Storm hit with NRL premiership truth bomb as legend makes huge call on Panthers
The Storm's hopes of ending the regular season on top of the ladder took a hit on Saturday night when they went down by two points to Manly in a 16-18 nail-biter at AAMI stadium. Melbourne were seven wins from seven at home before that defeat to the Sea Eagles and saw their six-game NRL winning streak snapped after a gutsy display from Manly.
It sparked fresh questions about whether the third-placed Storm deserved to be considered favourites to win the grand final this season. Craig Bellamy's side were still without superstar fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, who missed his third game in a row with a calf strain. His return will be a massive boost for Melbourne's premiership hopes but Alexander says he's still not completely convinced they're the team to beat.
"It's hard to go past Papenhuyzen, Munster, Hughes and Grant. That's the best spine in the game," Alexander said on SEN radio. "The size of the pack, the middles, (Trent) Loiero's an Origin player. Nelson (Asofa-Solomona), Stefano (Utoikamanu), Josh King, it's a big middle and they've got some quality players coming off the bench.
"So I guess they are (premiership favourites) but they haven't set the world on fire and if you have a look at the six wins and who they've been against, they got beaten by the Sharks and then went on a six-game run. They beat the Titans, the Cowboys twice, the Bunnies, the Sharks - who were in a hell of a hole when they beat them - and Newcastle."
Alexander says while the Storm have been short-priced favourites to win the premiership all season, he sees the same sort of inconsistencies in their displays as other rivals, save from perhaps the ladder-leading Raiders. "They will be the minor premiers, he said about Ricky Stuart's Canberra side. "The run they have home certainly favours the Raiders, who showed again just how dangerous they can be with the ball. They were down against the Eels but they destroyed them in the second half with five tries."
The injury-hit Warriors are the only team currently in the top six who Alexander has written off as premiership contenders. But he believes any of the Raiders, Bulldogs, Broncos or Panthers are capable of preventing the Storm from winning the grand final.
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And fellow Panthers legend Sattler is convinced his former club can win an unprecedented fifth straight NRL premiership after extending their winning streak to six games with Friday night's 30-10 win against South Sydney. 'They can, based on the aura... and it doesn't matter if they finish 5th or 6th, cause a home elimination/semi-final to them is irrelevant," Sattler said on SEN radio.
'And they've got players that know how to win and how to prepare.' The Panthers sat dead-last after 12 rounds and many had written off their chances in 2025 but Ivan Cleary's side are now up into sixth after their stunning resurgence. And veteran league reporter Andrew Webster backed Sattler's call about the Panthers and believes their Origin stars will have extra motivation to win another comp after their heartbreaking series loss with NSW.
'When Queensland lose (in Origin), those Melbourne Storm Queenslanders usually rise to the occasion and they go pretty close (to winning),' he said on SEN. 'I reckon that could be the case for Penrith. That will be the motivation for the likes of (Liam) Martin, (Dylan) Edwards, Cleary, Yeo and (Brian) To'o. They go to a new level, and they are a different team in September, and that's how they approach it.'
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