Round 24 - NRL Preview

Melbourne Storm v Manly Sea Eagles
Saturday August 20, 5.30pm
Brookvale Oval

Two fierce rivals lock horns once again at a venue they know so well.
It does not get much better than Storm v Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval and you can always guarantee fireworks a plenty.
Each side will enter the game playing for quite different reasons.
Storm will be hungry to atone for their 22-8 defeat at the hands of the Raiders on Monday night, needing just one win from their remaining three games to secure a top two finish.
Manly’s four game winning streak breathed new life into their 2016 campaign however two straight defeats have since dampened their late-season surge.
Last week’s heat breaking golden point defeat to the Bulldogs has all but put an end to their finals hopes.
However with Jamie Lyon playing his second last game at Brooky and an arch-rival coming to town, Trent Barrett’s side still has plenty to play for.
Storm will take an unchanged line up into the game while Manly will be without Dylan Walker who has been ruled out with a shoulder injury.

Be at AAMI Park when we take on the Broncos, Friday 26 August, 7:30pm.

Key Match ups:

Cameron Munster v Tom Trbojevic
These two young fullbacks will lead the charge at the opposition line on Saturday. Both Trbojevic (221) and Munster (175) had game-high metres last week. Trbojevic has been the Sea Eagles main man this year, leading the side in total metres, line breaks, try assists and tackle busts. Munster has also been a tackle bust machine, averaging nearly 5 per game. Each side will need to put plenty of work into combatting these two rising stars.

Cooper Cronk v Daly Cherry-Evans
Each halfback will be critical to their side’s attack. Cherry-Evans has been plagued by injury this year, which has restricted him to just 15 games. He was a standout during Manly’s month-long winning run, producing five try assists. He will be up against a man who is in arguably the best form of his career. Cronk crossed the try line again on Monday night, taking his tally to 11 to go along with his 17 try assists. Whoever can win this match up will go a long way to putting their side well and truly in a winning possession.

History: Played: 29; Storm 15, Sea Eagles 13, Draw 1. Manly have won their past two games against Storm and five of their past seven against Melbourne at Brookvale Oval.
 

What we’ve said:

“The guys have done a great job to get us into the position we are but unless you take advantage of that and perform well it probably won’t mean much” – Craig Bellamy

“It is a short turnaround, that is the reason we are here all week. We didn’t want to go back and have to travel up again” – Craig Bellamy
 

What they’ve said:

“We have probably found our groove in the last month or two. It is just a shame that it has happened at the back end of the season” – Lewis Brown

“Melbourne have been killing it all year. You can never write them off. They are always there every year at the business end” - Jake Trbojevic
 

Match Officials: Referee - Henry Perenara; Assistant - Chris James; Touch Judges - Nick Beashel & Belinda Sleeman; Review Officials - Bryan Norrie & Jason Robinson; Senior Review Official - Luke Patten.
 

Broadcast: TV – Fox Sports 1, Radio – ABC Grandstand & 2GB, Online – NRL Digital Pass.a
 

Squads: