Wests Tigers
8
Match Complete
Bulldogs
22
| L. Garner |  | 65 | ||
| M. Fonua | | 54 | ||
| 48 | | A. Elliott | ||
| 39 |  | R. Martin | ||
| 37 | | D. Napa | ||
| 30 | | R. Martin | ||
| 29 | | K. Foran | ||
| 28 | | R. Martin | ||
| 26 | | R. Smith |
| 2 | Tries | 4 | ||
| 0 | Conversions | 3 | ||
| 0 | Penalty Goals | 0 | ||
| 0 | Field Goals | 0 |
Round 3 of the NRL season continues this Sunday afternoon as the Wests Tigers take on the Canterbury Bulldogs at Campbelltown Stadium. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting from 4:05pm AEDT.
This is a matchup between one of the NRL competition’s most in-form teams and a team that desperately needs a win.
OK, so the Tigers have only beaten the Sea Eagles and the Warriors, both whilst playing at home. However, it has been the manner of those victories that would be causing some concern at other clubs.
Robbie Farah is close to career-best form whist the forwards are giving Benji Marshall and Luke Brooks plenty of space to work.
Michael Maguire has got the Tigers playing a solid, clinical type of footy and the results are very encouraging to date.
He has also been helped by a stable team list, with no changes to last weekend’s 17. Josh Reynolds is again named as a reserve.
The Bulldogs, on the other hand, are firming as an early favourite for the wooden spoon, after two beatings by the Warriors and the Parramatta Eels.
Canterbury looked good early against the Eels, racing out to an early lead, but Parramatta quickly regained the lead and won easily.
They look like a team without confidence and Dean Pay has a massive job in front of him.
They still have a quality forward pack lead by Aiden Tolman, Dylan Napa and Josh Jackson, and they will need to match the Tigers’ forward pack to stand a chance in this one.
Pay has made plenty of changes, with Nick Meaney in at fullback, Jayden Okunbor starting on a wing, and Rhyse Martin and Ofahiki Ogden starting on the bench.
Martin’s inclusion is a positive for the Bulldogs, as he was Canterbury’s shining light in a late season resurgence of sorts in 2018.
Prediction
The Wests Tigers will go in as hot favourites and rightfully so.
I can’t see any other result than a Tigers win. Even if we assume the forwards matchup is even, the Tigers look to have the edge in class through the spine.
Tigers by 14
When: 4:05pm AEDT
Where: Campbelltown Stadium
TV: Channel 9, Fox League
Online: NRL Live, Foxtel app or Foxtel now
Betting: Wests Tigers: $1.42, Canterbury Bulldogs: $2.85
Wests Tigers
1 Moses Mbye 2. Mahe Fonua 3. Robert Jennings 4 Esan Marsters 5 Corey Thompson 6 Benji Marshall 7 Luke Brooks 8 Ben Matulino 9 Robbie Farah 10 Alex Twal 11 Ryan Matterson 12 Luke Garner 13 Elijah Taylor.
Interchange: 14 Russell Packer 15 Thomas Mikale 16 Josh Aloiai 17 Michael Chee-Kam.
Canterbury Bulldogs
1 Nick Meaney, 2 Jayden Okunbor, 3 Kerrod Holland, 4 Will Hopoate, 5 Reimis Smith, 6 Kieran Foran, 7 Lachlan Lewis, 8 Aidan Tolman, 9 Jeremy Marshall-King, 10 Dylan Napa, 11 Josh Jackson, 12 Corey Harawira-Naera, 13 Adam Elliott.
Interchange: 14 Michael Lichaa, 15 Ofahiki Ogden, 16 Rhyse Martin, 17 Chris Smith
The Barry
Roar Guru
Agree with pretty much all of that. It’s good dividing the time up between everyone if you have depth and quality through the bench. But the Bulldogs don’t so they need bigger minutes from their starters and it worked great today. Team looks better balanced with Jackson in the middle and Elliott off the bench. When Fualalo and Sue came on in the last couple of weeks they lost all momentum but I thought Elliott did a great job of keeping it going.
