Date: Friday 18^th of March

Venue: ANZ Stadium

Gates Open: 5:45pm

Kick off: 8:05pm (NYC U20s 5:50pm)

Head Referee: Matt Cecchin

Assistant Referee: Alan Shortall

Head to head: Played 138, Bulldogs 75, Eels 58, drawn 5

Head to head odds: Bulldogs ($ 1.57), Eels ($2.47)

Broadcast: Channel 9, televised (coverage from 7:30), Live Radio 2GB

Last four encounters:

1. Bulldogs 28, Eels 4 at ANZ Stadium (2015)
2. Bulldogs 32, Eels 12 at ANZ Stadium (2015)
3. Bulldogs 18, Eels 16 at ANZ Stadium (2014)
4. Eels 22, Bulldogs 12 at ANZ Stadium (2014)

Preview: Round three has arrived and so has the annually anticipated match between the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and the Parramatta Eels. Both the Eels and the Bulldogs enter this week’s encounter off the back of wins. The Bulldogs were noticeably below their best last week against the Panthers although they managed to leave Sydney’s west with the two points after two high pressure conversions from rookie on debut Kerrod Holland, who has surprisingly been left out of the 17 for this round three encounter. As for the Eels, they shocked most NRL fans when they were able to take it to the 2015 premiers, the North Queensland Cowboys, and also walk away with two points. The Bulldogs versus Eels encounters are always highly anticipated match-ups due to the clubs’ respective history with one another and I’m sure fans of both clubs are looking forward to this one as well. I encourage fans of both teams to get out to there to ANZ Stadium and show their support.

Value Bet: My value bet for this one is for the Eels flying Fijian winger Semi Radradra to end his no try drought of two games and claim the first try at the nice odds of $ 7.50. First try favourites for both teams are as follows: Eels – Semi Radradra at $7.50 and Michael Jennings at $14; Bulldogs – Curtis Rona at a very short $6 and Sam Perrett at $10.

Interesting fact: Will Hopoate will come up against his former club for the first time on Friday night. The Eels and Hopoate ended their alliance on controversial terms and I’m sure both parties are looking forward to facing one another. This adds an interesting side play to a match that has already captured people’s imagination.

It will be a big week for: Kaysa Pritchard (below). Whilst Pritchard has been named to start from the bench, he is widely tipped to play plenty of minutes during the game, certainly compared to what he has been playing in the previous two games against the Broncos and Cowboys. Along with Issac De Gois, Pritchard will be tasked with filling the enormous shoes of star Eels rake Nathan Peats who is expected to be sidelined from 2-4 weeks with an elbow injury suffered against the Cowboys last Saturday night. Pritchard is no stranger to the Eels NRL squad, having debuted back in 2013. One could speculate that Pritchard would have notched up more NRL appearances if it had not been for a few serious injuries. Come Friday night none of that will matter as he looks to step up and help the Eels to victory.

 

Danger man: This week’s danger man (from an Eels fans perspective) is Bulldogs live wire halfback Moses Mbye (below). The Bulldogs played well below their best football last week and one of the big reasons they were able to escape with the two points was because of the efforts of Moses Mbye. This season shapes to be a big one for him as he takes over the Bulldogs primary playmaker position from now Newcastle Knights halfback Trent Hodkinson. Mbye, like most good halves, possesses a good passing and kicking game. However, a modern day rarity among halves is speed and Mbye has it in abundance. When this speed is combined with his playmaking vision it can have dire consequences for the opposition. Hence the Mbye dummy and run has begun to draw comparisons with Johnathan Thurston, definitely a big wrap for the Canterbury half.

Team lists:

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs (3^rd coming into the round)

1. Will Hopoate
2. Curtis Rona
3. Josh Morris
4. Chase Stanley
5. Sam Perrett
6. Josh Reynolds
7. Moses Mbye
8. Aiden Tolman
9. Craig Garvey
10. James Graham
11. Josh Jackson
12. Tony Williams
13. Greg Eastwood

14. Sam Kasiano
15. Tim Browne
16. David Klemmer
17. Adam Elliot

19. Lloyd Perrett, 20. Shaun Lane

Coach: Des Hasler

Late mail: Only one change to the Bulldogs team that was victorious last week against and it’s a bit of a strange one. Rookie sensation Kerrod Holland, who kicked the Bulldogs to victory against the Panthers, has been left out of the Bulldogs 17 in favour of returning centre Chase Stanley.

