Storm v Dragons: Lewis in for Moeroa; Late changes for Red V

The Storm head home to Melbourne's AAMI Park coming off two massive wins and looking to end St George Illawarra's recent winning run with another dominant performance.

Melbourne backed up their record-breaking performance when they pummelled the Warriors at the venue on ANZAC day with another crushing effort against the Knights.

The Dragons, however, will go into the game with plenty of confidence after a string of wins against Newcastle, the Roosters and Wests Tigers.

St George Illawarra's biggest strength has been getting the opposition into an arm wrestle before winning the key moments in recent weeks. If they're to do similiar against the Storm then they'll give themselves every chance of causing an upset.

The Rundown
Team news

Storm: One minor change for the home side with Jordan Grant moving back to 18th man and Chris Lewis coming onto the bench. 

Dragons: A couple of late changes for the Red V ahead of kick-off. Tariq Sims will start at prop, shifting Jack Bird to the back-row and Talatau Amone to start at five-eighth. George Burgess dropped out on Saturday with Jayden Sullivan joining the bench. 

Key match-up
Harry Grant v Andrew McCullough: Two Queensland hookers at very different stages of their NRL careers but equally as important for their side's chances on Saturday. Grant has been instrumental for the Storm since earning the nod to start this season with his ball-playing and running ability at dummy half getting the side on the front foot. McCullough isn't as strong with carries but knows how to organise his forward pack and works well with Dragons halfback Ben Hunt, particularly close to the line.

Stat attack
The Dragons may be on a three-game winning streak but they've only scored over 20 points twice to start the season, with their last three results close encounters. The second halves for both sides offer various results with the Red V scoring 50 in the first half before a further 79 in the second terms of games. Melbourne have scored 118 points in the first halves of games this season while their second halves have seen 175 points scored, including 54 points the last time they played at AAMI Park.

 

Story first published on NRL.com

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NRL.com