TipResumen

INTRODUCTION

The last match of the round sets up a great contest between two sides with very good defence and excellent ability to counter attack, this will be a great and very tight contest. With both sides coming off a loss, both will be desperate to right the ship as we head into the finals just a few weeks away.



MELBOURNE STORM

Cameron Smith limped off in the second half last weekend in their loss to the Rabbitohs who turned on a stirring second half performance to without a doubt confirm their premiership credentials. Leading 16-12 at HT the Storm looked in control scoring three tries to two , the second half however was all the home side Rabbits, where they kept Melbourne scoreless (very tough to do) except for one late try to speedster Ado-Carr late one. Final score 30-20. With Smiths injury the Storm did lose a little direction and although he is cleared to play, keep your betting until late on to make sure he takes the field, as without him, the Storm are not the same force. Munster looms as a key man for Melbourne, he is fast becoming the premier number 6 in the comp and needs a big game with young Jahrome Hughes beside him in the halves. Vunivalu returns for Melbourne in the only change.



CRONULLA SHARKS

Cronulla are coming off a one point loss to a lowly ranked Manly side that for some reason has the wood on them, with the recent win included Manly have won 15 from 16 against the Sharks, certainly a bogey team for Cronulla. As a Manly fan, the game was a rollercoaster, everytime one side scored, the other responded. This lead to a thrilling one point finish and DCE slotting a left foot field goal just minutes into golden point to claim the victory 32-33. It is not unusual for the Sharks to have close contests, winning many games this year by a small margin, mostly 1-12 points. I expect this game to be no different. As with Munster and Hughes, Townsend and Moylan will need to be on top of their game. Townsend has produced some of his best football this season and Moylan is growing into the 5/8 position. Defensively though there is a question over both players and the Storm will be sending some big traffic their way. Cronulla remain unchanged from last week’s loss.



THE BETTING VERDICT

Make no mistake, these teams really do not like each other and with Gallen set to retire at the end of the season, he would love to get one over Cam Smith. Other big match ups have Fifita v Bromwich and Asofa- Solomona v Prior and this is just the front row battle. This is a rematch of the 2016 grand final where the Sharks got one over the more fancied Storm. The most recent result between these sides was from round 4 this season at Shark Park, the Sharks scored a 10 point victory 14-4 in a very low scoring defensive orientated match. There was only 1 try scored in the first half for Cronulla and all the remaining scoring was via the Boot with 4 and 2 penalties kicked each. This was a match from the start of the season and was a penalty festival, needless to say it affected the result It is unlikely we see a score line like this again as both sides have improved dramatically with ball in hand as the season has progressed and let’s hope for less penalties and a more freeflowing game. Current odds have Melbourne solid favourites at $1.48 to $2.70, handicap is set at 5.5 points and combined points 36.5 As this should be close, I see a Tribet as really good value and covers the upset loss if the Sharks win by a low margin. Either side under 6.5 points returns $2.45