Matt Attard previews the early Friday clash between Canterbury-Bankstown and the New Zealand Warriors.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Vs New Zealand Warriors
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
Date: Friday May 12, 6:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Bulldogs: Hayze Perham 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Jake Averillo 4. Paul Alamoti 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Josh Reynolds 7. Matt Burton 8. Max King 9. Reed Mahoney 10. Tevita Pangai Junior 11. Corey Waddell 12. Jacob Preston 13. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 14. Karl Oloapu 15. Jayden Okunbor 16. Franklin Pele 17. Harrison Edwards 19. Blake Wilson 20. Jackson Topine 21. Ryan Sutton 22. Kyle Flanagan 23. Kurtis Morrin
Warriors: Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Rocco Berry 4. Adam Pompey 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Ronald Volkman 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Bunty Afoa 11. Josh Curran 12. Marata Niukore 13. Tohu Harris 14. Freddy Lussick 15. Dylan Walker 16. Demitric Sifakula 17. Tom Ale 18. Bayley Sironen 20. Taine Tuaupiki 21. Ali Leiataua 22. Viliami Vailea 23. Kalani Going
Referee: Ben Cummins
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
Suffice to say both of these teams are struggling in the injury front, but it’s the Warriors who have the freshest concerns.
Jackson Ford is a huge out (concussion) while Edward Kosi is also out. The Bulldogs will welcome back Josh Addo-Carr.
The thing that tips this match in the favour of the inconsistent Bulldogs is not only the injury factor but their home ground advantage and the shorter turn around for the travelling Warriors.
While the Warriors have been more impressive this year, the Bulldogs have shown they have a lot of improvement in their defence despite some strong attack.
It’s that defensive response that Cameron Ciraldo will be working on deluxe in the lead up to this game, especially with the threat of a rejuvenated Shaun Johnson leading the Warriors.
Last week the Bulldogs’ forwards were dominated in every way by the Raiders pack; they’ll be on a mission to ensure it doesn’t happen again this week against the likes of Addin Fonua-Blake and Tohu Harris.
Historically the teams are quite evenly matched and love a good tussle, but in recent years the Warriors have been dominant.
This should be another beauty if both are on their game, but it’s hard not to see a response from Ciraldo’s men after an embarrassing last game.
As much as referees are objective, the noise around the shocking calls/non-calls against the Warriors last round will ensure they win the battle of officiating comfortably this time out. The Bulldogs will have to be extremely disciplined.
LAST TEN MATCHES
Warriors 8, Bulldogs 2
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Bulldogs by six points.
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