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Brisbane Broncos vs Canterbury Bulldogs: NRL live scores, blog

3rd May, 2018
Kick-off: 7:50pm (AEST)
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
TV: Live, Fox League, Nine Network
Online: Live, Foxtel app, Foxtel Now, 9Now, NRL Digital Pass
Betting: Broncos $1.52, Bulldogs $1.62
Overall record: Played 52, Bulldogs 29, Broncos 22, drawn 1
Last meeting: Round 20, 2017 - Broncos 42 defeat Bulldogs 12 at Suncorp Stadium
Last five: Bulldogs 3, Broncos 2
Record at venue: Played 14, Broncos 7, Bulldogs 7
Referees: Greard Sutton, Chris Sutton

Brisbane Broncos
1 Darius Boyd (c), 2 Corey Oates, 3 James Roberts, 4 Tom Opacic, 5 Jamayne Isaako, 6 Anthony Milford, 7 Jack Bird, 8 Matthew Lodge, 9 Andrew McCullough, 10 Sam Thaiday, 11 Alex Glenn, 12 Jaydn Su’A, 13 Tevita Pangai Junior
Interchange: 14 Payne Haas, 15 Joe Ofahengaue, 16 Kodi Nikorima, 17 Korbin Sims, 18 Jonus Pearson, 19 Todd Murphy, 20 Sam Tagataese, 21 Patrick Mogo

Canterbury Bulldogs
1 Moses Mbye, 2 Brett Morris, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Will Hopoate, 5 Marcelo Montoya, 6 Jeremy Marshall-King, 7 Kieran Foran, 8 Aaron Woods, 9 Michael Lichaa, 10 David Klemmer, 11 Josh Jackson (c), 12 Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 13 Adam Elliott
Interchange: 14 Clay Priest, 15 Danny Fualalo, 16 Asipeli Fine, 17 Kerrod Holland, 18 John Olive, 19 Rhyse Martin, 20 Renouf Toomaga, 21 Matthew Frawley

See more NRL live scores
(AAP Image/Dan Himbrechts)
Expert
3rd May, 2018
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The Brisbane Broncos aren’t in full flight, but will be aiming to make it three wins in their last four starts when they host a sputtering Canterbury Bulldogs outfit who must turn things around. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:50pm (AEST).

We are a third of the way through the season and the Bulldogs already have their backs to the wall, winning just two from their first eight to sit in 14th spot, equal on competition points with the Cowboys, and Eels below them.

The need to turn things around as they make the trek north to Brisbane is immense for the Dogs, but confidence will be down, given the blue and white have lost four of their last five at the venue, including a 42-12 loss last time out.

Canterbury went down to Penrith by eight points last week and while there were glimpses of things turning around in the first half for Dean Pay’s side, consistency continues to evade them.

In truth, the Bulldogs have been better attacking-wise than they were last year. Sure, they were held to zero by the Roosters a fortnight ago, but there have been times this year they looked dangerous. Execution has been out of reach for the most part though and with consistency also lacking, it’s showing on the ladder.

Coach Pay has swung a big change 24 hours from kick-off, with Michael Lichaa dropped from the side. It appears Jeremy Marshall-King will move to hooker, breaking up his underperforming halves combination with Kieran Foran, which will likely allow Matt Frawley to return to the side.

The Broncos have been far from perfect themselves, but are starting to find ways to get things done, taking two of their last three, including a big upset last week over the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

They were a little slow out of the gates, but found their way quickly and the final four-point margin didn’t show their dominance over the contest, with the cardinal and myrtle running on a couple of late tries to make things interesting.

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It did expose the Broncos’ right-edge defence though. Whether that was laziness at the end of 80 minutes or something more serious remains to be seen, but you can bet Canterbury will try them out plenty of times early on.

Before the win over Souths, the Broncos had lost to the Storm and beat the Warriors, but even in the loss there were plenty of positive signs for a club who will be boosted by a shock return for Andrew McCullough this week.

Prediction
The Broncos are at home and showing a lot more than Canterbury. With McCullough also likely to be back and the Bulldogs making a change which may or may not work, it’s impossible to tip against the hosts.

Broncos by 8.

Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the Round 9 opener from 7:50pm (AEST) and don’t forget to add a comment below.

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