Friday second NRL Round 24 match is between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs with the opening kick to commence at 7:35PM local time. The game is to be played at ANZ Stadium which see’s away team South Sydney Rabbitohs hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs.

WHERE AND WHEN: ANZ Stadium, Friday, 23/08, 7:35PM

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Opening odds comparison:

South Sydney Rabbitohs	1.45	1.45	1.35	1.45	1.45	1.45
Canterbury Bulldogs	2.75	2.80	3.30	2.80	2.75	2.75

Preview:

The South Sydney Rabbitohs play Canterbury in the other Friday night encounter, 7.35pm at ANZ Stadium. This is the match of the round, with both teams having a lot to play for.

The Rabbitohs can retain equal top position with a win here, and the Bulldogs need to win to keep their hopes of a top four position alive. This will be a great match as both teams will be keen to prove themselves as the finals draw near.

Souths will go into this game as favourites, but don’t count out the Bulldogs.

Teams:

South Sydney Rabbitohs:
Greg Inglis, Nathan Merritt, Bryson Goodwin, Dylan Walker, Dylan Farrell, John Sutton, Adam Reynolds, Luke Burgess, Issac Luke, Roy Asotasi, Chris McQueen, Ben Te’o, Ben Lowe. Interchange: Luke Keary, Jason Clark, George Burgess, Thomas Burgess, Dave Tyrrell, Justin Hunt, Matt King

Canterbury Bulldogs:
Josh Morris, Mitch Brown, Krisnan Inu, Tim Lafai, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, James Graham, Frank Pritchard, Tony Williams, Dale Finucane. Interchange: Dene Halatau, Josh Jackson, Tim Browne, Martin Taupau, Lachlan Burr

Rabbitohs move into NRL finals mode

Their mojo and match winners finally back, South Sydney are vowing to shift into finals gear in Friday night’s NRL showdown with Canterbury at ANZ Stadium.

The return of game-breaking fullback Greg Inglis and five-eighth John Sutton last week coincided with the Rabbitohs’ return to the winners’ circle against classy top-four rivals Manly.

Up against the fifth-placed Bulldogs, life doesn’t get any easier this week – but that’s exactly how the Rabbitohs want it three weeks out from the finals.

Winger Nathan Merritt says facing premiership heavyweights week after week is the perfect tune-up for pressure-cooker playoff encounters.

“Manly’s been a great team for the past decade or so, so to get a great win like that certainly does boost your confidence and moving ahead the Dogs are a great team too,” Merritt said.

“You’re probably going to meet them in the finals so it’s great to get a game under your belt against them now – you can get that feel for the semi-finals culture football.”

Trailing the Sydney Roosters by two competition points, the Rabbitohs realistically need to beat the Bulldogs and then the hapless Wests Tigers next week away to set up a likely showdown with their inner-city rivals for the minor premiership.

Regardless of where they finish on the ladder, Merritt says the Rabbitohs fear no one after beating the Sea Eagles to break a worrying two-game losing streak.

“They were a tough outfit, but we found a way to win,” he said.

“So it’s a credit to us boys and hopefully we can move on from there now.

“We’re feeling pretty confident. Our main focus is ourselves again.

“We only fear ourselves. As long as we prepare and turn up right, we’re ready for anyone.”

Three points adrift of fourth-placed Melbourne, the Bulldogs are clinging to the hope of a top-four finish and also have a big incentive to win on Friday night.

But while Inglis, Sutton and halfback general Adam Reynolds have been attracting most of the attention during Souths’ push for their first minor premiership since 1989, the Bulldogs are particularly wary of hooker Isaac Luke.

“He’s had a terrific season again, on the back of his forward pack doing a really good job,” said Bulldogs captain Michael Ennis.

“He’s also always got guys like Reynolds, Sutton and Inglis around him, so there’s some heavy artillery hanging around him.

“Certainly that’s a key area for us where we’ll need to be good on Friday. Otherwise they’ll expose it.”