The first of NRL Round 26 matches is between Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Bulldogs on Thursday. The opening kick is set to commence at 7.45pm local time with the game to be played at Suncorp Stadium. The away team the Canterbury Bulldogs are the current favourites in the market. View our preview and teams for the game between Brisbane Broncos and Canterbury Bulldogs.

Brisbane Broncos $2.45 vs Canterbury Bulldogs $1.55 at Sportsbet Australia get a $250 FREE BET on this match

Brisbane Broncos $2.45 vs Canterbury Bulldogs $1.55 at Luxbet Australia get a $500 FREE BET on this match

Odds Comparison by NRL Odds:

Brisbane Broncos	2.45	2.40	N/A	2.40	2.45	N/A
Canterbury Bulldogs	1.55	1.58	N/A	1.58	1.55	N/A

Preview:

The final round of the regular NRL season kicks off early as the Broncos host the Bulldogs on Thursday night.

Brisbane’s season came to an end last week when, despite leading 14 – 0 and dominating the first half of the match against Newcastle, they were unable to defend their lead and defeated 26 – 18.

As was the case in the previous week, Brisbane allowed for soft tries near their own goal line and this current weakness well be exposed by Canterbury’s big forward pack.

Canterbury were slow off the mark last week and trailed their opponents Penrith early before gaining the upper-hand and clearing out to win by twenty points (34 – 14).

The win cemented the Bulldogs a final spot whilst at the same time, ending Penrith hopes playing on past this weekend.

Whilst the win was a comfortable one in the end, Canterbury Coach Des Hasler made no secret of the fact that his side would have to improve again before the finals.

They get their chance here to remedy their form before it’s too late.

Brisbane, who will miss the finals for only the second time in twenty-one years, will want to go out swinging and should prove solid competition for Canterbury however, the Dogs have won four of their last five against Brisbane and with a focus on producing an effort worthy of finals football, will be too strong.

Teams:

Brisbane Broncos:
Josh Hoffman, Corey Oates, Jack Reed, Alex Glenn, Jordan Kahu, Scott Prince, Ben Hunt, Ben Hannant, Andrew McCullough, Josh McGuire, Sam Thaiday, Matt Gillett, Corey Parker. Interchange: Peter Wallace, David Stagg, Dunamis Lui, Lama Tasi, Scott Anderson

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

Barba not named for Canterbury

Ben Barba has not been named to make his return from an ankle injury, with the cloud of uncertainty hanging over Canterbury and the star fullback threatening to cruel the club’s NRL finals campaign.

Barba had been expected to return against Brisbane on Thursday night from an injury, sustained six weeks ago against Parramatta, in what shaped as the final tune-up ahead of the finals.

But prop Sam Kasiano was the only addition to the side which beat Penrith last Saturday – with no word on whether Barba had been overlooked due to his ankle or the scrutiny placed on his early-season suspension.

The NRL integrity unit has been called in to review the Bulldogs’ actions in standing Barba down back in February, following weekend newspaper reports in which the Dally M medal winner was alleged to have punched a woman in the face the day before he was suspended.

The absence of skipper Kurt Gidley with a foot injury is set to make Danny Buderus’ Newcastle farewell a slightly longer one – the veteran hooker set for an increased role against Parramatta on Sunday.

Depending on other results before they play, the Knights might have to win to make the finals.

And while 80 minutes might be a bit too far a stretch, Buderus was committed to doing what he could to help the Knights into the finals.

“I don’t have to hold anything back – this is my last hurrah,” the retiring Buderus said.

“I’ll do anything for the team leading into the run home … if that means playing as many minutes as we can, so be it.

“We haven’t got too many hookers in the club at the moment – we’ll have to manufacture something.”

Co-captain Jarryd Hayne was not named for the Eels, but he said on Monday night he held out some hope of playing in the final-round encounter.

Gold Coast prop Nate Myles was named but remains under a cloud after injuring his ankle, the Titans needing to beat Melbourne and hope other results go their way to make the top eight.

North Queensland will be without Test prop Matt Scott against Wests Tigers on Saturday night due to a broken middle finger which was surgically repaired on Monday.

His place has been taken by Scott Bolton.

“It’s quite a nasty fracture, low down in the finger,” coach Neil Henry said.

“The prognosis at the moment is three weeks will be the minimum.

“He’s no chance this week and a low chance for the first week of the finals if we get that far.

“Hopefully we are still in there with a chance (when he returns).”

Manly will be without Brett Stewart (hamstring) and Anthony Watmough (knee) for Sunday’s home game against Penrith, while Canberra will hand a debut to under 20s halfback Mitch Cornish against Cronulla pending salary cap approval from the NRL.