Sunday last game for NRL Finals Week 1 is between Canterbury Bulldogs and Newcastle Knights with the opening kick to commence at 4pm 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 Newcastle Knights.
WHERE AND WHEN: ANZ Stadium, 4pm
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Opening odds comparison:
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| Canterbury Bulldogs | 1.55 | 1.58 | 1.62 | 1.58 | 1.55 | 1.57 |
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Newcastle Knights
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2.50 | 2.45 | 2.30 | 2.45 | 2.50 | 2.40 |
Preview:
The last match of finals week 1 sees the Canterbury Bulldogs playing the Newcastle Knights, kicking off on Sunday, 4.00pm at ANZ Stadium. The Bulldogs have not looked
too threatening this year, finishing 6th and suffering their fair share of off-field turmoil. They have also lost a number of matches over the last few weeks, including losses to the Broncos, Rabbitohs, and Titans. Saying that however, they will be favourites to win this match and know what needs to be done after making the Grand Final last year.
The Knights ended the regular season in 7th position, after winning 12, losing 11 and drawing 1 game. Unlike the Bulldogs, they have momentum on their side this
weekend, after beating the Broncos and Eels in the last two rounds. Dariuis Boyd is also in great form at the moment, after scoring four tries and running for a total of 467
metres during the last 3 games. Both teams are capable of winning here, with the question being whether the inconsistent Bulldogs can upset the recent Newcastle
groove.
Teams:
Canterbury Bulldogs:
Josh Morris, Mitch Brown, Tim Lafai, Krisnan Inu, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, James Graham, Tony Williams, Josh Jackson, Dale Finucane. Interchange: Dene Halatau, Sam Kasiano, Tim Browne, Ben Barba
Newcastle Knights:
Darius Boyd, James McManus, Dane Gagai, Joey Leilua, Akuila Uate, Jarrod Mullen, Tyrone Roberts, David Fa’alogo, Danny Buderus, Willie Mason, Robbie Rochow, Beau Scott, Jeremy Smith. Interchange: Matt Hilder, Chris Houston, Neville Costigan, Alex McKinnon
NRL finals are a fresh start: Hasler
Canterbury may have come off second best to elimination final opponents Newcastle twice this season, but coach Des Hasler says NRL finals are a different ball game.
The Bulldogs head into their clash with the Knights at ANZ Stadium on Sunday having copped a 44-8 pumping from the Knights back in May and an 18-12 defeat in July.
“Most sides view it at this stage now in finals, (that) what happened throughout the year probably doesn’t count for much,” Hasler said on Thursday.
“Most of the sides prepare and play and react in such a way that they play in the moment.
“Those two games are well and truly gone.”
The odds are against the sixth-ranked Bulldogs going one better than last year’s grand final berth by winning the title – no club in NRL history has won the premiership from outside the top four under the current finals format.
Hasler was confident his team could prove the statistics wrong as he prepared to field a near full-strength side after giant forward Sam Kasiano and elusive fullback Ben Barba made their returns from long injury layoffs last week.
However, there are some injury clouds still circling for forwards Frank Pritchard and Greg Eastwood.
Knee and groin problems threaten Pritchard’s return following two weeks’ suspension for a shoulder charge while Eastwood is still recovering from a broken hand.
“They’re a very good chance of not playing,” Hasler said.
“We’ve got the Sunday game so we’ll give those players as much time as we can. But we want to take in a strong squad.
“Sam Kasiano came through well last week. So we’ve got a lot of experience.’