Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs will host the Brisbane Broncos for the first game of round five on Thursday night at ANZ Stadium.
Bulldogs halfback Moses Mbye will be missing in action due to suspension charge which will see Matt Frawley make his debut and play in the number seven jersey. Aiden Tolman will also join the NRL 200- game milestone.
Broncos again have named Benji Marshall as 18th man.
Kick off will be at 8:05 pm (AEST) or 7:05pm for QLD viewers.
Last Time Out
The last time these two teams went head to head at ANZ Stadium, the Bulldogs defeated the Broncos 40-12. The Bulldogs will be hopeful to repeat this scoreline especially following their tough loss against the Sea Eagles at Lottoland last week.
The team’s latest clash was in round 24 of the 2016 season at Suncorp Stadium where Brisbane showed resilience to defeat the Bulldogs by 10 points in front of a home crowd, 20-10.
Key Match Up
The key match-up this game will be between forwards (number 13’s) David Klemmer (Bulldogs) and Josh McGuire (Broncos).
Most people may believe the halves and fullbacks are the ones that need to perform to give their side the best chance of victory but I believe the big forwards will need to excel this match in the contest for victory.
Both players are known for their strength and aggression but whomever makes more of an impact will play a huge role for their side.
Klem’s frustration over the Manly Sea Eagles was evident with the slap on Manly’s halfback Daly Cherry Evans and if Klem applies the same aggression (without the unnecessary actions) within the game this week, the Bulldogs will have a strong chance of winning.
On the other hand, McGuire always contributes huge metres for the Broncos and will be looking to exhaust the Bulldogs players. He ran a huge 133 metres and made 38 tackles which was the second most amount of tackles in the Broncos vs Raiders game.
Prediction
The Bulldogs always create luck when they name a debutant after Marcelo Montoya scored a try in his debut game and the first win for the Bulldogs this season against the New Zealand Warriors. Matt Frawley will be looking to have the same luck and outcome with his side when he runs out and plays at ANZ Stadium this Thursday.
The Brisbane Broncos will put up a good fight away from home but the Bulldogs will be determined after their efforts last week against the Sea Eagles at Lottoland. The Broncos will also be confident in attempt to record their third win of the season, but will find it tough at ANZ away from a home crowd.
Bulldogs by 10.
Squad
Canterbury- Bankstown Bulldogs: 1. Brad Abbey 2. Brett Morris 3. Josh Morris 4. Brenko Lee 5. Marcelo Montoya 6. Josh Reynolds 7. Matt Frawley 8. Aiden Tolman 9. Michael Lichaa 10. James Graham 11. Josh Jackson 12. Greg Eastwood 13. David Klemmer 14. Sam Kasiano 15. Danny Fualalo 16. Adam Elliot 17. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 19. Renouf To’omaga 20. Craig Garvey 21. Francis Tualau 23. Reimis Smith
Brisbane Broncos: 1. Darius Boyd 2. Corey Oates 3. James Roberts 4. Tautau Moga 5. Jordan Kahu 6. Anthony Milford 7. Ben Hunt 8. Korbin Sims 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Adam Blair 11. Sam Thaiday 12. Matt Gillett 13. Josh Mcguire 14. Alex Glenn 15. Tevita Pangai 16. Herman Essese 17. Jai Arrow 18. Benji Marshall 19. George Fai 20. David Mead 21. Kodi Nikorima
