Sunday has one NRL match with the first game for Round 18 is between Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm with the opening kick to commence at 3:00pm local time. The game is to be played at ANZ Stadium with the favourite for the match being Canterbury Bulldogs. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm.
WHERE AND WHEN: ANZ Stadium, Sunday 14th July, 3:00pm
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Opening odds comparison:
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| Canterbury Bulldogs | 1.30 | 1.25 | 1.25 | 1.25 | 1.30 | 1.31 |
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Melbourne Storm
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3.50 | 4.15 | 4.10 | 4.00 | 3.50 | 3.55 |
Preview:
The Bulldogs take on the Melbourne Storm on Sunday, 3.00pm at ANZ Stadium. While this is a repeat of last year’s grand final and a highly anticipated match, for some reason, it has been scheduled in the middle of the State of Origin series. This means some pretty key omissions for both sides, with the Storm without Smith, Slater, and Cronk to name a few. The Bulldogs will also be without Morris and Reynolds, but are likely to suffer less due to Origin duty. Canterbury have a lot to play for this weekend, with a victory needed here to keep their final four aspirations alive. The Bulldogs will be expected to win this one, with a depleted Melbourne outfit needing to be in top form if they want to bring home the points.
Teams:
Canterbury Bulldogs:
Ben Barba, Mitch Brown, Tim Lafai, Krisnan Inu, Sam Perrett, Joel Romelo, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, Sam Kasiano, Frank Pritchard, Tony Williams, Greg Eastwood. Interchange: Dene Halatau, Josh Jackson, James Graham, Dale Finucane, Tim Browne, Martin Taupau
Melbourne Storm:
Justin O’Neill, Sisa Waqa, Will Chambers, Maurice Blair, Mahe Fonua, Brett Finch, Ben Hampton, Jesse Bromwich, Ryan Hinchcliffe, Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Tohu Harris, Slade Griffin. Interchange: Jordan McLean, Junior Moors, Siosaia Vave, Mitch Garbutt, Junior Sa’u, Tim Glasby
Bellamy calls for defensive repeat
Melbourne Storm coach Craig Bellamy says his team will need a repeat of its punishing defence to stop a Ben Barba-led Canterbury in their NRL grand final rematch on Sunday.
The Storm’s defence was at its brutal best in their crushing win against Brisbane last round, denying the Broncos several times on the tryline.
“The real pleasing thing is that we were getting bodies there, people were working really hard to get into position to try and stop tries,” said Bellamy.
“It’s something we always try to build our games on, especially when we’ve got our senior players out, it’s probably doubly important.”
Both teams will be without their State of Origin stars, with Bellamy saying their absence from the ANZ Stadium clash took some of the “gloss” off the match.
“I think they (NRL) have probably missed a really good opportunity to get a good crowd there,” Bellamy said.
“I’m not why or how it’s happened, we just get the draw and we deal with it.”
One star he is expecting to have an impact on the game is Dally M Medal-winning Bulldogs fullback Ben Barba, who he believed was back to his threatening best.
“There has been some comment that he hasn’t been in his best form this year,” Bellamy said of Barba.
“I watched a bit of vision of the Bulldogs that he’s playing every bit as good as he was.
“Perhaps some of the other things around him aren’t working as well as they were last year but he’s breaking a lot of tackles and every time he gets the footy you’re expecting something to happen.”
The Storm have their own weapon in winger Sisa Waqa, who was a stand-out against Brisbane, scoring a try as well as saving at least one.
He had a slow start to the year after undergoing hand surgery.
“He’s one hell of a player,” said Bellamy.
“He was outstanding on Friday night.”