The first of two games scheduled for this Sunday sees the Warriors host the Bulldogs.
The Warriors, who started the season slowly, seemed to have had started turning this around in the past fortnight with a win in Townsville of the Cowboys before accounting for the Dragons last week, 42 – 18 at Westpac Stadium in New Zealand.
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With two wins under their belt and facing the winless Sharks, the Warriors were expected to do much better than the 37 – 6 loss that they produced.
The erratic Warriors were no match for the home-side Sharks who scored three times in the first, four times in the second and only had their own line crossed in the final minutes of the match.
It was a performance that coach Matt Elliot decided he could not sit through again an on Monday of this week, handed in his resignation as head coach.
The job of turning the Warriors poor start to the season around now lays with interim coach, Andrew McFadden who has made a raft of changes for this week’s clash.
The Dogs scored a big win over Melbourne Storm in round 4, 40 – 12 in Perth and came back last week to hold on to a 9 – 8 win over the Roosters.
It was the Bulldogs third win of the season whilst their previous two wins had seen them register 40 + points, last week’s game, played in trying conditions, demonstrated that they are also capable of grinding out a tough victory if required.
Five-eight Josh Reynolds was a stand-out and was very well supported by halves partner Trent Hodkinson who has already bagged 50 points this season.
With three of their next four games after this one at ANZ stadium, the Bulldogs could have themselves positioned very nicely heading into the Origin season.
The two sides have only met once each year since 2010 and the ledger is balanced 2 – 2 with the Bulldogs having won the two most recent by 14 and 8 points.
Teams who chance coach have a strong record and the Warriors now play with nothing to lose, the type of conditions they thrive under but Bulldogs have the experience and ability to counter that and happy to stick with them at what looks a good price.
Odds Comparison:
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| New Zealand Warriors | 2.02 | 2.05 | 2.10 | 2.05 | 2.02 | 2.08 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 1.82 | 1.80 | 1.76 | 1.80 | 1.82 | 1.75 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
New Zealand Warriors:
Sam Tomkins, Ngani Laumape, Dane Nielsen, Konrad Hurrell, Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Nathan Friend, Ben Matulino, Jayson Bukuya, Simon Mannering, Sebastine Ikahihifo. Interchange: Jacob Lillyman, Suaia Matagi, Dominique Peyroux, Charlie Gubb, Siliva Havili, David Bhana
Canterbury Bulldogs:
Sam Perrett, Corey Thompson, Josh Morris, Timoteo Lafai, Mitch Brown, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, James Graham, Josh Jackson, Tony Williams, Dale Finucane. Interchange: Greg Eastwood, Pat O’Hanlon, Tim Browne, David Klemmer, Moses Mbye, Frank Pritchard
