Sunday’s second NRL Round 17 match is between Canterbury Bulldogs and Newcastle Knights with the opening kick to commence at 3pm local time. The game is to be played at Mackay Stadium which see’s home team Canterbury Bulldogs hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Canterbury Bulldogs and Newcastle Knights.
WHERE AND WHEN: Mackay Stadium, Sunday, 3pm
[iframe_loader width=”690″ height=”300″ src=”https://sportsnews.com.au/nrl/match.php?id=1390″]
Opening odds comparison:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 1.48 | 1.53 | 1.47 | 1.53 | 1.48 | 1.49 |
|
Newcastle Knights
|
2.65 | 2.50 | 2.75 | 2.50 | 2.65 | 2.67 |
Preview:
The Bulldogs play the Newcastle Knights on Sunday, 3.00pm at Mackay Stadium. This game looks like a good one, with the Bulldogs fresh from a bye and Newcastle coming off a 44-14 win against the Titans last round. The Bulldogs are on a roll at the moment, having only lost one game since they lost to the Knights earlier in the season. They will go into this one as favourites, although at an unfamiliar Mackay Stadium against an inconsistent Knights outfit, anything is possible.
Teams:
Canterbury Bulldogs:
Ben Barba, Mitch Brown, Josh Morris, Krisnan Inu, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis (capt), James Graham, Frank Pritchard, Tony Williams, Greg Eastwood. Interchange: Dene Halatau, Josh Jackson, Sam Kasiano, Dale Finucane, Martin Taupau (one to be omitted).
Newcastle Knights:
Darius Boyd, James McManus, Dane Gagai, Joey Leilua, Akuila Uate, Jarrod Mullen (capt), Tyrone Roberts, Kade Snowden, Danny Buderus, Willie Mason, Robbie Rochow, Beau Scott, Jeremy Smith. Interchange: Craig Gower, Chris Houston, Zane Tetevano, Neville Costigan, Korbin Sims (one to be omitted).
Graham expects more Englishmen in NRL
England forward James Graham believes the number of Super League stars defecting to Australia’s NRL will continue to increase.
The former St Helens skipper, now in his second season with Canterbury Bulldogs, said Sam Tomkins’ impending move to the southern hemisphere – widely tipped to be with New Zealand Warriors – in 2014, along with move of England forwards Gareth Hock and Lee Mossop to Parramatta, will not end there.
“It is a trend that will probably continue for a couple of years,” Graham said on the Peter Sterling show ‘Sterlo’ on Fox Sports.
“I suppose it is having an effect on the competition back home. It is a sort of a Catch 22 from an international England point of view.
“You probably want players to come here and play against the best players in the world on a week-to-week basis, testing themselves in the best competition in the world.
“You also need a strong Super League as well. I don’t think they have to be mutually exclusive.
“I think you can have a strong Super League and a strong NRL but I think at the minute the biggest threat to Super League is still rugby union back home.”
Graham, who was given a 12-match ban after last season’s 14-4 grand final loss to Melbourne when he bit the ear of Australia fullback Billy Slater, said he was still trying to come to grips with the week-to-week intensity of the NRL compared to Super League.
“Back home, with all due respect to some of the teams, they are probably not at the standard of the top-end teams,” he said.
“Every week (in the NRL) you have to be on your game. There are star players in every team and that’s probably not the case back home.”
England coach Steve McNamara caught up with Graham and the rest of the Sydney-based England players this week for a talk about the game against Italy, scheduled as a warm-up friendly before the World Cup.