Phil Gould's huge grand final prediction after Nelson Asofa-Solomona's 'way too harsh' ban

Phil Gould has declared Melbourne can't win the premiership after Nelson Asofa-Solomona's ban was upheld.

The prop has been banned for five matches for his high shot on Lindsay Collins after unsuccessfully attempting to have his charge downgraded at the NRL judiciary.

Speaking on Nine's 100% Footy afterwards, Gould stated the ban was "way too harsh" and Asofa-Solomona should be available for the grand final.

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Throughout Asofa-Solomona's case, NRL counsel Lachlan Gyles claimed the prop made no effort to lower his height during the tackle.

Gould expressed his frustration at that ruling.

"Where the prosecutor of the game claims he should've tackled differently, show me how without bringing injury to himself," he said.

"As we saw the week before, two blokes who went into a tackle and lowered their height, what happened to them? They ended up in the HIA (head injury assessment) bin."

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Asofa-Solomona's ban is a major setback for the Storm ahead of the grand final.

After an inconsistent start to the season, the prop has found form towards the end.

Joe Chan or Lazarus Vaalepu are the two players likely to fight it out for a spot in the team.

Christian Welch or Tui Kamikamica could come into the starting side.

Gould believes the Storm are now no chance.

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"They can't win without him," he said.

League legend Paul Gallen disagreed.

"He should be playing but I still think the Melbourne Storm can win," he said.

The Storm were the last team to beat the Panthers in a grand final, doing so in 2020 before the latter's triple-premiership streak.