Match Day Guide: Round 26 v Roosters

Author: melbournestorm.com.au
Timestamp: Wed 27 Aug 2025, 02:15 PM

Be there to witness Melbourne Storm take on Sydney this Friday night at AAMI Park in Round 26, our final home game of the regular season and as we celebrate Craig Bellamy’s 600th NRL coaching game.

KEY INFO

Gates: 6:30pm

Warm up: 7:20pm

NRL Kick-off: 8:00pm

Watch live on Channel 9, Fox League and Kayo.

Follow along with Storm's exclusive content and live coverage on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.

MEMBER APPRECIATION ROUND

Round 26 Melbourne Storm are celebrating you, the loyal members that support the Club week in and week out thanks to our Membership Partner, RedZed this Member Appreciation Round.

CRAIG BELLAMY 600TH

This week is one for the history books with Craig Bellamy to coach his 600th NRL game.

Come and be part of the celebrations at AAMI Park as we honour one of the greatest coaches in rugby league history. Don’t miss your chance to witness this incredible milestone and cheer on the Storm in a moment that will go down in club history.

HALF-TIME

Three lucky contestants will take the field at half-time for the chance to win an unforgettable prize.

Major Prize: 2 x NRL Grand Final tickets, including flights and accommodation
Runners-Up: Visa gift voucher (amount TBC)

How it works:

Starting from the designated spot (30m or 40m, TBC), each contestant will receive a kick. If they drop the ball, they’ll have to go again until they make a clean catch. Once caught, the contestant must then get past Storm Man and ground the ball for a try.

The order in which tries are scored will determine the order of conversions. The first contestant to successfully slot their conversion will kick their way to the NRL Grand Final!

POST-MATCH

Stay in your seats post-match for your chance to grab a signed carsales fan footy from one of the players! The men in purple will roam AAMI Park for a period of time post-match to meet and greet our Storm members and fans.

TEAM NEWS

Check out the full team for Round 26:

Round 26 - Round 26 - Friday 29 Aug

Full Time

Storm

Roosters

Team Lists

Backs

Fullback for Storm is number 1 Ryan Papenhuyzen

Fullback for Roosters is number 1 James Tedesco
Winger for Storm is number 2 Kane Bradley

Winger for Roosters is number 2 Daniel Tupou
Centre for Storm is number 3 Marion Seve

Centre for Roosters is number 3 Billy Smith
Centre for Storm is number 4 Grant Anderson

Centre for Roosters is number 4 Robert Toia
Winger for Storm is number 20 Will Warbrick

Winger for Roosters is number 5 Mark Nawaqanitawase
Five-Eighth for Storm is number 6 Cameron Munster

Five-Eighth for Roosters is number 6 Sandon Smith
Halfback for Storm is number 7 Tyran Wishart

Halfback for Roosters is number 7 Hugo Savala

Forwards

Prop for Storm is number 8 Stefano Utoikamanu

Prop for Roosters is number 8 Spencer Leniu
Hooker for Storm is number 9 Bronson Garlick

Hooker for Roosters is number 14 Benaiah Ioelu
Prop for Storm is number 17 Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Prop for Roosters is number 10 Lindsay Collins
2nd Row for Storm is number 11 Shawn Blore

2nd Row for Roosters is number 11 Angus Crichton
2nd Row for Storm is number 12 Joe Chan

2nd Row for Roosters is number 12 Victor Radley
Lock for Storm is number 13 Trent Loiero

Lock for Roosters is number 13 Naufahu Whyte

Interchange

Interchange for Storm is number 10 Alec MacDonald

Interchange for Roosters is number 9 Connor Watson
Interchange for Storm is number 14 Jonah Pezet

Interchange for Roosters is number 15 Egan Butcher
Interchange for Storm is number 15 Ativalu Lisati

Interchange for Roosters is number 17 Siua Wong
Interchange for Storm is number 16 Lazarus Vaalepu

Interchange for Roosters is number 19 Blake Steep

Reserves

Replacement for Storm is number 5 Siulagi Tuimalatu-Brown

Replacement for Roosters is number 18 Ethan King

Match Officials

Referee: Todd Smith
Touch Judge: Dave Munro
Touch Judge: Matt Noyen
Senior Review Official: Liam Kennedy

Last updated: 8/30/2025 2:50:22 AM

THE INCLUSION PROJECT - SENSORY ROOM

Melbourne Storm has proudly partnered with The Inclusion Project to assist with making our match day experience more accessible for those living with hidden disabilities. Our partnership will see the introduction of a Sensory Room supported by and facilitated by a qualified Occupational Therapist who will be there to support should fans require it when visiting the space.

