Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 21 clash between the Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Brisbane Broncos Vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Date: Saturday July 27, 3:00pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Broncos: 1. Reece Walsh, 2. Selwyn Cobbo, 3. Kotoni Staggs, 4. Deine Mariner, 5. Jesse Arthars, 6. Ezra Mam, 7. Adam Reynolds, 8. Corey Jensen, 9. Billy Walters, 10. Payne Haas, 11. Kobe Hetherington, 12. Jordan Riki, 13. Patrick Carrigan, 14. Blake Mozer, 15. Tyson Smoothy, 16. Xavier Willison, 17. Martin Taupau, 18. Corey Oates, 19. Josiah Karapani, 20. Tristan Sailor, 21. Vaa Semu, 22. Brendan Piakura
Bulldogs: 1. Connor Tracey, 2. Jacob Kiraz, 3. Bronson Xerri, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Blake Wilson, 6. Matt Burton, 7. Toby Sexton, 8. Josh Curran, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Samuel Hughes, 11. Viliame Kikau, 12. Jacob Preston, 13. Kurt Mann, 14. Bailey Hayward, 15. Lipoi Hopoi, 16. Kurtis Morrin, 17. Harry Hayes, 19. Poasa Faamausili, 20. Liam Knight, 21. Hayze Perham, 22. Jeral Skelton, 23. Drew Hutchison
Referee: Grant Atkins
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
A rare Saturday afternoon home game for Brisbane sees them looking to remain in touch with the top eight, while Canterbury can remain in the hunt for a top four berth.
Adam Reynolds once again proved how important he is to the Broncos’ line-up last weekend, playing a key role as they claimed their first win in over two months, 30-14 against Newcastle. They currently sit four points outside the top eight, however they play three of the four teams currently on 24 points (including the Bulldogs this weekend) in their run home, so know how vital every game is.
The Bulldogs suffered a two-point loss to the Cowboys in Townsville last Sunday night after back-to-back one-point victories, just their second loss since Magic Round. It continued a disappointing trend for the Bulldogs, who have now lost eight of their nine away games for 2024. Against a Broncos side that is full of belief again, it doesn’t get much tougher than this.
The biggest change for the Broncos is the return of Selwyn Cobbo to the side on the wing. He hasn’t started for the Broncos on the wing since the 2023 Grand Final, however coach Kevin Walters has decided to leave Deine Mariner at centre, despite him playing on the wing for most of the season. As a result of Cobbo’s return, Corey Oates drops to the reserves. Kobe Hetherington has been named to start at second row, with Brendan Piakura suffering a minor quad issue, although he has been included among the reserves, while Blake Mozer joins the interchange.
There’s only one change for the Bulldogs, with impressive rookie Lipoi Hopoi returning to the side after being a late withdrawal last week, with Chris Patolo out of the side with a knee injury. Harry Hayes has also been named to make his second appearance in the top grade after a strong showing on debut against the Cowboys.
Few players have quite the impact on a team as Reynolds does the Broncos. Since he joined the club in 2022, they have won 64% of matches he has played in, with that number dropping to 47% without him. That figure drops to just 36% when only factoring in 2024.
For all the good the Bulldogs have done in 2024, including winning eight from eight at home and having conceded the second-fewest points per game, their inability to win games away from home could be the difference between a double chance come the finals. Victory over the Cowboys on Sunday night would have brought the Bulldogs to 26 points, equal with the fourth-placed Roosters and only two points behind the third-placed Sharks. Instead, they sit in sixth, ahead of the Dolphins, Cowboys, and Dragons only on points differential. If they can’t win games away from home, their premiership hopes will dissolve quickly.
The Broncos have dominated matches between the two sides in recent years, winning five straight over the Bulldogs since 2020. They’ve also won 10 of the 11 (including the past seven straight) games at Suncorp Stadium against the Bulldogs since 2009, with their only loss coming in 2015. The Bulldogs have also lost their past 12 matches against all teams at the venue. This will also be the first time the Broncos have played a Saturday afternoon game at Suncorp Stadium since round 25, 2021.
It will be a double celebration for the Broncos on Saturday, with Pat Carrigan playing his 100th first grade game and Martin Taupa’u playing his 250th. With that and the fact that they must keep winning if they hope to make the finals, they should have the motivation to get the job done.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Broncos by 8 points.
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