Friday’s first NRL 2018 Round 2 match is between Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs. The opening kick is set to commence at 18:00 local time with the game to be played at Allianz Stadium. The home team Sydney Roosters are the favourites for the match. View our preview and teams for the game between Sydney Roosters and Canterbury Bulldogs.
When: 18:00 | Friday 16/03/2018
Where: Allianz Stadium
Preview:
Shock losers in the opening round to the Tigers, the Sydney Roosters will be on the rebound against the Bulldogs, who were blown away by the Storm.
Roosters captain Boyd Cordner returns to the run-on side while five-eighth Luke Keary returns to the line-up after being sidelined with a broken jaw.
The Bulldogs return to Sydney after a long return trip out west and are just 3-9-0 away from home since 2017.
The tricolours in comparison, are 11-3-0 at home and have won 6 of the last 8 contests between the two since 2014.
The Verdict
Both teams are looking to bounce back and the Bulldogs have a 3-2 (60 percent) line record after a loss playing as an away team since 2017.
The Roosters boast an 8-5 (61.5 percent) O/U record at Allianz Stadium after a loss since 2016.
Odds:
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Tip: Sydney Roosters at $1.32
Value Tip: First Try Scorer: Blake Ferguson at $9.50
More Info:
Teams:
Dragons:
Roosters:
1 James Tedesco, 2 Daniel Tupou, 3 Latrell Mitchell, 4 Joseph Manu, 5 Blake Ferguson, 6 Luke Keary, 7 Cooper Cronk, 8 Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, 9 Jake Friend (c), 10 Sio Siua Taukeiaho, 11 Boyd Cordner (c), 12 Mitchell Aubusson, 13 Isaac Liu Interchange: 14 Dylan Napa, 15 Zane Tetevano, 16 Ryan Matterson, 17 Victor Radley Reserves: 18 Reece Robinson, 19 Mitchell Cornish, 20 Nat Butcher, 21 Lindsay Collins.
Bulldogs:
1 Moses Mbye, 2 Brett Morris, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Will Hopoate, 5 Marcelo Montoya, 6 Matthew Frawley, 7 Kieran Foran, 8 Aaron Woods, 9 Michael Lichaa, 10 David Klemmer, 11 Joshua Jackson (c), 12 Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 13 Danny Fualalo Interchange: 14 Adam Elliott, 15 Aiden Tolman, 16 Greg Eastwood, 17 Jeremy Marshall-King Reserves: 19 Asipeli Fine, 20 Kerrod Holland, 21 Renouf Toomaga, 23 John Olive.
NRL News:
Luke Keary is set to give the Sydney Roosters a much-needed shot in the arm after being named to make his NRL return against Canterbury.
Keary was kept in cotton wool for his side’s first-up loss against the Wests Tigers due to a broken jaw suffered in a pre-season training mishap last month.
However he will return against the Bulldogs on Friday night where he will partner Cooper Cronk for the first time.
Trent Robinson’s side came into the season as red-hot premiership favourites however their 10-8 defeat to the lightly-rated Tigers heaped pressure on them.
Elsewhere, North Queensland playmaker Michael Morgan is an outside chance to return from an abdominal strain for Friday’s Queensland derby against Brisbane.
After missing last week’s win over Cronulla, Morgan has been named on an extended bench to face the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
Cowboys coach Paul Green played down the likelihood of his star half running onto the field alongside Johnathan Thurston but said he would be given until game day.
“He’s still a chance but more than likely he won’t be playing,” Green said.
“We’ll give him until Thursday. It’s about being able to train freely and pulling up well the next day, it’s one of those injuries that you just don’t know how they’re going to recover.
“You might feel alright when you do a bit but they can pull up pretty sore. The risk is if you push them too hard too early they drag on for quite a while.”
Andrew McCullough has been named to start for the Broncos after being eased back from injury off the bench last week.
Cronulla coach Shane Flanagan has named Valentine Holmes at fullback but could yet move Josh Dugan to the back for Thursday’s local derby with St George Illawarra.
Ex-South Sydney winger Aaron Gray comes into the side for injured rookie Sione Katoa.
Melbourne legend Billy Slater has been named to return from a shoulder strain and will line up for his 300th match, against the Wests Tigers on Saturday.
Young gun Adam Doueihi has got the nod ahead of Robbie Farah to replace injured halfback Adam Reynolds (ankle), who is set to miss at least a month.
Manly have dropped centre Matthew Wright for Brad Parker while former Roosters half Jackson Hastings has been named on the interchange bench in place of Lewis Brown.
