The race for the NRL Grand Final is down to the best 4 teams in the NRL this season. First up, the Storm will be looking to defend their home turf and return to the Grand Final for the first time since 2020. But the Roosters won’t be backing down. Meanwhile, the Sharks will look to continue the momentum after last week as they face the mighty Panthers. Penrith are aiming for a 5th straight GF appearance. Here is a look at how both matchups are shaping up.<\/p>\n
For the Storm, this will mark their fifth grand final appearance in the last nine years. They earned a week off after a solid 37-10 win over the Sharks at this venue, where Harry Grant grabbed a hat-trick, and Will Warbrick crossed the line twice. Plus, Papenhuyzen made a strong comeback from injury.<\/p>\n
Storm captain Harry Grant is set to celebrate a milestone with his 100th NRL appearance.<\/p>\n
In last year’s semi-final at AAMI Park, it took a last-minute, acrobatic try from Will Warbrick to secure an 18-13 win for the Storm. The towering Kiwi winger will be one to watch in attack again. The Storm also came out on top in both of their meetings this season, as well as all three clashes in 2023.<\/p>\n
The Roosters are chasing their first grand final appearance since their back-to-back wins in 2018-19. They\u2019re coming off a dominant 40-16 victory over the Sea Eagles last week, where James Tedesco bagged a double and racked up 226 run metres, while Connor Watson put in a solid 42 tackles at hooker.<\/p>\n
After getting through 29 minutes last week with his fractured shoulder holding up, Victor Radley is set to step up even more as the Roosters face off against the Storm\u2019s powerful forward pack.<\/p>\n
However, the Roosters will need to break a bit of a curse\u2014they\u2019ve lost their last three games at AAMI Park.<\/p>\n
These two sides usually match well together and defence is generally the focus. As such, the Under is 8-1 when these two teams play each other at AAMI Park. This year, the two meetings have gone Under as well (24-8 and 18-12).<\/p>\n
Stadium Record<\/strong><\/p>\n Melbourne has won 9 of 10 at home this season. Sydney are 4-9 in their history.<\/p>\n