The Canterbury Bulldogs take on the St George-Illawarra Dragons in the first elimination final on Saturday night in the NRL finals series.
Here are all the key statistics for the game.
Head to Head 2015:
Bulldogs 1 Dragons 1
Round 7: Dragons 31 defeated Bulldogs 6, ANZ Stadium
Round 13: Bulldogs 29 defeated Dragons 16 at ANZ Stadium
Bulldogs Tries Scored: 97 (4th)
Dragons Tries Scored: 71 (8th)
Bulldogs Try Conversion: 64/97 – 66% (7th)
Dragons Try Conversion: 50/71 (6th)
Bulldogs Offloads: 261 (1st)
Dragons Offloads: 214 (4th)
Bulldogs Penalties For: 146 (5th)
Dragons Penalties for: 138 (7rd)
Bulldogs Errors: 217 (3th)
Dragons Errors: 241 (7th)
Dragons Tries Conceded: 76 (4th)
Bulldogs Tries Conceded: 85 (7th)
Dragons Tackle Breaks: 646 (5th)
Bulldogs Tackle Breaks: 564 (6th)
Dragons Metres gained: 1443m per game (4th)
Bulldogs – Metres gained: 1437m per game (6th)
Dragons Dummy Half Runs: 358 (3rd)
Bulldogs Dummy Half Runs: 356 (4th) – Average in top 8 (350)
Dragons Kicks in Play: 491 (3rd)
Bulldogs Kick in Play: 470 (6th)
0-20 mins
Bulldogs
Tries scored 26
Tries Conceded 13
Dragons
Tries scored 19
Tries Conceded 23
21-40 mins
Bulldogs
Tries scored 16
Tries Conceded 24
Dragons
Tries scored 16
Tries Conceded 19
41-60 mins
Bulldogs
Tries scored 23
Tries Conceded 26
Dragons
Tries scored 17
Tries Conceded 17
61-80 mins
Bulldogs
Tries scored 32
Tries Conceded 22
Dragons
Tries scored 19
Tries Conceded 17
| TEAM | PLAYED | WON | LOST | PERCENTAGE | COMMENT |
| Bulldogs | 11 | 4 | 7 | 36% | Since Rd 18- Biggest loss is 10pts vs Top 8 |
| Dragons | 13 | 4 | 9 | 31% | Last win over Top 8 team was Rd 12 |
| TEAM | PLAYED | WON | LOST | PERCENTAGE |
| Bulldogs | 8 | 5 | 3 | 63% |
| Dragons | 9 | 4 | 5 | 44% |
Bulldogs:
– In the 12/14 wins Dogs have scored in the first 20 minutes
– Last 3 weeks, Bulldogs have had less than 50% of the possession and still managed to WIN
– Bulldogs are the only team in the top 8, to average less than 50% possession
– Bulldogs last 7 losses the opposition has run more metres
– Bulldogs make less than 10 Errors – They win, anything more and they lose
– Sam Perret has failed to defuse the most number of bombs in the NRL (11)
Dragons:
– Dragons have scored 24 Tries in last 5 weeks – 3rd best attack in the last 5 weeks
– Dragons have scored a try in first 20 minutes in 10/11 wins
Ken
Guest
That has been the way around the Dragons defence in recent times, teams are running plays to get around them on both sides of the field. That's probably a combination of tight middle defence (as in they literally are standing close together) and an inexperienced 3/4 line. Nightingale himself is a decent defender but there's only so much you can do if you keep getting put in a 2-on-1 position in defence. I think if either team gets a 10 point lead in this game it will be very hard to pull back. The Dragons are poor chasers but they are good defenders (barring the above).
Julian King
Roar Guru
Exactly. Going into finals, you look for trends and trajectories. This match is by no means a given. The Dragons defence in the middle third is excellent. I expect the Dogs to target their right side defence with Aitken and Nightingale. St. George-Illawarra is also an ill-disciplined side. If they can not concede early, I expect a close game.
Ken
Guest
Interesting stat that the Dragons, who are quoted ad nauseum as being the lowest try scorers in the comp, are the third highest try scorers in the last month and half. Only one Top 8 opponent in there which tempers that stat a bit but it goes against the common opinion that they are easy prey coming into the finals because they can't score points. With Widdop just being a confirmed starter, I think you'll see odds drop significantly from the 3.85 I got a couple of days ago.