Melbourne Storm vs Parramatta Eels Prediction: Both sides looking to get back to winning ways

The National Rugby League match between the Melbourne Storm and the Parramatta Eels that will take place in Round 22 will be played at AAMI Park in Melbourne. The Storm and the Eels were both left shellshocked after their games last week, one in Newcastle and the other in Townsville. In a rematch of the first game of the NRL season in 2023, which will take place on Friday, both sides' goal will be to improve their play from the previous week.

The Melbourne Storm have not been their normal selves over the past few weeks, putting in three performances that are not particularly noteworthy. This comes after they had a relatively smooth passage through the Origin season. They have been unable to create any real connection in attack, which is something that has become the norm with players such as Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster. Despite the fact that they were victorious against the Sydney Roosters two weeks ago, the Melbourne Storm have been unable to win the battle in the middle in any of their past three games. This is evidenced by the fact that they have recorded fewer Total runs and fewer Linebreaks than all three of their opponents while playing in their respective games. It is also important to remember that the Melbourne Storm have been defeated in both of their most recent games played at Marvel Stadium. After their disheartening defeat at the hands of the Newcastle Knights, the Melbourne Storm will be without several key players, including Reimis Smith (adductor) and Justin Olam, who will be replaced in the centers by Young Tonumaipea and Marion Seve, respectively. Because of a finger injury he sustained in the match against Newcastle, Nelson Asofa-Solomona won't be able to participate in the game, and Tom Eisenhuth will take his spot in the back row. In addition, Tariq Sims will be out of commission for a period of two weeks as a result of his suspension; however, the fact that Eli Katoa has returned to the interchange is a source of some solace.

Since week 12, Parramatta has been making a run towards the top 8, and with their victory against the Titans in round 20, they moved into the top half of the standings. The NQ Cowboys defeated the Parramatta Eels by a score of 24-16 in their most recent match. However, with two defeats in their most recent three matches, they are dangerously close to falling out of contention once more. The Parramatta Eels are now in eighth place in the National Rugby League rankings with 24 points, which puts them in the position of having the very last place in the standings for the playoffs. The injury setback for Shaun Lane continues with a dislocated elbow that he sustained in Round 21, which will most likely keep him out of action once again. As a direct consequence of this, Andrew Davey is now one of the 13 starting players. After making his way back from St. Helens, the recently signed Joey Lussick makes his first appearance on the bench.

In their most recent five matchups against the Melbourne Storm, the Parramatta Eels have come out on top four times, including their most recent matchup in Melbourne, which they won 28-24 in Round 3 of the previous year. After four failed field goals in the closing ten minutes of the match and the golden point, Harry Grant was the hero for Melbourne by scoring a try in extra-time during their first encounter of 2023, which took place in Round 1. The Parramatta Eels have won their last three Friday night matches, in contrast to the Melbourne Storm, who have lost their last two. The Parramatta Eels have defeated the Melbourne Demons in their previous five matches, losing just the first round of the 2023 season in extra time.Over the course of their last five contests, the Eels have scored a total of 26.6 points on offense on average. In their previous two matches, the Melbourne Storm have allowed five tries to be scored against them down their right side.

In spite of the fact that Melbourne won their match against Parramatta in the first round by a single point in extra time, Parramatta has been the team to have the upper hand over Melbourne in previous games. As an underdog team, I believe that the Eels will have no problem covering the 7.5-point spread, as long as they maintain their excellent play with the ball and score more than three tries that are converted into points. A try scored by Sean Russell on the wing is my pick for the Anytime Try Scorer because Melbourne's right side of their defensive line has been struggling over the past few weeks.