Match day guide and preview for the 2022 NRL Elimination Final between the Melbourne Storm and Canberra Raiders.
Match details
- Who: Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders
- When: Saturday 10 September, 5.40pm
- Where: AAMI Stadium, Melbourne
- Weather: min 11, max 15. 70% chance of rain, 1 to 3 mm
- Click here to buy tickets
- Head-to-head record: Played 51. Storm 36 wins. Raiders 15 wins.
Line ups
| RAIDERS | STORM | |
| Xavier Savage | 1 | Nick Meaney |
| Nick Cotric | 2 | David Nofoaluma |
| Matthew Timoko | 3 | Marion Seve |
| Sebastian Kris | 4 | Justin Olam |
| Jordan Rapana | 5 | Xavier Coates |
| Jack Wighton | 6 | Cameron Munster |
| Jamal Fogarty | 7 | Jahrome Hughes |
| Josh Papalii | 8 | Jesse Bromwich |
| Zac Woolford | 9 | Harry Grant |
| Joe Tapine | 10 | Nelson Asofa-Solomona |
| Hudson Young | 11 | Felise Kaufusi |
| Elliott Whitehead | 12 | Kenny Bromwich |
| Adam Elliott | 13 | Josh King |
| BENCH | BENCH | |
| Tom Starling | 14 | Brandon Smith |
| Emre Guler | 15 | Tui Kamikamica |
| Corey Horsburgh | 16 | Trent Loiero |
| Corey Harawira-Naera | 17 | Chris Lewis |
| RESERVES | RESERVES | |
| Albert Hopoate | 18 | Young Tonumaipea |
| Ata Mariota | 19 | Jordan Grant |
| Matt Frawley | 20 | Tepai Moeroa |
| Peter Hola | 21 | Cooper Johns |
| Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad | 22 | Grant Anderson |
Jack Wighton and Elliott Whitehead return for the Raiders after the being rested, with Corey Harawira-Naera shifting to the bench and Matt Frawley to the reserves.
Melbourne have named star halfback Jahrome Hughes to return after he was a late out against the Eels with calf tightness.
Team profiles
Melbourne Storm 5th – 15 wins and 9 losses
Points for: 657 points for (1st in the NRL)
Points against: 410 points against (4th)
Last 10: 4-6 – LLWWWWLLLL
Home record: 8-4
Away record: 7-5
Average winning margin: 24.2 points
Average losing margin: 12.9 points
Biggest win: defeated New Zealand 70-10 at AAMI Stadium in round 7
Biggest loss: lost to North Queensland 36-6 at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in round 11
Most tries: Ryan Papenhuyzen (14), Xavier Coates and Nick Meaney (13)
Most try assists: Harry Grant (16), Cam Munster (15), Jahrome Hughes (11)
Most linebreaks: Cam Munster (17), Justin Olam (15), Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes and Nick Meaney (13)
Most run metres: Cam Munster (2,970), Justin Olam (2,894), Nelson Asofa-Solomona (2,611)
Most tackles: Harry Grant (804), Josh King (689), Kenny Bromwich (670)
Premiership players in 17: Jesse Bromwich (3), Cameron Munster (2), Nelson Asofa-Solomona (2), Felise Kaufusi (2), Kenny Bromwich (2), Justin Olam, Jahrome Hughes, Brandon Smith
Finals record: 34 wins, 20 losses. 62.9% win rate
Last 10 finals: 6 wins, 4 losses
- 2021 Preliminary Final: lost to Penrith 10-6 at Suncorp Stadium
- 2021 Qualifying Final: defeated Manly 40-12 at Sunshine Coast Stadium
- 2020 Grand Final: defeated Penrith 26-20 at Accor Stadium
- 2020 Preliminary Final: defeated Canberra 30-10 at Suncorp Stadium
- 2020 Qualifying Final: defeated Parramatta 36-24 at Suncorp Stadium
- 2019 Preliminary Final: lost to Roosters 14-6 at SCG
- 2019 Semi Final: defeated Parramatta 32-0 at AAMI Park
- 2019 Qualifying Final: lost to Canberra 12-10 at AAMI Park
- 2018 Grand Final: lost to Roosters 21-6 at Stadium Australia
- 2018 Preliminary Final: defeated Cronulla 22-6 at AAMI Park
Canberra Raiders 8th – 14 wins and 10 losses
Points for: 524 points for (8th)
Points against: 461 points against (6th)
Last 10: 8-2 – WWWWLWWWLW
Home record: 8-4
Away record: 6-6
Average winning margin: 13.5 points
Average losing margin: 12.6 points
Biggest win: defeated Wests Tigers 56-10 at Leichardt Oval in round 25
Biggest loss: lost to Penrith 36-6 at BlueBet Stadium in round 7
Most tries: Sebastian Kris (14), Hudson Young (13), Matt Timoko (8)
Most try assists: Jamal Fogarty (10), Jack Wighton (9), Zac Woolford (8)
Most linebreaks: Hudson Young (11), Sebastian Kris (10), Nick Cotric (10)
Most run metres: Joe Tapine (3,763), Josh Papalii (2,859), Matt Timoko (2,629)
Most tackles: Tom Starling (716), Joe Tapine (664), Hudson Young (659)
Premiership players in 17: none
Finals record: 25 wins, 27 losses. 48% win rate
Last 10 finals:
- 2020 Preliminary Final: lost to Melbourne 30-10 at Suncorp Stadium
- 2020 Semi Final: defeated Roosters 22-18 at SCG
- 2020 Elimination Final: defeated Cronulla 32-20 at GIO Stadium
- 2019 Grand Final: lost to Roosters 14-8 at Accor Stadium
- 2019 Preliminary Final: defeated South Sydney 16-10 at GIO Stadium
- 2019 Qualifying Final: defeated Melbourne 12-10 at AAMI Stadium
- 2016 Preliminary Final: lost to Melbourne 14-12 at AAMI Stadium
- 2016 Semi Final: defeated Penrith 22-12 at GIO Stadium
- 2016 Qualifying Final: lost to Cronulla 16-14 at GIO Stadium
- 2012 Semi Final: lost to South Sydney 38-16 at ANZ Stadium
Last 5 meetings and AAMI Stadium history
- 2022 round 18: Storm 16 – 20 Raiders at AAMI Stadium
- 2022 round 5: Raiders 16 – 30 Storm at McDonalds Park, Wagga Wagga
- 2021 round 22: Storm 26 – 16 Raiders at Sunshine Coast Stadium
- 2021 round 11: Raiders 10 – Storm 34 at GIO Stadium
- 2020 Preliminary Final: Storm 30 – 10 Raiders at Suncorp Stadium
The Raiders’ win over Melbourne in round 18 broke a streak of five consecutive losses to the Storm.
Canberra came into that match as big underdogs, but managed to grind out a tough win thanks to a brilliant individual match-winning try to James Schiller.
The win made it four in a row at AAMI Park for the Raiders, including the club’s famous 12-10 Qualifying Final victory in 2019 where John Bateman scored the winning try in the dying minutes.
The 2019 clash was one of three recent finals contests between these two sides, with Melbourne winning the other two matches in 2016 and 2020.
Pre match predictions
The Woolford Falcon: Zac Woolford to break through for his first try in the NRL. Raiders by 8.
Kris the redeemer: Seb Kris to give Marion Seve a bubble bath with at least one try involvement, 3 tackle breaks and 100+ run metres. Raiders by 4 – Denholm Samaras
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