Matty Johns weighs in on Storm’s ‘biggest threat’

MATTY Johns says the NRL’s premiership favourite is in danger of having its party crashed as a heated finals series approaches.

Could the party be shut down early?

THE Melbourne Storm are sitting unchallenged to take out the 2017 premiership after shredding through the year at breakneck speed.

The Storm have dropped only four games out of 21, three less than the second and third placed sides on the ladder. Odds are so heavily stacked in Melbourne’s favour that it would be almost silly to bet against them for the premiership.

With Cameron Smith leading a jam-packed side with Origin stars Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Munster at his disposal, it’s not hard to see why they’ve been atop the ladder for the bulk of the season.

But Matty Johns thinks there’s a side who can upset their steamroller of a season. “I think there are a couple of sides (who can take it off them),” he he told Triple M’s The Grill Team. “I think the biggest threat are going to be the Broncos.”

Johns said the Sydney Roosters could also be in line for an upset if they find their mojo going into September.

“The Roosters are about there, they (just) need to find another gear,” he said. “The Broncos are warming but the red-hot favourites are still Melbourne.”

The Broncos suffered a major setback late last month after star hooker Andrew McCullough was ruled out for the season with an ACL injury. But that didn’t stop them running over 2016 premier Cronulla in last week’s 32-10 beating at Suncorp Stadium.

Johns says the Penrith Panthers have shown enough promise to make it into the top four before September.

“Penrith are one of the most intriguing sides going,” he said. “Without Matt Moylan they’ve shown (promise).They’ve pulled their game back a little bit, (Nathan) Cleary has assumed the side and they look a million dollars.

“If they win three from three, they might just bust into the top four. You never know.”

The Penrith unit will attempt to build on their incredible six-game hot streak against the 10th placed Raiders this weekend in Canberra.

G RAHAM’S FUTURE QUESTIONED BY DRAGONS

Will James Graham be a Bulldog next year?

Veteran Bulldog James Graham has copped a lot of flak from fans and the media after his side failed miserably in the second half of this year’s season. But the English-born skipper might not have to endure it much longer.

The Bulldogs are under serious salary cap pressure after signing NSW prop Aaron Woods on a reported $3.2 million four-year contract starting in 2018.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed the 31-year-old’s future at Cantebury has reportedly been questioned by St George Illawarraas the Dragons look for a backup plan to a potential failed attempt at snagging Broncos forward Adam Blair.

JOHNS WEIGHS IN ON TITANS HORROR SHOW

Neil Henry faces an awkward end to his season.

Jarryd Hayne and Neil Henry’s Gold Coast fiasco has reached tipping point after the Titans dropped to a disappointing 30-8 defeat to Parramatta on Thursday night.

Speculation over who will stay and who will be axed from the struggling side remains up in the air. Eyes are pointing to coach Neil Henry as the domino to fall after Hayne announced he’d be demanding every cent of his $1.2 million per year contract if he finds himself out of a job.

“The bottom line is, they’ve lost five in a row,” Matty Johns said of the drama. “The way they played last night, you know there’s something wrong. Everyone from the outside can see there’s something wrong.

“I’ve never seen such a complex situation given the fact some people say ‘this is his fault’ and other people say ‘no, it’s his’. Then you have the coach coming out and saying ‘what feud? There is no feud’.”

When asked about Henry’s future, which currently sits on a knife’s edge, Johns was adamant he would be given the opportunity to see out the season. But it doesn’t look good from there.

“It’s so difficult,” he said. “The bottom line is the Titans are a shadow of the side they were last year. There were periods during the year where they beat the Melbourne Storm. So there is something wrong (this year). I reckon (Henry) might see out these last couple of games.”