We break down the upcoming season with all the key details that you need to know about the 2018 Brydens Lawyers NRL draw.
HOME GAMES
Bulldogs members and fans will be treated to nine games at ANZ Stadium, two at Belmore Sports Ground and one match at the new Perth Stadium in Round One of the 2018 NRL Telstra Premiership season.
The club’s opening game of the season against reigning premiers the Melbourne Storm is part of a double header that will also see the South Sydney Rabbitohs host the New Zealand Warriors.
Seven of our home games will be against Sydney-based teams as well as five family 'Family Friendly Afternoon' games.
The Bulldogs will once again host the 'traditional' Queens Birthday Long Weekend match against the St George Illawarra Dragons, while the two games at Belmore will be played two weeks apart.
The club will have four home games in the opening 12 rounds and eight in the final 12 weeks of the season with a bye in Round 13.
AWAY GAMES
Our away games in 2018 include road trips to Canberra (Round 5), Townsville (Round 6), Brisbane (Round 9) and Newcastle (Round 16).
The Rabbitohs will be the home team for the annual Good Friday clash in Round 4, while our Round 25 match against the Dragons will see us head to Kogarah for the first time since 2013.
The club will have eight away games in the opening 12 rounds and four in the final 12 weeks of the season with a bye in Round 13.
COMPLETE BRYDENS LAWYERS 2018 DRAW!
SCHEDULING
In 2018, the Bulldogs will feature on five Sundays, seven Saturdays, six Fridays, five Thursdays and one Monday (Queens Birthday).
The club’s draw features three five day turnarounds, four six day turnarounds and 16 games with a seven day or more recovery period.
From a broadcasting point of view, the Bulldogs will feature 12 times on Channel Nine as well as 12 games on Fox Sports League (Channel 502).
NOTABLE CHANGES
There are only the 25 rounds (with one bye), as well as the standalone State Of Origin fixture for Game Two of the series.
There will be no club matches played that week and the game will move to a Sunday night as opposed to the usual Wednesday night for games one and three, which means only two rounds will be directly affected by State of Origin.
Another key change to the schedule is the removal of the Representative Round, which was a standalone fixture in past seasons.
TEAMS WE PLAY TWICE: Roosters, Panthers, Rabbitohs, Raiders, Broncos, Eels, Sharks, Wests Tigers, Dragons.
TEAMS WE PLAY ONCE: Storm, Cowboys, Titans, Knights, Sea Eagles, Warriors.
MOST ANTICIPATED MATCH: Round 12 – Bulldogs v Wests Tigers
Josh Reynolds' Wests Tigers will host Aaron Woods' Canterbury Bulldogs on Sunday, May 27.
The NRL has scheduled the Sydney blockbuster at ANZ Stadium in Round 12, which also doubles as the final match before NSW and Queensland select their teams for the opening game of the State of Origin series.
