The first NRL game on Friday night heads down to Melbourne with the Storm hosting the Bulldogs. Fortunate to remain at home for the fifth time in 6 rounds, the Storm will be out to continue their positive start to the NRL season. The Bulldogs will want to keep their winning form going, following a determined victory last week. This sets the stage for an exciting match.
Before You Bet is here to provide a guide as to how this match will play out and hopefully find you a winner (or two!) to add to your viewing enjoyment.
Also, if you’re new to sports betting or betting on the NRL, check out the following articles to help build your knowledge:
- Guide to Betting on the NRL
- Where to Bet on the NRL
- Factors to Consider When Betting on the NRL
2024 NRL Round 6 Preview & Betting Tips
Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
AAMI Park – Friday 12th April – 6pm (AEST)
Match Preview
The Storm delivered a confidence building 34-32 victory over the Broncos at home last Thursday, with their 6 try performance matched by the determination of their opponents. In a high-quality see-sawing contest, the Storm produced some impressive passages of play. They were disciplined with the ball (85% completion rate), made more total metres, had significantly more post contact metres and missed just 20 tackles. They are building nicely into the season.
The Bulldogs were also victorious, capturing a 30-26 win over the Roosters. Heading into the game as outsiders, few gave them a chance of competing, let alone winning the match. They were disciplined with the ball (86% completion rate) and took their chances with 6 line breaks. This led to more total metres made; there are areas for improvement though, with their defence still vulnerable (41 missed tackles). They will be disappointed that they almost conceded a 26-nil HT lead but in equal measure, their new-found promise in attack will go a long way to improving the confidence within this squad.
Match Prediction
The Storm are unbackable favourites for this match ($1.10 vs $7) with their high-scoring display last week from their ‘regular’ spine (back together) an indication of what is to come. The Bulldogs are not a hopeless team though, and their record against the Storm is Melbourne is one to look at. Despite having a 40% record at this ground, they have won 4 of their past 7 here, including a 26-12 defeat in Round 2 last year. The Storm have still won 7 of the past 8 against the Bulldogs. They appear to have the stronger players (and better team) in all areas across the park.
The Bulldogs have demonstrated this year that they are capable but, in equal measure, they can easily ‘switch off’ in matches and concede points in clumps. The line has been largely set at 17.5 points; if you look at the average points margin of each team so far this season, it would be surprising to see such a result occur.
The Storm average 21ppg in attack compared to the Bulldogs 18ppg, while in defence they concede 18ppg compared to the Bulldogs 19ppg. To see a blowout score from a team who is yet to concede over 26 points in defence would be surprising. A lot will rest on the ability of their attack to generate pressure on the Storm but again, you must back what you have seen so far. Their lethal left edge is dynamic enough to make this happen, regularly, over 80 minutes.
Bulldogs +17.5
$1.95 (1.5 Units)
Prop Bet
Josh Addo-Carr to Score a Try – $3.10 at Ladbrokes (0.5 Units)
He is a try scoring machine at the best of times and has a great record at this ground, scoring 7 tries in his past 9 games. Most would’ve come in a purple jersey but returning after a week off will see JAC ready to fire. He is also yet to cross the try line this season, so look for him to be hungry to open his 2024 account.
