Storm vs Sharks NRL R6 betting tips & odds – Saturday, April 16

In what shapes up to be the game of the 2022 NRL season to date, the Cronulla Sharks travel to Melbourne and take on the Storm at AAMI Park. A rivalry that’s developed over the last six to seven years, Melbourne have been victorious on 27 of 42 occasions.

In their two most recent clashes, the Storm have won by a grand total of 38 points, but it must be noted that Nicho Hynes and Dale Finucane played a part in both games. Melbourne Storm opened as short-priced favourites at $1.37, with the Sharks sitting at $3.10, but ebbs and flows in the market suggest punters can’t make up their mind on a definitive winner.

While both clubs sit on four wins in five games to start their seasons, the only loss for the Sharks came in round one against the Raiders, while the Storm have lost their only game at AAMI Park against the Eels. Of the pair, the Sharks have been a much better defensive side, only allowing 56 points to be conceded, even though Melbourne have piled on 139 points in five rounds.

Starting with the total match points in the game, neither coach will want to see an attacking shoot out to win this game. Defence will be the primary talking point leading into Saturday, making under 36.5 points in the game at $1.90 a very appealing bet.

Cases can be made for either side as to who will win and why. The Storm possesses what is arguably the best spine in the NRL, while the Sharks are utilising the strengths of their halves and fullback to create time and space for the Sharks to score tries all over the park. In what’s expected to be a remarkably close game, there’s $3 to be had for either team to win by six points or less, a great play in a game that could go either way.

Both teams are littered with tryscorers, but there looks to be one key area on the park that will be exploited. Siosifa Talakai has lined up in the left centre position for a majority of the season to start, recording two tries, a line break and an incredible 27 tackle breaks on his own. Some 17 of those came in one game against Dane Gagai, who has been one of the best centres in the competition this year.

Siosifa Talakai will be marking up on Remis Smith on Saturday night, and you should see a lot of traffic going this direction to isolate the two centres and give Talakai every scoring opportunity possible. To score at any time in the match Siosifa Talakai is paying $3.75 which is an incredible price for a player who’s in career best form this season.

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Key matchup: Jahrome Hughes vs Nicho Hynes

This matchup will be clear for most, but some many miss the greatest aspect of this clash. Nicho Hynes has had experience playing off the bench, at fullback and in the halves of this Storm system. Not only will he know the strengths of the Storm, but their weaknesses too. Look for the Sharks to have many answers to the Storm in defence while posing plenty of questions in attack. This could be the game that shows the rest of the NRL where the Storm are weakest.

Storm vs Sharks match predictions

The Sharks are incredible value to win this head-to-head, but the safest play in betting markets is the tri-bet on either team to win by six points or less at $3.

Storm vs Sharks same-game multi tips

Building on the tri-bet, we will also take under 36.5 points and Siosifa Talakai to score a try at any time. Bundle that up for a $17.50 return at Marantelli Bet.

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