Monday, Campbelltown Stadium, 7pm
Referee: Jared Maxwell

Every time the Tigers have strung a couple of good games together this season they have stumbled and come up with a disappointing result or two, which has left them hovering just inside or just outside the top eight for the most part. That means they haven't had a chance to take a breath. The pressure on them to perform has been constant and now they face it again, with a huge game at home against defending premiers and competition favourites from Melbourne. If the Tigers had won at their last start, when they were hot favourites at home against the Warriors, they would be in the top eight, instead of 10th, and if they lose here they risk falling out of touch with the eight, depending on other results in this round.

The Tigers are coming off the bye, which means they should be refreshed and well prepared. The Storm's representative players backed up from State of Origin III last weekend and the team was understandably a bit flat in parts, but they were still able to do enough to comfortably beat the Raiders 30-14 at home. This will be decidedly tougher, but the Storm have had a clear week to prepare for this game. It's a huge game for the Storm as well. They basically had to concede three games in which they played without nine or 10 stars before Origin matches and now they are fourth on the table when they should probably still be on top. So they will be fired up to get a win and move closer to acquiring a top-two spot going into the finals. The Storm deserve clear favouritism, but it is a potentially tricky game for them.

LATE MAIL
Wests Tigers and the Storm are as per program for Monday night's clash at Campbelltown.
Nathan Ryan

TIGERS: Brett Hodgson (capt), Taniela Tuiaki, Dean Collis, Chris Lawrence, Beau Ryan, Benji Marshall, John Morris, Keith Galloway, Robbie Farah, Bryce Gibbs, Bronson Harrison, Chris Heighington, Dene Halatau. Interchange: Liam Fulton, Ben Te'o, Corey Payne, Daine Laurie

STORM: Billy Slater, Steve Turner, Matt Geyer, Israel Folau, Anthony Quinn, Greg Inglis, Cooper Cronk, Jeff Lima, Cameron Smith (capt), Brett White, Michael Crocker, Ryan Hoffman, Dallas Johnson. Interchange: Jeremy Smith, Adam Blair, Sika Manu, Antonio Kafusi