Check out the match preview and prediction for the round 22 clash between the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Canberra Raiders.
MATCHDAY NEWS
MATCHDAY SCHEDULE
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Vs Canberra Raiders
Venue: Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney
Date: Sunday August 4, 4:05pm
MATCHDAY TEAM NEWS
Bulldogs: 1. Connor Tracey, 2. Jacob Kiraz, 3. Bronson Xerri, 4. Stephen Crichton, 5. Josh Addo-Carr, 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. Jeral Skelton, 20. Liam Knight, 21. Blake Wilson, 22. Poasa Faamausili, 23. Drew Hutchison
Raiders: 1. Kaeo Weekes, 2. Jordan Rapana, 3. Matthew Timoko, 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Xavier Savage, 6. Ethan Strange, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali’i, 9. Tom Starling, 10. Joseph Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Morgan Smithies, 14. Danny Levi, 15. Trey Mooney, 16. Ata Mariota, 17. Zac Hosking, 18. Adam Cook, 19. Albert Hopoate, 20. Corey Horsburgh, 21. Zac Woolford, 22. Emre Guler
Referee: Ashley Klein
Embed from Getty ImagesMATCHDAY PREVIEW
A sold-out Belmore Sports Ground will host this weekend’s showdown between the Bulldogs and the Raiders.
Last week no one gave the Stephen Crichton-less blue and whites a chance against a full-strength Broncos outfit at Suncorp Stadium, but their performance was one of the more impressive we’ve seen this season. They led 16-10 at half-time and dominated after the break, with Connor Tracey scoring a hat-trick. Canberra comfortably beat South Sydney at GIO Stadium, with two tries to Jordan Rapana. The win finally broke Canberra’s milestone game hoodoo, with captain Elliott Whitehead celebrating his 200th game.
This week, you’d expect most pundits to tip the Bulldogs at home on a Sunday afternoon against an inconsistent Raiders team. And they’ll be boosted by Stephen Crichton and Josh Addo-Carr returning. Ricky Stuart has named an unchanged starting 17, which means Josh Papali’i plays his 300th game in Sydney instead of Canberra (though Raiders fans will give him the plaudits he deserves when Canberra returns home against Manly Warringah in round 23).
Stuart’s men have the wood over Canterbury in recent times, winning their last nine contests, including this year’s Magic Round clash. Canterbury played one regular season game at Belmore this season, beating the Gold Coast 32-0.
It’s chalk and cheese to compare this year’s Bulldogs to that of previous seasons, but it will be tougher than expected despite the recent form of both teams. Canterbury will have eyes on a top four spot while Canberra is almost in must-win territory to make the finals.
Stuart will be prepared with a strong game plan against the competition’s second-best defensive team, but it’s hard to go past Canterbury at their spiritual home ground in front of a packed crowd at Belmore.
Head-to-head stats can be found at Number Crunch Stats.
MATCHDAY PREDICTION
Check out all the NRL Predictions here.
Bulldogs by 12 points.
Follow Nothing But Rugby League on Facebook