The Sensory Room can be found at every home game at AAMI Park, located on Level West 1 - Gate 6, Aisle 23.

VENUE INFO

MEMBERSHIP & MERCHANDISE

2025 Memberships will be available for sale as well as a collection of your 2025 member items from our Membership marquees located in the front forecourt.

We've got you sorted! Get the latest Melbourne Storm 2025 range ahead of the season from the Merchandise marquees located in the in bowl Aisle 24 & 4 and Melbourne Storm Store.

Club House

Melbourne Storm Members are able to scan their digital or physical membership cards to gain access to AAMI Park for this game. Clubhouse members can enter through Gate 4.

Clubhouse Members Lounge will open at 6.30pm and close at 10.30pm.

GETTING TO AND FROM THE GAME

Journey

Make game day easy, be prepared and plan ahead. For more information about getting to and from the game by train, visit ptv.vic.gov.au.

Public Transport

AAMI Park is accessible by train, tram and bus. The stadium is walking distance from Richmond Station and Flinders Street Station.

Stop 7D is outside AAMI Park on the Tram 70 tram line from Flinders Street. If you are coming from the north Tram 45 (North Balwyn) and Tram 75 (Vermont South) will stop adjacent to the MCG.

Drive to The Footy

Parking at Melbourne Park is only available to guests who have pre-booked. Bookings close at midnight the night before the event. You will not be able to drive up without a booking.

If parking is sold out or unavailable, several private and public streetcar parks operate in close proximity to the precinct.

Yarra Park (MCG)
Securing Parking – 121 Exhibition Street
Secure Parking – 300 Flinders Street
Securing Parking – 12-20 Flinders Street
Secure Parking – Grand Hyatt Melbourne
Wilson Parking – 11 Exhibition Street
Wilson Parking – Collins Place
Wilson Parking – 32 Flinders Street
Wilson Parking – 172 Flinders Street
Wilson Parking – Federation Square
ACDC Garage – 114 Flinders Street
On-Street Parking via the Botanical Gardens along the Yarra River

DISRUPTIONS

Rail Disruptions:

Cranbourne and Pakenham lines – buses replace trains between Caulfield and Westall stations from 9pm Friday 29 August until the last train on Sunday 31 August.
Mernda Line – buses replace trains between Clifton Hill and Mernda stations from 10:40pm Friday 29 August until the last train Sunday 31 August.
Werribee Line –buses replace trains between Newport and Werribee stations from 10:30pm Friday 29 August to 5am Saturday 30 August.
Gippsland Line – coaches replace trains between Southern Cross and Bacchus Marsh stations on Saturday 30 August and Sunday 31 August.

Road Disruptions:

Flinders Street (eastbound) is closed between Elizabeth and Swanston streets.
The West Gate Freeway outbound is reduced to three lanes until midnight on Friday 29 August.
The West Gate Freeway outbound will be closed between Williamstown Road and Millers Road from midnight Friday 29 August until 5am Monday 1 September.
The Williamstown Road outbound entry ramp to the West Gate Freeway is closed until midnight on Friday 29 August.
The West Gate Freeway outbound exit ramp to Millers Road will be closed until midnight on Friday 29 August.
The outbound entry and inbound exit from the Princes Freeway to Clyde Road, Berwick is closed until mid-November.

Accessible parking must be pre-booked via Ticketek’s Accessible Bookings Hotline: (03) 9286 1208

We recommend parking is booked in advance to avoid disappointment. 

Please note, there are a limited number of accessible parking bays located at John Cain Arena (on Olympic Boulevard).

Taxi & Rideshare

A taxi rank is available next to The Oval on Olympic Boulevard. The pick-up and drop off point for rideshare services, such as Uber, is out the front of John Cain Arena on Olympic Boulevard. 

We encourage guests not to order their rideshare service until they have reached the pick-up point to avoid causing congestion along Olympic Boulevard.