Overview

• Kickoff is set for 7:50 p.m. AEST on Friday, with live coverage on Fox League and Channel 9 and streaming via Kayo, Foxtel and 9Now.
• Published team lists name a full-strength-looking Melbourne 1–17 with Papenhuyzen at fullback and Hughes at halfback, while Cronulla run with William Kennedy and Nicho Hynes in key roles.
• Melbourne finished second and reached the prelim via a qualifying-final win over Canterbury, whereas fifth-placed Cronulla came through sudden-death victories against the Roosters and top-seeded Raiders.
• Papenhuyzen and Hughes are expected to return from injury after missing the Storm’s qualifying final, a factor noted in betting and media previews.
• Experts and bookmakers broadly lean to the Storm and to Penrith in the separate Broncos clash on Sunday at Suncorp Stadium.