Bulldog53
Roar Rookie
Before he was re-signed, I thought Pay would be the 1st coach sacked, and deservedly so for the way he misused his bench. He wasn't giving the Bulldogs a chance. Last week at ANZ I watched as the Bulldogs went to a 10-0 lead at the 20 minute mark and he removed Tolman, Elliott and Napa, the entire middle in one move. And on the bench they sat until the 60 minute mark, while Parramatta piled on 30 points. He seemed to be coaching by the clock instead of reacting to what he sees happening. He saw a train wreck happening and did nothing about it. This week he did. Not only did he change the personnel, but also the composition by bringing Jackson into the middle to join Tolman, Napa and Elliott, but having 3 of the 4 on the field at the same time for the majority of the match. The Bulldogs won the middle and that's what won them the game. Having Marshall-King at No9 is another good move. He gives far better service than Licha and is more decisive. Licha has too many mistakes in him and his service is slow. Last tackle options need to be seriously looked at. They were poor under Hasler and nothing has changed under Pay. Ogden, (great tackle on Farah, could watch it continuously) and Smith are alright for the role they play as back-up to the 4 guys in the middle. Both better then Fualalo.
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
Yep....the last tackle options really need improving TB. Somewhere in the call you mentioned just placing the ball into the in goal and having a repeat set. Absolutely agree...just a little more patience but much better signs today!
David Holden
Roar Guru
Its obviously a big ask but if the Titans can upset the Rabbits tonight, every side has had a least one win. Great ad for the evenness of this competition.
David Holden
Roar Guru
Big test against Melbourne next weekend. They need to get into the arm wrestle and just get through their sets. A few mistakes by Lichaa and Lewis late today can't be made again next week
David Holden
Roar Guru
They looked headless when they got behind. Tigers may be a side that are good leaders but not so good when they are chasing points
David Holden
Roar Guru
Agreed, Meaney is a complete lock at fullback after that performance. He was on of the Dogs' best in my opinion.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Great stuff from the Dogs Everyone did their job today. I liked how Pay changed the team and used his bench. The Dogs have been in the contest in the first 20 mins for the last two weeks but Pay has taken Elliott, Tolman and Napa off at once and we’ve been flogged. It was good to see them get big minutes out of all the starting forwards and Elliott. Ogden looked good albeit briefly. Still not sure about Chris Smith. Hopefully Pay spends some time with Lewis to go over his last 20 minutes of that game. He was really good up to that point but made some really poor decisions particularly last tackle options. Otherwise I thought he ran the side pretty well and took increased responsibility after Foran got injured. Foran was outstanding and had his best game for about three years.
David Holden
Roar Guru
All good, Chris. The Dogs' performance today reminded me of the way they finished last year. They can challenge for the 8 this season
steveng
Roar Rookie
Now now TB, there not that good lol
Duncan Smith
Roar Guru
Dogs-Manly for sure.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Great win by the Dogs didn't think they could win this one and never picked them in my tipping but, I'm glad to see such a young side do so well! They absolutely smashed the Tigers for 80 min lets see how they keep going for the rest of the season?
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
Thanks for the call David!
Scott Pryde
Expert
You mean the ones for 2021?
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
hehehe...I'll be standing behind you Baz!
David Holden
Roar Guru
FT The Bulldogs are on the board in the NRL season after a strong 22-8 win over the Tigers. After a strong start, 3 tries in the second 20m put the Dogs 18-0 up at the break. The Tigers were running with the wind in the second half but mistakes early and poor defence cost them an early try and from there the Bulldogs were in no real danger. The Tigers did score two tries but both were unconverted. For the Bulldogs, the ascendency in the forwards helped Lewis and Foran have strong games. Nick Meaney was really solid at the back and Okunbor was strong in debut. After two straight wins, the Tigers were disappointing today. They had plenty of chances early today but didn't show enough in attack to trouble the Bulldogs defence. Benji Marshall has a hamstring injury which opens the door for Josh Reynolds next round. The Tigers will take on the Panthers next Friday night, with plenty of interest generated by Ivan Cleary leaving the Tigers for the coaching job at Penrith. The Bulldogs will have their hands full with a trip to Melbourne to play the Storm. But, for now, they can celebrate a good win against the Tigers. Hope you enjoyed the call.
The Barry
Roar Guru
When do grand final tickets go on sale...?
Joe
Roar Rookie
Odd for the Dogs game next week against the Storm dropped from 5.75 to 4.45.
AE47
Roar Rookie
Tigers wound back clock alright, DOGGIES
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
The Dogs are going to look a LOT more tired than that in the next 3 weeks. Their next 3 games are against the Storm, the Dragons and the Rabbitohs! The Storm and Dragons are both away games and the Dogs are playing the Rabbitohs at ANZ stadium, just like a home game for us.