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The Canterbury Bulldogs will have to be at their best if they are to cause the upset against a South Sydney Rabbitohs outfit coming off a morale-boosting victory over Manly. Join us for live scores and commentary from 7.30pm AEST.
Canterbury did enough to defeat the Raiders away from home but face a far more daunting prospect tonight when they play South Sydney.
The Rabbitohs returned to the winners circle last week after defeating the Sea Eagles by 12 points in a controversial contest.
Despite struggling to match’s Manly’s intensity for large parts of the contest, South Sydney managed to secure two vital competition points on the back of a favourable penalty count, strong defence and the great kicking game of Adam Reynolds.
It was a win that puts the Rabbitohs premiership campaign back on track after a below par month that saw them lose three of their past four matches.
After taxing trips to North Queensland, Melbourne and the Central Coast, South Sydney are back in familiar territory and will be difficult to defeat at ANZ stadium tonight.
Prediction
The Bulldogs still have Barba sidelined but Josh Morris has filled admirably in his place and is the player South Sydney must shut down tonight if they are to win.
Morris tore the Raiders edge defence to shreds last week, setting up three tries and scoring one himself in a devastating performance.
Josh Reynolds was also very solid for Canterbury last week and will be keen to get the better of his cousin Adam in what promises to be a key match-up in the halves.
Upfront, the Bulldogs and Rabbitohs are fairly evenly matched, and both sets of forwards will be keen to fire in front of a big crowd.
With plenty on the line tonight, this contest promises to be a beauty as the finals draw ever closer.
With the Bulldogs still missing some key players though, South Sydney should do enough to win tonight, particularly if Reynolds and Greg Inglis play well.
Rabbitohs by 12.
11:20pm
Andrew said | 11:20pm | ! Report
Although we lost I was quite happy with the dogs we were without Kasiano, Eastwood, barba and partially Pritchard yet we were equal in the tries with a full strength rabbitohs ( Sam burgess gives away a lot of penalties, i would have preferred him play) William was involved, which is good but the only concern I have is the fact that 4 players were placed on report and they may miss finals, also what will des do when barba comes back IMO he doesn’t deserve to wear the jersey if he doesn’t appreciate it lafai was great at centre and jmoz was good at fullback. Also if Trent can’t kick anymore please hand the kicking tee to inu this is going to cost us, a lot.
11:03pm
Lazarus said | 11:03pm | ! Report
The dogs played well tonight but still lacking team coherence and are not focus enough to eradicate silly mistakes like drop balls and stupid penalties. These errors are costing the team valuable yardage and wearing the players down thru defending their own line. Dessie needs to address this issue with the players and start wielding the axe if individual keep repeating those errors. Three players that come to mind are Kristian Inu, good player but can be careless at times thru overplaying the ball; Financune, a great talent but needs to judge his timing when receiving the ball; and then we have the most underachiever and overpaid Tony Williams. We are now at the tail end of the NRL comp, and Dessie stlill can’t effectively utilized the giant of a man. He needs to thrust himself as a first receiver more to give Graham and Tolman a breather.
9:37pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:37pm | ! Report
The Bulldogs have fallen short by eight points here but they showed enough fight to suggest that they will be challenging big time for silverware come September. Bulldogs were missing Barba, Kasiano and Eastwood and still pushed the bunnies all the way tonight despite trailing by 14 nil at one stage. Brown, Morris, Graham and Pritchard the Bulldogs best tonight. The Bunnies did enough in the end but struggled to put the dogs to bed and nearly payed the price. Their minor premiership hopes remain alive.
Rabbitohs 28
Bulldogs 20
9:45pm
Danno1 said | 9:45pm | ! Report
Good game of footy, and about the best the dogs have played all year.
There may be some fight in them yet come semi’s time.
Well played bunnies, thought Sutton should have been MoM, he’s come on leaps and bounds, never thought of him as a leader, but he really showed it tonight
9:34pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:34pm | ! Report
PENALTY SUCCESSFUL – Reynolds converts
FULLTIME
Rabbitohs 28
Bulldogs 20
9:34pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:34pm | ! Report
80′ – Penalty to the bunnies here with five seconds remaining and they secure victory in a tight contest
FULLTIME
Rabbitohs 26
Bulldogs 20
9:33pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:33pm | ! Report
79′ – Inglis’s field goal attempt charged down and Walker gathers possession for the bunnies who get six again
Rabbitohs 26
Bulldogs 20
9:32pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:32pm | ! Report
78′ – Time a big enemy for the Bulldogs now. Bunnies on the attack and with a chance to secure victory. Field goal coming up surely as the bunnies get the penalty
Rabbitohs 26
Bulldogs 20
9:30pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:30pm | ! Report
Reynolds with a big shoulder charge on Clark and the Rabbitohs get the penalty here. Reynolds on report
Rabbitohs 26
Bulldogs 20
9:29pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:29pm | ! Report
76′ – Bulldogs with more energy at the moment. Reynolds goes high and Merritt gathers possession and gets back to his 10 metre line
Rabbitohs 26
Bulldogs 20
9:29pm
BigFella said | 9:29pm | ! Report
Imagine if the bulldogs converted all their tries..
Hodkinson hasn’t been the most reliable goal kicker of late. I think it will cost them in the finals.
9:28pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:28pm | ! Report
75′ – Game in the balance here. McQueen over the halfway. Keary goes high and Morris gathers possession for Canterbury’
Rabbitohs 26
Bulldogs 20
9:27pm
Alan Nicolea said | 9:27pm | ! Report
75′ – Goodwin with a strong charge and he has hurt himself here.
Rabbitohs 26
Bulldogs 20