Round 22 of the NRL season kicks off Thursday night with a classic showdown between the Penrith Panthers (1st – 18-2) and Melbourne Storm (4th – 13-7). The best match of the round will hopefully produce a tight, tough contest between two of the NRL premiership favourites. Can the Storm cause an upset or will Penrith again defend their home ground advantage to continue their remarkable 2022 season?
Greg Davis is back with his free preview and NRL betting tips for the Panthers vs Storm!
Penrith Panthers vs Melbourne Storm Betting Tips
BlueBet Stadium, Penrith, Thursday 11th August, 7:50pm (AEST)
Squads
Penrith Panthers
1.Dylan Edwards 2. Taylan May 3. Izack Tago 4. Stephen Crichton 5. Brian To'o 6. Jaeman Salmon 7. Sean O'Sullivan 8. Moses Leota 9. Apisai Koroisau 10. Matt Eisenhuth 11. Chris Smith 12. Liam Martin 13. Isaah Yeo 14. Mitch Kenny 15. Scott Sorensen 16. Spencer Leniu 17. Sunia Turuva 18. Charlie Staines 19. J'maine Hopgood 20. Robert Jennings 21. Kurt Falls 22. Viliame Kikau
Melbourne Storm
1. Nick Meaney 2. David Nofoaluma 3. Marion Seve 4. Justin Olam 5. Xavier Coates 6. Cameron Munster 7. Cooper Johns 8. Jesse Bromwich 9. Harry Grant 10. Nelson Asofa-Solomona 11. Tom Eisenhuth 12. Kenny Bromwich 13. Josh King 14. Brandon Smith 15. Tui Kamikamica 16. Chris Lewis 17. Tyran Wishart 18. Alec MacDonald 19. Dean Ieremia 20. Young Tonumaipea 21. Jordan Grant 22. Jack Howarth
Match Preview
There is a fair amount of star power missing so this potential Grand Final preview between the Panthers and the Storm has lost some of its lustre. But such is the depth of talent and quality of coaching at these two powerhouses, it will still be the best NRL game in Round 22.
Penrith and Melbourne are the last two NRL premiers but are a long way from the full-strength outfits that have owned the competition for the past couple of seasons.
The Panthers are without Nathan Clearly, Jarome Luai, James Fisher-Harris and potentially Villiame Kikau. Meanwhile, the Storm have lost halfback Jahrome Hughes and backrower Felise Kaufusi with Nick Meaney back at fullback for Melbourne with Ryan Papenhuyzen gone for the year.
These two sides commanded a sellout Suncorp Stadium crowd when they last met at Magic Round in May when the Panthers purred to a 32-6 win (Penrith also claimed a thrilling 10-6 victory over the Storm at the same venue in the 2021 preliminary final).
The Panthers are 9-1 at home this year and boast the best defence (242 points conceded) and best attack (556 points scored) in the competition on their way to 18 wins in 20 outings which included a number of hard-earned victories during the representative campaign.
Without their tried-and-tested halves pairing last week, the Panthers still managed to put Canberra to the sword in the nation’s capital with a 26-6 win. New halves Sean O’Sullivan and Jaeman Salmon played their roles within the Penrith system and it was business as usual for the premiers as they all but ended Canberra’s top eight hopes. They barely skipped a beat. Getting another game together will only help their combination.
Given they are at home and are rolling on without a handful of their stars, it is hard to go past the Panthers in this one as they still have weapons across the park.
After a very uncharacteristic four-straight losses, the Storm have beaten New Zealand and Gold Coast – hardly Group 1 form – and have not been overly convincing.
If not for three tries and 250 running metres from fullback for Cam Munster, Melbourne would not have accounted for the Titans to the tune of 32-14. There’s no fooling mastercoach Craig Bellamy who reportedly gave his side a trademark spray after the match.
As much as they have been off the past two months, it would still be folly to write-off the Storm being in the title conversation when the whips are cracking in September. But missing key personnel for such a tough road trip may make things too hard to handle for the Storm. Only just.
First Try Scorer: Izack Tago - $13 at Dabble
Panthers to win 1-12
$2.90 (1 unit)
