Tips: Freak 21-year phenomenon to haunt Eels

The Melbourne Storm haven't mislaid a circular 1 crippled since 2001 and neither Brad Fittler oregon Andew Johns spot that changing on Thursday night, contempt a pugnacious roadworthy travel to CommBank Stadium to conscionable past year's expansive finalists Parramatta.

After asking Johns however agelong it had been since the Storm had mislaid their season-opener, a wide-eyed Johns replied "21 years", with some rapidly locking successful their extremity for Melbourne to proceed that freakish trend.

However, it's not Craig Bellamy's insane grounds for getting his squad fine-tuned and cherry ripe by aboriginal March that has them convinced, but the problems with an Eels guardant battalion that hardly resembles the 1 that took the tract for the 2022 decider.

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"Big injuries successful the backmost row, nary Ryan Matterson, nary Shaun Lane and [Isaiah] Papali'i's gone to the Tigers," Johns told Wide World of Sports Freddy & the Eighth's Tips.

Josh Hodgson of the Eels passes the shot during the club's proceedings lucifer against the Knights. (Getty)

Replacing those expansive last stars successful the starting battalion for the Eels connected Thursday nighttime are Bryce Cartwright, Matt Doorey and J'maine Hopgood. Doorey and Hopgood person played conscionable 27 archetypal people games betwixt them and person yet to genuinely found themselves arsenic NRL players, with Bellamy's broadside acceptable to springiness them a fearsome trial successful their archetypal games for the Eels.

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"They've got a precise inexperienced back-row, Parra, truthful I'll spell the Storm," Johns added.

"We'll interruption that down actually, astatine the footy connected Thursday," Fittler replied, teasing a conception to aerial connected Nine's sum of Thursday nighttime footy.

"The Parramatta squad playing Melbourne is truthful antithetic to the expansive last team. It'll instrumentality a portion (for the Eels to gel)."

Legends torn implicit lopsided subordinate development: Freddy & the Eighth

Scroll beneath for each the Round 1 tips by Andrew Johns, Brad Fittler and each Nine's adept tipsters!

Brad Fittler: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers

Billy Slater: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Titans

James Bracey: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Wests Tigers

Ruan Sims: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Tigers

Allana Ferguson: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Manly, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Tigers

Paul Gallen: Eels, Knights, Panthers, Manly, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Titans

Andrew Johns: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Manly, Cowboys, Roosters, Tigers, Sharks

Peter Psaltis: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Souths, Roosters, Titans

Wally Lewis: Storm, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Titans

Darren Lockyer: Storm, Knights, Broncos, Sea Eagles, Cowboys Sharks, Roosters, Tigers

Danika Mason: Storm, Knights, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers

Michael Chammas: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Bulldogs, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers

Ben Glover: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Roosters, Tigers

The Mole: Eels, Warriors, Panthers, Sea Eagles, Cowboys, Sharks, Roosters, Wests Tigers

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Every club's champion line-up for the 2023 NRL season