Good Friday’s first NRL match will be played at ANZ Stadium at 4pm today between Canterbury Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs. The odds for the match are in favour of the away team with the South Sydney Rabbitohs holding onto favouritism. View the full preview and teams for the match between Canterbury Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Round: Round 4, Friday 4pm
Stadium: ANZ Stadium
Odds:
Canterbury Bulldogs $1.98 vs South Sydney Rabbitohs $1.85 at Sportsbet Australia
Canterbury Bulldogs $2.05 vs South Sydney Rabbitohs $1.79 at Luxbet Australia
Preview:
Watch Out Bulldogs: The Bulldogs face a real dilemma this week. If they don’t move up quickly in defence they will give the likes of Greg Inglis room to move, which is never a good idea. But if they leave too much open space behind, Adam Reynolds boasts the attacking kicking game to punish them severely.
Reynolds’ short kicking has been a highlight of Souths’ three consecutive wins this year. In Round 1 he twice caught the Roosters out with well-placed cross-field bombs. Then against Cronulla he produced two stunning kicks that led to tries. The first was a brilliant cross-field chip to find an unmarked Andrew Everingham on the right wing, the second a two-metre grubber behind the line for Dylan Farrell to score. Bulldogs beware.
Watch Out Rabbitohs: Ben Barba’s return means that the Bulldogs are now a much greater threat from long range. Scoring and creating tries from inside his own half is a Barba specialty. Last year Canterbury scored an NRL-best 19 tries from beyond 50 metres and 28 from between 21-50 metres out from the try line (also the most in the NRL). Barba scored 12 of those long-range tries with his ability to skirt past defenders combined with his superb support play providing plenty of impetus. Souths will need to be aware.
Plays To Watch: Canterbury’s right-side defenders be warned – the ball is coming your way. The Rabbitohs have the ability to shift the ball both ways to great effect, which makes them particularly dangerous, but it is their left side they love the most.
A favourite is a double second-man play, with Greg Inglis sweeping around the back to take the ball three men in, leaving him with plenty of options. He can either run the ball if the defence moves early, or shift the ball out to Nathan Merritt if the winger has room to move.
In fact, Inglis has become arguably the most important member of the side’s attack since moving to fullback 12 months ago. Watch for a repeat of the set play that caught Penrith napping last week, with a long pass to the left followed by an inside ball to Inglis on the fly.
Key Match-Up: Josh Reynolds v Adam Reynolds. All the talk has been about Ben Barba v Greg Inglis but let’s not forget the importance of these two namesakes. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise if the pair become State of Origin halves partners in years to come. Bulldogs five-eighth Josh is the ultimate competitor and will take it straight up to South Sydney’s big men while No.7 Adam is the man who ties the Rabbitohs together. His kicking game will be crucial.
Where It Will Be Won: The battle of the forwards will be epic. The return from injury of Frank Pritchard provides a huge boost for the Bulldogs who are still awaiting the return of James Graham and Sam Kasiano. However, Aiden Tolman (17 runs and 128 metres on average so far) and Martin Taupau have been superb in their absence and won’t be fazed by the big South Sydney pack. Still, any side that can leave Roy Asotasi on the bench has plenty going for them. The Rabbitohs are a huge side and will be looking to win the early physical battle.
The History: Played 144; Bulldogs 77, Rabbitohs 64, drawn 4. The Bulldogs boast a tremendous record in clashes at ANZ Stadium with 12 wins from 15 games. They have also won seven times from their past nine meetings overall.
Match Officials: Referees – Shayne Hayne & Alan Shortall; Sideline Officials – Paul Holland & Russell Turner; Video Referees – Henry Perenara & Justin Morgan.
Televised: Fox Sports 1 – Live 4pm.
Teams:
BULLDOGS:
Ben Barba, Mitch Brown, Josh Morris, Krisnan Inu, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Kris Keating, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis (capt), Martin Taupau, Tony Williams, Josh Jackson, Greg Eastwood
Interchange: Dene Halatau, Dale Finucane, David Klemmer, Frank Pritchard, Tim Browne, Tim Lafai (two to be omitted).
RABBITOHS:
Greg Inglis, Nathan Merritt, Dylan Farrell, Bryson Goodwin, Andrew Everingham, John Sutton, Adam Reynolds, Sam Burgess, Issac Luke, Jeff Lima, Chris McQueen, Ben Te’o, Michael Crocker (capt)
Interchange: Nathan Peats, Ben Lowe, Dave Tyrrell, George Burgess, Roy Asotasi, Justin Hunt, Jason Clark (three to be omitted).
