When is Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs taking place? Saturday 8th August, 2020 – 06:00 (UK)
Where is Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs taking place? Sunshine Coast Stadium, Sunshine Coast
What is the expected weather for Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs? 22c, partly cloudy
What channel is Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs on? Sky Sports Arena will be televising selected NRL games in the UK and you can find their schedule here. For Australian broadcasters, you can find a list here
Where can I stream Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs? If televised on Sky Sports, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via Sky Go. Alternatively, the match will be available to subscribers of Watch NRL
Where can I get tickets for Melbourne Storm vs Canterbury Bulldogs? Click here for ticket information on 2020 NRL matches
THE TEAM NEWS
MELBOURNE STORM
Starting 13: Hynes, Vunivalu, Eisenhuth, Olam, Addo-Carr, Munster, Hughes, J. Bromwich, B. Smith, Welch, Kaufusi, K. Bromwich, Faasuamaleaui – Interchanges: Jacks, Vete, Asofa-Solomona, Schonig – Reserves: Lewis, Earl
Unavailable: Tui Kamikamica (Injured), Max King (Injured), Brenko Lee (Injured), Paul Momirovski (Injured), Cameron Smith (Injured), Marion Seve (Injured), Ryan Papenhuyzen (Rested), Ricky Leutele (Quarantined), Dale Finucane (Rested)
Melbourne Storm were in control of their game with Newcastle Knights for large spells last week and they were able to earn a relatively comfortable success as a result of that as they kept the pressure on Penrith Panthers at the top of the ladder.The Storm took their chances on the back of an 82% completion rate and did so despite the loss of influential skipper Cameron Smith after he had left the field with a shoulder issue that he picked up when scoring in the 24th minute.Smith will now miss this contest with Brandon Smith taking his spot at rake while Marion Seve is also out injured so Justin Olam comes in at centre and Nicho Hynes will get a chance to shine at fullback with head coach Craig Bellamy opting to rest Ryan Papenhuyzen along with Dale Finucane which sees Darryn Schonig join the bench.
CANTERBURY BULLDOGS
Starting 13: Meaney, Watene-Zelezniak, Lafai, Averillo, Montoya, Foran, Lewis, Ogden, Katoa, Napa, Jackson, Faitala-Mariner, Thompson – Interchanges: Marshall-King, Tolman, Sue, R. Smith – Reserves: Holland, To’omaga
Unavailable: Joe Stimson (Injured), Will Hopoate (Injured), Adam Elliott (Injured), Jayden Okunbor (Suspended)
Canterbury Bulldogs almost produced a superb comeback against high-flying Parramatta Eels but they ended up falling two points short with Canterbury unable to find any points in the final 27 minutes of the contest.The Bulldogs had trailed 0-18 and despite scoring 16 unanswered points, they could not get themselves ahead despite ending the game with 54% of the ball with metres difficult to come by having managed just over 100m more than the Eels despite running it on 33 more occasions.Only two teams make fewer metres per game than the Bulldogs and that is something they will be wary of in this clash with Melbourne Storm where they make just one change to last week’s 17 with Reimis Smith coming onto the bench in place of Jack Cogger.
THE PREDICTION
Melbourne Storm continued their superb run of form by making it six wins in a row with a victory over Newcastle Knights last week and they will be confident of extending that run as they face Canterbury Bulldogs. Their opponents suffered a narrow loss to Parramatta Eels last week and the Bulldogs will be hoping they can show further signs of improvement here after two solid showings in succession. The Storm are without a couple of their key players but they should still have too much to see off the Bulldogs here, although points may be at a premium with under 42 points likely.
