After a poor 2013 season that saw them finish 12th on the ladder and miss the finals for the second time in the past four years the Broncos and their Coach Anthony Griffin, will be under close scrutiny from the opening round in 2014.
$250 Canterbury Bulldogs vs Brisbane Broncos FREE BET
Griffin has made several key changes in the attempt to halt his team’s steady decline in form over the past two seasons including announcing Corey Parker and Justin Hodges as co-captains, taking over from Sam Thaiday.
He is also going with a new and younger halves combination in Ben Hunt (halfback) and former fullback, Josh Hoffman (five-eighth) – for round 1 at least, in the hope of improving the Bronco’s attack which last year was very uncharacteristically, the 4th worse in the competition.
Replacing Hoffman’s at fullback will be Ben Barba, the former Bulldog who after a tumultuous 2013 that saw him miss several weeks of the season due to off-field drama, request an early release from the club and leave the Bulldogs unceremoniously.
Taking on his old club first here adds to the anticipation of the first round clash.
Due to a number of injuries and suspensions, the Canterbury Bulldogs had a disastrous starts to 2013 winning only one of the first six games and having to spend the rest of the season playing catch-up.
Again this year the Bulldogs will be missing a few to injury – forwards Sam Kasiano and Greg Eastwood along with back, Kristan Inu – but have enough regulars in the starting line-up to cover for their absences.
The Bulldogs prepared for their first game of the season with a win over Melbourne at Suncorp Stadium were they fielded a full strength outfit and with new recruit Chase Stanley (transferred from St. George) already looking at home in the centres.
The Bulldogs have won three of the past five encounters between the two clubs – all when playing at home and with the confidence and direction of a regular halves pairing, compared to the as debutante combination of the Broncos, the Bulldogs start deserved favourites for this game.
Odds Comparison:
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| Canterbury Bulldogs | 1.55 | 1.58 | 1.53 | 1.58 | 1.55 | 1.55 |
| Brisbane Broncos | 2.45 | 2.40 | 2.50 | 2.40 | 2.45 | 2.45 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Teams:
Canterbury Bulldogs:
Sam Perrett, Mitch Brown, Josh Morris, Chase Stanley, Corey Thompson, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis (c), James Graham, Frank Pritchard (c), Tony Williams, Dale Finucane
Interchange: Josh Jackson, Pat O’Hanlon, Tim Browne, David Klemmer, Moses Mbye (one to be omitted)
Brisbane Broncos:
Ben Barba, Daniel Vidot, Jack Reed, Dale Copley, Lachlan Maranta, Josh Hoffman, Ben Hunt, Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough, Corey Parker (c), Alex Glenn , Sam Thaiday, Matt Gillett
Interchange: Ben Hannant, Martin Kennedy, Todd Lowrie, Jarrod Wallace, David Hala (one to be omitted)