with the best and certainly brings a lot to the Melbourne side, so it’s definitely going to be a good clash” – Josh Morris

"I feel sorry for the fans. We've got to make it up to them in the next couple of weeks and we've got to pull our heads in” – David Klemmer

Match Officials: Referee – Jared Maxwell; Assistant – Matt Noyen; Touch Judges – Russell Turner & Clayton Sharpe; Review Officials – Ben Galea & Ashley Klein; Senior Review Official – Bernard Sutton.

Broadcast: TV – Fox Sports 1, Radio – ABC & Triple M, Online – NRL Digital Pass.

Squads: