Matt Attard previews the round 23 clash between the Eels and the Bulldogs. Here’s what we have to look forward to.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Parramatta Eels Vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Venue: CommBank Stadium, Sydney
Date: Saturday August 20, 3:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
Embed from Getty ImagesEels: 1. Clinton Gutherson 2. Maika Sivo 3. Viliami Penisini 4. Tom Opacic 5. Waqa Blake 6. Dylan Brown 7. Mitchell Moses 8. Reagan Campbell-Gillard 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Junior Paulo 11. Shaun Lane 12. Isaiah Papali’i 13. Ryan Matterson 14. Ofahiki Ogden 15. Bryce Cartwright 16. Oregon Kaufusi 17. Marata Niukore 19. Bailey Simonsson 20. Jakob Arthur
A huge in for Parramatta, as Mitchell Moses returns from his broken finger.
Embed from Getty ImagesBulldogs: 1. Jake Averillo 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Aaron Schoupp 4. Braidon Burns 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Matt Burton 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Max King 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Harrison Edwards 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Josh Jackson 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Joe Stimson 22. Luke Thompson 23. Tevita Pangai Junior 19. Declan Casey 17. Chris Patolo
Luke Thompson (injury) and Tevita Pangai Jnr (birth of child) are expected to return against the Eels.
Referee: Ashley Klein
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
Parramatta are looking to recover after a dismal scoreless effort against the Rabbitohs last week, which came just two weeks after defeating the premiers.
For their inconsistency they are at least consistent in bouncing back it seems. They are set to welcome back star halfback Mitchell Moses but he may yet be rested for another week.
The Bulldogs are also coming off a terrible game in New Zealand but will feel more at home in Sydney. They announced Cameron Ciraldo as head coach during the week and will be buoyed by the settling of that saga.
Their defence has been shocking and something they will quickly have to rectify. Led by Matt Burton, their attack is still scintillating at times, but the fact they did a number on the Eels last time around should mean their opponents are better equipped.
Last week the Eels leaked 26 points and scored zero, missing Moses severely. They missed 32 tackles and made 13 errors. The Bulldogs missed 31 and made nine errors.
That tells us both teams have room for improvement this week and they’ll want to tighten their defence if they’re going to win.
It’s normally a belting game between two old rivals, and we’re tipping a close one here.
Embed from Getty ImagesINTERESTING FACT
Canterbury-Bankstown and Parramatta played one of the all-time classic preliminary finals in 1998.
Parramatta led 18-2 with nine minutes left before the Bulldogs scored three tries to tie the game at 18-18. The Dogs went on to win 32-20 in the extra time period.
Parramatta also beat Canterbury in the 1986 NSWRL Grand Final (their last premiership to date), winning 4-2.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Eels by one.
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