The St George Illawarra Dragons will contest the Melbourne Storm for the Emergency Services Cup at WIN Stadium, Melbourne on Saturday (7.30pm).
The teams will be playing for the Emergency Services Cup, which was established in 2009 to support volunteer emergency services personnel in both New South Wales and Victoria.
Head Coach Paul McGregor has named an unchanged line-up to the side that went down 34-16 to the South Sydney Rabbitohs at ANZ Stadium, Olympic Parklast round.
However, he will be without the services of second-rower Tyson Frizell who was named in the NSW Blues State of Origin squad on Wednesday.
The Dragons will look to continue their excellent form at WIN Stadium, where they have won seven of their last nine outings, including three straight dating back to last season.
St George Illawarra Dragons |
Position |
Melbourne Storm |
Jason Nightingale |
Fullback |
Cameron Munster |
Kalifa Faifai Loa |
Wing |
Suliasi Vunivalu |
Euan Aitken |
Centre |
Cheyse Blair |
Tim Lafai |
Centre |
Ryan Morgan |
Kurt Mann |
Wing |
Marika Koroibete |
Gareth Widdop |
Five-eighth |
Tohu Harris |
Benji Marshall |
Halfback |
Blake Green |
Leeson Ah Mau |
Prop |
Jesse Bromwich |
Mitch Rein |
Hooker |
Kenneath Bromwich |
Russell Packer |
Prop |
Jordan McLean |
TBC |
Second Row |
Kevin Proctor |
Joel Thompson |
Second Row |
Felise Kaufusi |
Mike Cooper |
Lock |
Dale Finucane |
|
|
|
|
Interchange |
|
Jack de Belin |
|
Nelson Asofa-Solomona |
Will Matthews |
|
Tim Glasby |
Siliva Havili |
|
Christian Welch |
Jake Marketo |
|
Young Tonumaipea |
|
|
Matt White |
Melbourne Storm
The Storm have been the in form team of the competition so far this season, winning their last seven including knocking off the North Queensland Cowboys, Parramatta Eels and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in that stretch.
Even after losing duo Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk to the Queensland Maroons for their State of Origin fixture, the Storm will be high on confidence after a 46-0 demolition of the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium, Moore Park last round.
The Storm also boast a strong defence having conceded just 26 points in their last six matches, or just over one unconverted try a game.
|
St George Illawarra Dragons (11th) |
Melbourne Storm (1st) |
||
Record |
6 wins, 7 losses |
12 wins, 2 losses |
||
Points |
159 |
16th |
311 |
6th |
Tries |
27 |
=15th |
55 |
7th |
Line Breaks |
28 |
16th |
65 |
=4th |
Tackle Busts |
344 |
11th |
381 |
7th |
Offloads |
134 |
9th |
145 |
7th |
Tackles |
4537 |
4th |
4482 |
8th |
Missed Tackles |
335 |
7th |
267 |
1st |
Head to Head
Dragons winger Kurt Mann will be in the spotlight against his former teammates and will have to contest with one of the fastest outside backs in the competition in Marika Koroibete.
While Koroibete hasn’t been in his usual try scoring form so far this year, he has had a lot of success against the Red-and-Whites during his career, winning four of his five match-ups, including three tries in the last two games.
History
The Dragons will be looking to improve upon their showings against the Storm having won eight of the past 32 fixtures.
However, their success against the Storm at this venue has been positive, notching three wins from their previous four starts.
Round |
Date |
Result |
Score |
Venue |
6 |
April 14, 2014 |
Loss
|
Melbourne Storm - 28 St George Illawarra Dragons – 24 |
AAMI Park, Melbourne |
16 |
June 30, 2014 |
Win |
St George Illawarra Dragons - 24 Melbourne Storm - 12 |
WIN Stadium, Wollongong |
1 |
March 9, 2015 |
Loss |
St George Illawarra Dragons - 4 Melbourne Storm – 12 |
UOW Jubilee Oval, Kogarah |
20 |
July 25, 2015 |
Loss |
Melbourne Storm - 22 St George Illawarra Dragons – 4 |
McClean Park, Napier |
1 |
March 7, 2016 |
Loss |
Melbourne Storm - 18 St George Illawarra Dragons - 16 |
AAMI Park, |
Match Day Details
Venue: WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Gates Open: 3:00pm
NYC: 3:15pm
NSW Cup: 5:10pm
NRL: 7:30pm
Broadcast: FOX Sports
Click Here For Round 15 v Melbourne Storm Game Day Information!
