Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters prediction and odds: NRL 2023 semi-final

UK: 18+ USA: 21+ | Begambleaware.org | T&Cs apply | Play Responsibly

It’s crunch time in the NRL, as the Sydney Roosters take on the Melbourne Storm for a spot in the preliminary-finals next week. Can they continue their current winning streak, or will the finals pedigree of Melbourne rise to the surface? Read on for our Storm vs Roosters predictions.

Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters – match predictions

Contents

1 Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters – match predictions
- 1.1 Sydney Roosters to win 1-12 @ 4.25 (10/3)
- 1.2 Either team to win by 1-12 @ 1.85 (4/5)
2 Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters preview
3 Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters match details

Talk about a fantastic match up. The Sydney Roosters are on a hot winning streak, while the Storm are persistent winners at this stage of the season, but carrying some big injuries. Here are our top predictions ahead of the Storm vs Roosters this weekend:

Sydney Roosters to win 1-12 @ 4.25 (10/3)

History points towards the Storm winning this one, with Melbourne winning seven of their past eight against Sydney, as well as eight in a row at AAMI Park. They’re also classically clinical at this stage of the season, reaching the preliminary finals in seven of the past eight seasons.

However, we saw how history came crashing down for the Storm in their 26-0 bollocking at the hands of the Broncos last weekend, and we say the same will happen for them this Friday night against the Roosters. Injuries to Xavier Coates, Young Tonumaipea and Ryan Papenhuyzen mean Melbourne are weakened, and while Sydney have their own trio of injuries, we say that this disruption is exactly what the Roosters need to pull off an upset here.

The Roosters are riding a six game winning streak, and the last two weekends proved that they can do it tough, winning on the road against quality opposition. The team that everyone predicted Sydney would be before the NRL 2023 kicked off is finally here, and there’s a great chance they’ll be squaring off against the Panthers next weekend.

Either team to win by 1-12 @ 1.85 (4/5)

If you don’t quite have the stones to bet on the underdog here, then at least throw a wager on this being a tight match. Two high quality sides, it’s hard to see this being a blowout, as they’ll be throwing the kitchen sink at each other for 80 minutes with their seasons on the line.

Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters preview

Heading into this match, here’s a look at how both teams’ seasons have gone so far in the NRL 2023:

Melbourne Storm

It was all going so well for Melbourne until last week. They defeated the Brisbane Broncos in the final round to secure third place, and looked to be rounding into the kind of form they’d want heading into finals season. And then, in a repeat of their final round robin match, the Storm were utterly trounced by Brisbane last weekend, going down 26-0 and suffering several significant injuries as well. Any further glory in their 2023 campaign would be a surprise, rather than a given.

Sydney Roosters

Last weekend saw Sydney win one of the all-time classic finals matches, on the road against the Cronulla Sharks. With the crowd and the NRL ladder against them, the Roosters pipped the sixth placed Sharks to win 13-12, in a gritty performance that saw them extend their winning streak to six in a row. Are they on a collision course with the Penrith Panthers, as everyone predicted at the start of the year?

Melbourne Storm vs Sydney Roosters head to head

The Storm lead the head to head between these two teams 28-19, and have won seven of their last eight meetings against the Roosters. Most recently they met in mid-July, with Melbourne coming out victorious 30-16.