Melbourne Storm prop Christian Welch says his side must be ready to face "13 forwards" when they host New Zealand Warriors at AAMI Park on Anzac Day evening.
The Storm (5-1 win-loss) are looking to bounce back from a 21-20 loss to Sydney Roosters on Good Friday and on the back of a short turnaround they now face the powerfully built Warriors (4-2).
Welch enjoyed one of the best games of his career last round posting a team-best 206 run metres despite needing to pass a concussion assessment after coming off second best in a collision with Roosters and New Zealand prop Jared Waerea-Hargreaves.
Christian Welch says Storm's tackling and defence will be crucial against the Warriors on Anzac Day.Credit:NRL Photos
"Coming through the grades Jared is a bloke I've really admired how he goes about his work as a front-rower – it was a good challenge," Welch said.
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"I probably wouldn't run at the bloke again off a dropout, that was a bit of a mistake but it was such a great contest through the middle and we'll go over some things we could do better.
"I was feeling pretty good after but I was a bit shaken up at the time. It probably wasn't the smartest decision, but I thought I would take the big dog on."
While pushing his side to fix their slow starts, the latest of which saw them fell 20-0 behind to the Roosters, Welch said tackling and defence would be crucial against such a Warriors side who include the likes of 191-centimetre, 111-kilogram Ken Maumalo as one of their wingers.
"They have almost got 13 forwards with the size of wingers like Maumalo, we will have our work cut out for us," Welch said.
"It's such a revered day and a privilege to play on that day.
"It's a cliche but I'm just focusing on playing well, doing my job for the team. It's nice to play well but the fact of the matter is we still lost our first game of the year."
The Storm have named centre Marion Seve to start on the bench Read More – Source
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