It has largely gone unnoticed but the World Club Challenge takes place on Friday morning. Whether it has gone without too much attention because the competition is flawed or because it is in Australia I’m not sure but either way the Melbourne Storm and the Leeds Rhinos will face off to decide who the best club side in the world is.
[the_ad id=”16647″]
Melbourne Storm
The NRL champions will be eyeing up a historic win in this match and if they have anything like the form they had at the latter end of the play-offs last season with them here then they are going to be very tough to beat. A number of this side where in key positions for the Australian World Cup winning side which highlights the size of the task.
As with most of the Australian sides their defence is watertight and that is something the Storm will build their foundation from in a bid to win the World Club Challenge. That isn’t to say that their offense is bad. It isn’t. Their biggest challenge could be complacency and a lack of match sharpness but time will tell on that.
Leeds Rhinos
The Rhinos have built up for this World Club Challenge with a couple of hard fought wins in Super League but those battles should have them spot on for the contest here. If there is a concern then it could be jet lag because they have only been in Australia for just under a week. That could be a real test for them.
Leeds also have a pretty tight defence but it will need to be at its very best if it is going to be competitive here. They then need all their creativity in the forward areas and if they can put it all together and stay in the game until the final 20 minutes their extra fitness might see them sneak this late on.
Team News
Billy Slater, Will Chambers, Cameron Munster and Cameron Smith are all in the starting line up for the Storm while Ryan Hoffman plays too. Cooper Cronk and Tohu Harris have left since last season.
Leeds Rhinos are without a number of forwards for this match. Anthony Mullally is the latest one who could miss out. Joel Moon faces a fitness test but he is expected to be fit to feature.
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
Betting
It is hard to see beyond the Melbourne Storm here. They are just so solid defensively and the Leeds Rhinos are not the best side going forward in terms of opening sides up with fast, expansive and free flowing rugby so it is hard to see where the English side will pile up the points needed to win the match.
I guess the big question is how cohesive the Storm will be in attacking areas but we always have these concerns with the NRL sides and their quality just comes out. The NRL has put the Super League to shame in recent seasons and I expect that trend to continue here.
Tips
WON – Back Melbourne Storm (-20) to beat Leeds Rhinos for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with BetVictor
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
