Elinya Chenery previews the Friday night clash between the Bulldogs and the Sea Eagles…
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Vs Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Date: Friday September 2, 6pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Related: NRL Team List Tuesday
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. Corey Waddell 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 13. Josh Jackson 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Joe Stimson 16. Chris Patolo 17. Tevita Pangai Junior 19. Declan Casey 20. Bailey Biondi-Odo 21. Jackson Topine 22. Paul Alamoti 23. Luke Thompson
Fan favourite Josh Addo-Carr notches up 150 NRL matches, whilst Raymond Faitala-Mariner and Jeremy Marshall-King mark their 100th. Tevita Pangai Junior has been named on the bench whilst Corey Waddell will start at second row following his return from suspension.
Embed from Getty ImagesSea Eagles: 1. Kaeo Weekes 2. Ray Tuaimalo-Vaega 3. Brad Parker 4. Tolutau Koula 5. Christian Tuipulotu 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Toafofoa Sipley 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Martin Taupau 11. Haumole Olakau’atu 12. Andrew Davey 13. Dylan Walker 14. Ben Trbojevic 15. Josh Schuster 16. Ethan Bullemor 17. Kurt De Luis 18. James Roumanos 19. Zac Fulton 20. Jacob Sykes 21. Jamie Humphreys 22. Gordon Chan Kum Tong
Andrew Davey returns to the run-on side, while rookie Kaeo Weekes plays his third NRL game and his first as a starting fullback. This match marks the final time Kieran Foran, Dylan Walker, Martin Taupau, and Andrew Davey will run out for Manly.
Referee: Peter Gough
MATCHDAY PREVIEW
With Manly vying for the top eight and the Bulldogs competing for the wooden spoon for the majority of the season, it is almost hard to believe that their final round clash is a match up between 11th and 12th place respectively. Whilst the six-point gap between the two means the Bulldogs cannot overtake Manly on the ladder, this match holds large sentimental value for many involved, with milestone and farewells in no short supply.
The last time these two sides met, it went right down to the wire. Way back in the third round of the season, it was only a Daly Cherry-Evans 76th minute field goal that could split them. With the final score standing at 13-12 Manly’s way at the end of 80 minutes, it rounded out a seven-match winning streak against Canterbury, who have not beaten the Sea Eagles since 2017. This streak included a 66-0 thrashing during the 2021 season.
Both sides come into this match off losses, with the Bulldogs going down 16-0 to the Sharks last Saturday. Despite the scoreline only standing at three tries the difference, the Bulldogs’ performance was lacklustre against an unusually ill-disciplined Cronulla side, and they probably deserved to have more points put on them.
Manly were on the receiving end of a 48-6 hammering against a Raiders side desperately attempting to keep their finals chances alive, with the Sea Eagles’ lone try coming from Ethan Bullemor in the 62nd minute. Both Manly and Canterbury-Bankstown urgently need to find a way to generate more points if they’re to have any hope of sending off their season with a win.
Embed from Getty ImagesINTERESTING FACT
Since 1998 these sides have met 39 times, with Canterbury-Bankstown claiming victory 20 times and Manly 19. Will the Sea Eagles level the score – or will the Bulldogs draw away on this monumental 40th meeting?
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Bulldogs by two.
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