The Melbourne Storm haven’t lost a round one game since 2001 and neither Brad Fittler or Andew Johns see that changing on Thursday night, despite a tough road trip to CommBank Stadium to meet last year’s grand finalists Parramatta.
After asking Johns how long it had been since the Storm had lost their season-opener, a wide-eyed Johns replied “21 years”, with both quickly locking in their tip for Melbourne to continue that freakish trend.
However, it’s not Craig Bellamy’s insane record for getting his team fine-tuned and cherry ripe by early March that has them convinced, but the problems with an Eels forward pack that barely resembles the one that took the field for the 2022 decider.
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“Big injuries in the back row, no Ryan Matterson, no Shaun Lane and [Isaiah] Papali’i’s gone to the Tigers,” Johns told Wide World of Sports Freddy & the Eighth’s Tips.
Replacing those grand final stars in the starting pack for the Eels on Thursday night are Bryce Cartwright, Matt Doorey and J’maine Hopgood. Doorey and Hopgood have played just 27 first grade games between them and have yet to truly establish themselves as NRL players, with Bellamy’s side set to give them a fearsome test in their first games for the Eels.
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“They’ve got a very inexperienced back-row, Parra, so I’ll go the Storm,” Johns added.
“We’ll break that down actually, at the footy on Thursday,” Fittler replied, teasing a segment to air on Nine’s coverage of Thursday night footy.
“The Parramatta team playing Melbourne is so different to the grand final team. It’ll take a while (for the Eels to gel).”
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Scroll below for all the Round 1 tips by Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler and all Nine’s expert tipsters!
Brad Fittler: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers
Billy Slater: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Titans
James Bracey: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Wests Tigers
Ruan Sims: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Tigers
Allana Ferguson: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Manly, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Tigers
Paul Gallen: Eels, Knights, Panthers, Manly, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Titans
Andrew Johns: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Manly, Cowboys, Roosters, Tigers, Sharks
Peter Psaltis: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Souths, Roosters, Titans
Wally Lewis: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Titans
Darren Lockyer: Storm, Knights, Broncos, Sea Eagles, Cowboys Sharks, Roosters, Tigers
Danika Mason: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers
Michael Chammas: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers
Ben Glover: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers
The Mole: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Wests Tigers
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