Thursday’s NRL 2018 Round 21 match is between Canterbury Bulldogs and Brisbane Broncos. The opening kick is set to commence at 19:50 local time with the game to be played at ANZ Stadium, Sydney. The away team Brisbane Broncos are the favourites for the match.
View our preview and teams for the game between Canterbury Bulldogs and Brisbane Broncos.
When: 19:50 | Thursday 02/08/2018
Where: ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Preview:
The Bulldogs last week looked to have played a carefree style of footy that in the end got them a very handy victory against a team that was in form.
They now have the challenge to repeat this as they come up against the Broncos.
Brisbane are striving for that top 4 spot and will be very determined to put in another performance like they showed last week.
Last week’s efforts from them showed great resilience and character to beat a tough outfit in the Sharks based on their defence.
If they turn up with the same mindset this week they should on paper get the job done easily.
However, with nothing to play for, the Dogs could throw a spammer in the works if they string it together.
I thought young Lachlan Lewis last week was great for the Bulldogs.
His energy and enthusiasm was infectious to his team.
KEY BATTLE: David Klemmer v Matt Lodge
I can’t wait to see Dave Klemmer and Matt Lodge go head-to-head this week.
Both players have been there team’s best all year and should be an interesting contest.
The Verdict
The Broncos, who have an 8-4 (66.7 percent) in night matches against the Bulldogs since 2011, will get the win.
Unibet Odds:
Canterbury Bulldogs at $3.55
Brisbane Broncos at $1.32
Odds:
Tip: Brisbane Broncos at $1.29
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Jordan Kahu at $13.00
More Info:
Teams:
Canterbury Bulldogs:
1 Will Hopoate, 2 Brett Morris, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Kerrod Holland, 5 Reimis Smith, 6 Lachlan Lewis, 7 Jeremy Marshall-King, 8 Aiden Tolman, 9 Michael Lichaa, 10 David Klemmer, 11 Josh Jackson (c), 12 Rhyse Martin, 13 Adam Elliott
Interchange: 14 Fa’amanu Brown, 15 Greg Eastwood, 16 Ofahiki Ogden, 17 Chris Smith
Reserves: 19 Renouf Toomaga, 20 Matthew Frawley, 21 Francis Tualau, 23 John Olive.
Brisbane Broncos: 
1 Jamayne Isaako, 2 Corey Oates, 3 James Roberts, 4 Darius Boyd (c), 5 Jordan Kahu, 6 Anthony Milford, 7 Kodi Nikorima, 8 Matthew Lodge, 9 Andrew McCullough, 10 Sam Thaiday, 11 Alex Glenn, 12 Tevita Pangai jnr, 13 Josh McGuire
Interchange: 14 Kotoni Stags, 15 Joe Ofahengaue, 16 Korbin Sims, 17 David Fifita
Reserves: 18 Gehamat Shibasaki, 19 Patrick Mago, 20 Sam Tagataese, 21 Troy Dargan.
NRL News:
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett is confident Matt Gillett does not face any long-term health concerns after the Test forward was ruled out for the rest of the NRL season with a neck fracture.
Gillett had been hopeful of returning ahead of the NRL finals after suffering the break in their opening round loss to St George Illawarra.
Remarkably the Queensland back-rower played another four games before the injury was diagnosed.
Bennett admitted Gillett had been close to a comeback but medical staff opted for a complete rest after receiving the latest neck scan results.
However, the Brisbane mentor said there were no long-term worries for Gillett, who last week re-signed for another four seasons with the NRL club.
“The doctors are erring on the side of caution. The opinion was it is probably best to wait until next year to play again and we are happy with that,” Bennett said.
“It’s all progressing well. There’s no suggestion of any long-term risk.”
Bennett wasn’t kicking stones over the scan results after young guns Tevita Pangai, Joe Ofahengaue, David Fifita and Jaydn Su’A lifted the pack in Gillett’s absence this year.
“We’ve lost him for most of the season so it’s not as big an impact as it normally would be and other guys have handled that position well,” Bennett said.
Broncos high performance boss Jeremy Hickmans said Gillett was on the right track.
“In Matt’s latest scan there has been a lot of improvement and he was very close to being cleared,” he told the Broncos website.
“But the club and Matt agree it is the right thing to take the cautious approach … (to) ensure an absolute minimum risk when he returns next year.
“In reality … Matt would have been unlikely to have been on the field before the finals.”
Bennett cleared other injury concerns Pangai (hamstring/ankle) and Kotoni Staggs (knee) to ensure an unchanged 17 for the Bulldogs clash.
Brisbane have won seven of their last nine to move to seventh and remain on track for a top four finish.
But Bennett described the clash with the 13th-placed Dogs as a “danger game”.
“Yeah I do. Our worst performances this year have been against teams outside the top eight – that’s why it is a danger game,” he said.
