Sydney Roosters v Melbourne Storm

The NRL Premiership Grand Final between Sydney Roosters and defending champions Melbourne Storm takes place at the ANZ Stadium on Sunday evening.

The Roosters saw off the South Sydney Rabbitohs 12-4 before 44,380 fans at the last game to be played at the ANZ Stadium before redevelopment.  The Roosters ran in three tries to nil, with their defence being superb in continually repelling the Rabbitohs.

The Storm are attempting to become the first team to successfully defend their premiership since the Brisbane Broncos did so back in 1993.  In reaching the Grand Final, Melbourne clinically dismantled the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 22-6 in their Preliminary Final last Friday night at AAMI Park, with retiring Storm fullback Billy Slater putting in a superb two try performance in his last appearance at the stadium.

The teams have only met once previously this season, with the Storm just edging home 9-8 at the Adelaide Oval in round 16. The scores were level at 2-2 at half-time and wasn’t decided until Cameron Smith’s clutch field goal two minutes from full-time.  It would be no surprise were this game to be equally tight.

Sydney Roosters v Melbourne Storm Team News

Team news could be a decisive factor on Sunday, with the Roosters potentially missing chief playmaker and former Storm halfback Cooper Cronk after injuring his left shoulder (rotator cuff damage) in a missed field goal attempt just before the interval in the win over the Rabbitohs.

The Storm have their own concerns, with the aforementioned Slater having to prove his innocence over a shoulder charge on Sharks winger Sosaia Feki at his hearing on Tuesday night.  Failure to do so would mean that he has played his last game in the Storm No.1 jersey.

Sydney Roosters v Melbourne Storm Team Odds & Tips

The likelihood of another close encounter is certainly reflected in the NRL Grand Final betting odds, with the ‘Match Result’ odds having the Roosters at 2.10 with bet365*, the Storm at 1.85 with Unibet and the draw at 17.00 also with bet365*.  

With uncertainty over key players at present, selecting a winner is a major risk at this stage. These two teams could easily largely cancel each other out again, so the ‘Total Points’ market of Under 32.5 points looks worth considering at 1.91 with bet365.* 

More Betting Tips

* Odds correct at the time of writing