Melbourne Storm 2020 draw snapshot
- Author
- Timestamp
Here is all you need to know about the Melbourne Storm's 2020 Telstra Premiership draw.
The Lowdown
Teams they play twice
Sharks, Rabbitohs, Titans, Cowboys, Warriors, Roosters, Eels, Raiders, Broncos.
Teams they play once
Sea Eagles, Panthers, Dragons, Knights, Tigers, Bulldogs.
Day-by-day breakdown
Thursday - 4, Friday - 6, Saturday - 12, Sunday - 2.
Five-day turnarounds
3: (Round 4, Round 6, Round 9).
Kick-off
The Storm start the year against two of their most bitter rivals in the Sea Eagles and Sharks and both those games are in Sydney. But they round out their first month of football hosting the Panthers and Rabbitohs at AAMI Park. Storm started the 2019 season 4-0 so it will be interesting to see if they can repeat that success rate.
Five key match-ups
Sea Eagles (Round 1, Lottoland): This is a match-up the players look for as much as the fans following on from the wild scenes of 2011. Yes, it was a decade ago but it underpins anything these two clubs mean to each other. Last season Manly won 11-10 at AAMI Park in Round 19 but then got walloped at Lottoland five weeks later, with Justin Olam scoring a hat-trick in the 36-6 victory.
Sharks (Round 2, Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, Round 19, AAMI Park): There has always been a certain Origin-feel to this one but Paul Gallen has now retired. But this is the club that Cameron Smith received his first sin-binning (2018) against in 17 years of first grade. Storm also lost in 2019 (round 8, 20-18) which was one of only four losses in the regular season.
Roosters (Round 9, SCG, Round 23, AAMI Park): Being tossed out at the preliminary final stage has only added to the angst Storm feels after losing the 2018 grand final to Trent Robinson's men. At Adelaide Oval in 2017 and 2018 the meetings between these two clubs were decided by a field goal, and then there's the fact they have traded the NRL Minor Premiership in the last nine years - Roosters have won it four times and so has Melbourre (the interloper being the Bulldogs in 2012).
Raiders (Round 13 AAMI Park, Round 25 GIO Stadium): Craig Bellamy and Ricky Stuart may be best mates, but Melbourne players must be starting to take a dislike to the men in lime green. They beat Storm at AAMI Park twice in four weeks at the end of last season (Round 22 loss 22-18 and then the qualifying final 12-10).
Broncos (Round 15 Suncorp Stadium, Round 24 AAMI Park): Since the Queensland Origin team has comprised plenty of Storm and Broncos players (eight in the Maroons 17 in 2019), there's always a little chest-puffing when these two sides meet. Even with Bellamy's former mentor Wayne Bennett moving on from Brisbane in 2019, a Storm-Broncos game still brings its own special level of feeling.
Five key match-ups of the Storm's 2020 draw
Toughest stretch
Rounds 3-9. In this seven-game period the Storm have three five-day turnarounds, which Craig Bellamy is sure to raise in a post-match press conference if his side suffers a few losses. The good news is that five of those seven games are at AMMI Park, so travel strain is not added onto player fatigue.
And another thing
The Storm has a round 12 bye ahead of Origin I, which is some consolation, but they will be travelling home from New Zealand after playing the Warriors.
