It’s do or die for the Parramatta Eels and Melbourne Storm when they do battle in their semi final on Saturday night.
The Storm might have the home ground advantage, but the Eels have plenty of confidence following their 58-0 demolition of the Broncos last week.
Here are five things you need to know about the clash.
Eels full of confidence after demolishing Broncos
The Eels are hot off a 58-0 win over the Broncos in the elimination semi final, but they won’t enjoy the same experience against the Storm.
Melbourne rarely lose two games in a row and only dropped four all season.
However, the young Eels have nothing to lose and have proven they can beat any team on their day.
Holding the Broncos scoreless shows the Blue and Gold’s defence is up to scratch and ready for the challenge.
Storm boosted by home ground advantage
Storm supporters are sure to outnumber the Blue and Gold Army at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Crowd support can’t be underestimated and the Eels will have to block out the noise and focus on the job at hand.
Knock out semi final
There are no second chances after this game.
It’s a knock out semi final, with the loser ending their NRL season and the winner progressing to the qualifying final against the Sydney Roosters.
Season stats
Head-to-head stats from the 2019 NRL season:
Points scored
Eels – 591
Storm – 641
Points conceded
Eels – 473
Storm – 312
Completion rate
Eels – 75 per cent
Storm – 79 per cent
Tackle efficiency
Eels – 86.4 per cent
Storm – 88.9 per cent
Team changes
With the whole squad fit and available for selection, Brad Arthur has made just one change to his team to take on the Storm.
Kane Evans is welcomed back into the starting side after a one-week ban, pushing Daniel Alvaro back to the bench and Ray Stone to the reserves.
There are no changes to the Storm line-up following their loss to the Raiders.
