NRL Round 20 Preview and Prediction - Canberra Raiders v Melbourne Storm @ GIO Stadium

Canberra Raiders (10th) v Melbourne Storm (1st) @ GIO Stadium
 
Preview - The Raiders have a litmus test of their finals’ credentials as they face a crunch home clash against the table-topping Melbourne Storm on Saturday night in Canberra. The Raiders finally got a slice of luck in a close game last week, as they beat the Dragons 18-14 in Golden Point in Canberra. It was far from a pretty performance from the Raiders once again, however they will have been given a much needed injection of confidence for a side that had lost 6 games by 6 points or less this season. The Storm are fresh off a bye after their hugely impressive 42-12 win over the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium in Round 18. The Storm are one game ahead of the Roosters as they look to claim a 2nd straight Minor Premiership. 
 
History - The Raiders beat the Storm convincingly in Canberra last season, winning 22-8. The sides also met two months later in a tense Preliminary Final, with the Storm gripping on for a 14-12 victory. The Storm, despite losing in Canberra, have a strong record in the ACT of late having won 4 from their past 6 at GIO Stadium against the Raiders. The Storm have a dominant record overall against the Raiders with 27 victories to just 11 defeats. 
 
Canberra Raiders’ Scouting Report - The Raiders have paid for Josh Papalii’s ill discipline with the forward set to miss two matches for his late shoulder charge on Josh Dugan against the Dragons last week. Iosia Soliola will replace Papalii in the starting back row, with Michael Oldfield added to the bench. Interestingly, Ricky Stuart switched his halves to opposite sides of the field last week and it paid dividends with both Blake Austin and Aiden Sezer having some good moments in the game after some poor form over the past couple of months. 
 
Melbourne Storm Scouting Report - The Storm have lost centre Chase Blair for the season with Young Tonumaipea getting first crack in the centres to replace him on a full time basis. Cameron Munster's confidence will be through the roof after an unbelievable Origin debut in which he carved up the Blues with his running game, slotting in seamlessly for Johnathan Thurston. 
 
Verdict - Melbourne by 1-8

It's hard to tip the Raiders against the red-hot premiership favourites, however I really thing this is a danger game for Melbourne. Some of their stars have just come off a massive Origin 3 game and are likely to be a little flat, especially down in cold Canberra against a Raiders’ team that is desperate for a win. The Raiders usually play the Storm very well, and probably should have beaten them in the Preliminary Final, however a fair bit has changed since then. If the Storm are at their best the Raiders have little chance in this game, as they are nowhere near the side they were at the back end of last year where they were playing that power game and had huge momentum behind them. However, given it is such a desperate game for Canberra, and having built some confidence from their win over the Dragons, I am expecting this game to go right down to the wire with a genuine chance of an upset result, however sticking with Melbourne in a cliffhanger.