Parramatta Eels (10^th coming into the round)

1. Michael Gordon
2. Semi Radradra
3. Michael Jennings
4. Brad Takairangi
5. Clint Gutherson
6. Corey Norman
7. Kieran Foran (C)
8. Junior Paulo
9. Issac De Gois
10. Tim Mannah
11. Kenny Edwards
12. Beau Scott
13. Tepai Moeroa

14. Kaysa Pritchard
15. Peni Terepo
16. Danny Wicks
17. David Gower

Coach: Brad Arthur

Late mail: Nathan Peats has been ruled out of this one with an elbow injury and he has been replaced by Issac De Gois at hooker, whilst Manu Ma’u will miss one week through suspension with Kenny Edwards starting in his place. David Gower comes onto the bench for his first game of the season.

Two key match ups:

1. Josh Reynolds vs Corey Norman: The first key match-up features a battle between the five-eighths. Reynolds was somewhat quiet in the Bulldogs last start win against the Panthers, although it must be said he was fighting a lower back injury for a portion of that game which may have limited his impact. Indeed, the injury was deemed serious enough to see Reynolds escorted to hospital. He has since been cleared to take his place on Friday night. Reynolds is a player who can spark a team to do amazing things. He is a supreme competitor, and though there may be more talented players out there, Reynolds can make unfocused players look stupid on the field. The biggest danger that Reynolds presents to the Eels will be his running game. He has an uncanny ability to find half gaps in a defensive line, often turning those into fully fledged opportunities. No doubt the brains trust at the Eels will address Reynolds in the lead up to kick off. Corey Norman started 2016 in spectacular fashion captaining the Eels to the 2016 Auckland Nines title, ultimately being named player of the tournament in an effort that had Eels fans thinking this would be his big breakout season. Whilst Norman has played well during his time at the Eels, he is yet to have a major breakout season. The glimpses of brilliance have been on show already this season, which means there is plenty of time for the Eels star five eighth to fully hit his straps. Much like Reynolds, I believe Norman is strongest when he is effectively running the ball. As an agile player with tackle bust potential, he can be deadly for the opposition close to the line. A streak of good games could even see Norman come into contention for a Queensland state of origin team likely to introduce new faces after disciplinary bans were recently handed down.

2. Josh Jackson vs Kenny Edwards: The second key match up to highlight will feature a battle of the back rowers, as the Bulldogs rep star Josh Jackson squares off against the Eels all rounder Kenny Edwards. When it comes to your ideal modern day second rower, a player like Josh Jackson would be pretty close to what you would want. Jackson is a player capable of playing eighty minutes with a high defensive work rate and a little bit of ball playing expertise. Most importantly he has the ability to run a good line in order to potentially create a line break, score a try or set up a try. Over the past couple of seasons Jackson has represented both his country (Australia) and state (New South Wales) and it’s a testament to the effort he puts in each and every week. Almost every time I watch Jackson play, he reminds me a little of now New Zealand Warriors back rower Ryan Hoffman. Jackson has very similar traits to Hoffman and it’s their ability to hit a hole that is their most important attribute. Over the past decade Ryan Hoffman has earned the reputation as one of the best line runners in the game and now it’s the next generation’s turn. It’s safe to say Jackson is near the top of that list. Kenny Edwards will, this Friday night, play only his third game since returning from a long stint on the sidelines with a serious knee injury. However, you would be hard pressed to think that Edwards ever left the Eels seventeen after seeing his performances over the past two rounds. Since the start of the season he has been one of the Eels top three performers, which is a superb effort for a man returning from such a long lay-off. Edwards has gained a promotion to the starting line up this week, albeit due to the suspension of Manu Ma’u. Still, Edwards has put himself in the position to be selected in the Eels starting thirteen and if it’s anything like the past couple of weeks, Eels fans can expect him to grab this opportunity with both hands and put in a stellar performance.

My tip: On paper, and going by the history of these two teams, this is sure to be a very close and physical encounter. If you look at the win/loss column, the Bulldogs have the edge over the Eels with two wins to one. However, if you look at the nature of those wins, particularly the last start performance, the Eels look like the team to beat. But, as we know with these two teams, you may as well chuck the form guide out the window.

Having said that, I think we will be seeing an Eels victory in a very close encounter. I’m predicting the Eels to walk away with the two points though not without a battle – Eels in golden point, 19 points to 18.

Man of the match: Corey Norman or Moses Mbye (depending on the winning team)

Enjoy the game, GO THE EELS !!!

Nathan

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