Sunday second NRL Round 9 match is between St George Illawarra Dragons and Canterbury Bulldogs with the opening kick to commence at 3:00pm local time. The game is to be played at ANZ Stadium which see’s away team Canterbury Bulldogs hold favouritism in the market. View our NRL live scores, odds and results for the game between St George Illawarra Dragons and Canterbury Bulldogs.
Where and when: ANZ Stadium Sunday, May 11, 3:00pm
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Odds Comparison:
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| St George Illawarra Dragons | 2.70 | 2.70 | 2.70 | 2.70 | 2.70 | 2.75 |
| Canterbury Bulldogs | 1.49 | 1.48 | 1.48 | 1.48 | 1.49 | 1.48 |
All odds are subject to change. Odds listed are correct at the time of the latest update.
Preview:
After winning their first three games of the season, the Dragons have only been able to register one victory from their past five.
They continued their dominance over the Warriors in round 7 (20 – 10), their second win against the struggling outfit this year, before losing to the Roosters who produced their best performance of the season on Anzac day in round 8, 34 – 14.
It was the Dragons’ third loss of the season by 13+ to a team inside the top eight.
With the Bulldogs sitting on top of the ladder and having won their past five matches, the Dragons will need to find something here against a side who has beaten them on the last four occasions the sides of met.
There have been a number of changes for the Dragons named this week with Sam Williams replacing Michael Witt at halfback and winger Jason Nightingale – who has scored four tries this year, second in the club to Josh Morris and Gerard Beale, out with injury. His place is being taken by Joel Thompson.
The Bulldogs on the other hand have named an unchanged side from the team that continued an amazing run of victories in round 8, snatching yet another victory late in the game.
After winning their previous three games by a single point, the Bulldogs hit the front for the first time against Newcastle with a try to Aiden Tolman in the 70th minute mark.
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Although each of the games was decided late in the game and could’ve gone either way, the results have given the Bulldogs enormous belief in themselves and have created great momentum for the club.
The Bulldogs have won the past four matches by an average margin of 13.75 points and have led at half-time in three of those games.
Teams:
St George Illawarra Dragons:
Josh Dugan, Brett Morris, Joel Thompson, Gerard Beale, Nathan Green, Gareth Widdop, Sam Williams, Tyson Frizell, Mitch Rein, Dan Hunt, Bronson Harrison, Ben Creagh (c), Trent Merrin. Interchange: Jack Stockwell, Mike Cooper, Jack de Belin, Leeson Ah Mau, Will Matthews
Ins: Sam Williams, Leeson Ah Mau, Will Matthews
Outs: Jason Nightingale (knee, round 12), Michael Witt (dropped)
Other unavailables: Dylan Farrell (pectoral, indefinite)
Canterbury Bulldogs:
Sam Perrett, Corey Thompson, Josh Morris, Timoteo Lafai, Mitch Brown, Josh Reynolds, Trent Hodkinson, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, James Graham, Josh Jackson, Tony Williams, Greg Eastwood. Interchange: Dale Finucane, Tim Browne, David Klemmer, Sam Kasiano, Moses Mbye
Ins: Timoteo Lafai
Outs: None
Other unavailables: Frank Pritchard (pectoral, season), Drury Low (fractured hand, round 10)
News:
Gareth Widdop says the representative break has given St George Illawarra the chance to regroup and kick-start their spluttering NRL season.
The Dragons burst out of the blocks in 2014 to lead the premiership after three rounds, after winning all three games.
Since then they have hit the wall, winning one of their next five, a defeat of the troubled Warriors who they have beaten in round two and round seven.
After their second win over the Warriors, the Dragons were beaten comprehensively by premiers Sydney Roosters on Anzac Day.
Benji Marshall’s acquisition is a boost to the struggling Dragons and ahead of Sunday’s clash with premiership frontrunners Canterbury at ANZ Stadium, Widdop said the Dragons need to rediscover their form of the opening rounds.
“We did start the season very positively, but the last few weeks we have been inconsistent,” Widdop said.
“It was good just to get away for a few days over the rep weekend and have a bit of a break.
“It is good to come back refreshed and hopefully start performing a lot better than we were.
“Our discipline has been a problem over the last few weeks, just little errors, dropped balls in our own half has really cost us.
“That is something we really have to fix up.”
Marshall is set to slot straight into the Dragons’ halves alongside Widdop, a move which leaves the future of Sam Williams and Michael Witt very much up in the air.
Williams partners Widdop for the match against the Bulldogs against arguably the competition’s in-form pairing of Josh Reynolds and Trent Hodkinson.
Canterbury have won their last five straight games.
“They are a great team,” Widdop said.
“I think with the forward pack they have got, going forward it makes it a lot easier for the halves to play off that. Those halves bring a lot of points to that team, it is going to be a big test for us.”
