Rabbitohs v Storm preview - 2017 Round 11

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South Sydney Rabbitohs v Melbourne Storm Sunday 6:30pm at HBF Park, Perth / Whadjuk

Annual trip to Perth promises fireworks.

Souths and Melbourne travel west to Perth to contest this important Round 11 clash on Sunday evening. Melbourne's shock loss to the Gold Coast Titans last week might be the tonic it needs to bounce back, however it comes face-to-face with a determined Souths side that ran riot last week to get back into the winners circle. A loss for the Storm could be a bit of a set back and damaging to its hopes considering that State of Origin is looming where it will more than likely lose the likes of Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Cameron Smith (just to mention a few).

With Souths sitting on four wins from ten matches, a win will let them join a clump of teams on 10 points pushing for a top 8 berth. They will no doubt be trying to find that little bit extra for team mate Greg Inglis as he battles mental health issues as confirmed by the club earlier this week. This is a big chance for Souths to prove their dominance in 2017 against the best team in the league, can it stand up and be counted?

Last meeting: Round 22 2016 - Storm 15 Rabbitohs 14

The Storm have dominated proceedings lately, winning nine of the last ten matches.Looking further down the fixtures list the Storm have won 17 of the last 19 matches which doesn't make for good reading if you are a Souths supporter. The last meeting these two clubs had at Perth led to a 16-14 win for the Storm.

Who to watch: For the home side the Rabbitohs, Cody Walker has been under a lot of media scrutiny for his comments about wanting a new deal at Redfern. All this to the side, expect to see him put his best foot forward on Sunday to help his side record victory. After moving to the fullback position Walker has given the Rabbitohs a new dimension in attack and his kick return metres are helping put the Rabbits into strong field position. Keep an eye on him to chime into the backline on that sweeping plays that Souths like to run.

For the Storm, it's the opposite fullback Billy Slater that will be a key to this match. Slater has picked up where he left off pre-injury. His speed is still there along with his support play. Although arguably his best attribute has been his ball playing skills that have hurt defences all over the NRL. Don't expect this to change any time soon.

The favourite: Storm very warm favourites in this match.

My tip:  Hard to tip against the Storm with their form and dominance in these clashes of late. Storm by 10.

1. Cody Walker 2. Alex Johnston 3. Hymel Hunt 4. Bryson Goodwin 5. Aaron Gray 6. John Sutton 7. Adam Reynolds 8. Thomas Burgess 9. Robbie Farah 10. Robbie Rochow 11. Kyle Turner 12. Angus Crichton 13. Sam Burgess 14. Damien Cook 15. Tyrell Fuimaono 16. Anthony Cherrington 17. Zane Musgrove

1. Billy Slater 2. Suliasi Vunivalu 3. William Chambers 4. Cheyse Blair 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Cameron Munster 7. Cooper Cronk 8. Tim Glasby 9. Cameron Smith 10. Jordan McLean 15. Felise Kaufusi 12. Tohu Harris 13. Dale Finucane 11. Joe Stimson 14. Mark Nicholls 16. Kenneath Bromwich 21. Nelson Asofa-Solomona

Referees: Gavin Badger, Jon Stone; Sideline Officials: Tim Roby, Michael Gordon; Video Referees: Ashley Klein, Luke Patten;