Storm Vs. Sharks - Preview

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Previewing a Storm match in Melbourne has been getting slightly tedious for a while now as it’s basically an automatic win for the home side. They have after all now won 31 of their past 32 games in ‘the bleak city’.

But after watching the Cronulla Sharks against-the-odds effort at Brookvale Oval, another ground where visiting sides find it difficult to win, the chances of an upset have increased a little.

Against Manly, the Sharks were defensively sound, something they’ll need to be against the reigning premiers.

They worked hard for each other and suffocated the Sea Eagles into errors, a game plan they need to replicate.

The Storm started their season pretty much where they left off, disposing of the Warriors pretty easily and drawing the line in the sand once more with the clear message – come and get us.

Melbourne have named an unchanged line-up while the Sharks have named Greg Bird to start, sending Adam Peek back to the bench, and added Jacob Selmes to an extended bench, presumably to cover for Ben Ross should he not recover from the sickening head clash from last week.

Watch out Storm!: Fullback Brett Kearney will be better for the run last week and will be expecting a more dynamic performance, especially on kick returns.

Having been one of the competition’s best last season before injury struck, Kearney will test the Storm if their kicking game is as inaccurate as it was against the Warriors.

Just one third of Melbourne’s kicks found space compared to a whopping 87.5 per cent success rate for the Sharks.

With the ball in his hands quickly, Kearney can exploit a hole much like Billy Slater.

Watch out Sharks!: The Storm favoured the right side against the Warriors, scoring four of their five tries on the right.

The left-side defence of the Sharks – Brett Kimmorley (moves around during game), Ben Pomeroy and Luke Covell – need to be especially vigilant on Sunday otherwise it could be a long afternoon.

Pomeroy (six) and Kimmorley (four) were the Sharks’ worst when it came to missed tackles against Manly so they’ll need to stiffen up.

Where it will be won: The Sharks need to keep their kick accuracy up to keep the ball away from Slater and co and also need to step up their defensive efforts.

Kearney needs to be communicating the whereabouts of Slater at all times and the Sharks’ defensive line needs to react accordingly. But the key is to trust that one man can contain him – if you move two men onto the flyer then Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith are smart enough to use him as a decoy and exploit the extra space.

The speed at the play-the-ball the Storm can generate will affect the Sharks, who also need to lift their tempo in attack.

The Storm only managed 10 ‘fast’ play-the-balls against the Warriors and it was more than enough to create opportunities, while the Sharks conjured just three against Manly.

Melbourne’s defence won’t allow many breathing holes so they need to step up to compete.

The History: Played 17; Storm 10, Sharks 7. The Sharks are one of the sides to have a fair record against the Storm, splitting the six games at Olympic Park three apiece but the Storm have won five of the past eight, including the past two.

Then of course there is the imposing record in Melbourne over the past two years.

Conclusion: The Sharks will give a good account in Melbourne and could even come close to an upset but are most likely to fall short like all the other recent visitors.

If the Sharks can come away with an upset it will be a huge boost to their confidence – beating both grand finalists in the opening weeks is something they’ll be able to draw from for the remainder of the year.

Match officials: Referee – Tony Archer; Sideline Officials – Mohamad Fajajo and Paul Holland; Video ref – Paul Simpkins.

Televised: Delayed Channel 9 – 4pm