Melbourne Storm vs Canberra Raiders Tips - Back red-hot Storm to cover line

The premiership favourites had their hands full in the first half against Manly last week before kicking clear to win by 10 points in the late stages to maintain their lead atop the table.

The Raiders, on the other hand, find themselves back in the eight following a gutsy win over the Dragons.

Ricky Stuart’s men were electric in the first half and showed some promising signs in the second to keep St George off the scoreboard.

Unfortunately, the Raiders face a much tougher test this week against a Storm team that has beaten them on the last three occasions.

Melbourne rattled off a comfortable 34-10 win at GIO Stadium when these two sides met back in Round 11 as the Raiders struggled to get their hands on the ball.

Given the Storm’s outstanding record on the Sunshine Coast it is no surprise to find them laying a healthy -22.5 points at the line.

Ryan Papenhuyzen looks likely to play after suffering a slight knee injury last week, while Nelson Asofa-Solomona is set to return – a worrying sign for the Raiders after scoring twice in their previous meeting.

The way Canberra has played defensively recently should see them remain competitive in this contest, but this still shapes as a serious reality check for the Green Machine against the benchmark in the competition.