Rugby League / Andy Morris / 22 July 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

In Round 9, the Storm came out on top the last time they faced the Broncos and Andy Morris expects them to repeat this at AAMI Park on Friday as they seek an eighth straight win.

That 29-22 victory came at Suncorp, so in a way the hard work has already been done, and Melbourne now lead the all-time series 17-11.

The Storm are without Todd Lowrie (calf), Sione Kite (groin), Chase Stanley (knee), Jake Hawkins (broken arm), Luke Kelly (osteitis pubis), Mitchel Johnson (back) and Troy Thompson (ankle).

That puts them at a relative disadvantage compared to Brisbane, who only have three players on the sidelines - Ben Te'o, Shane Tronc and Jordan Kahu. Skipper Darren Lockyer will play despite suffering from the flu this week.

The Storm were awesome in beating the Raiders 26-0 last weekend, but the Broncos weren't bad either as they thrashed the Titans 20-10 to win for the fifth time in six games.

This shapes up to be a game full of drama, with in-form Cooper Cronk bidding to continue his hot streak against the Broncos.

In opposition, Brisbane hopes to pick up where it left off last week against Gold Coast. Josh Hoffman and Jharal Yow Yeh turned in an impressive display as each of them ran for more than 150m and also collected three tries between them.

The last time the teams met, Melbourne pulled away late and they have a good chance of doing the same here.

The Storm are 1.57 in match odds betting, with the Broncos at 2.74.