The Bulldogs return to home soil and take on the Eels for the I4Give Cup, with another chance to show their fans the fruits of the hard work being done on the training track.
Despite a loss to the undermanned, yet still powerful, Panthers in Round 13, the Bulldogs continued to show plenty of fight, pulling within four points of the premiers before a late try sealed the game for the home side. There was plenty to like about the blue and whites’ effort and the polished plays that led to points on the night, however, the cold reality of needing to be better against the top teams in order to snatch victories still exists.
The final polish in attack is still eluding Mick Potter’s team, with statistical dominance in possession, total runs, completions, as well as post contact and kicking metres once again not translating to a win. To emphasise this, Canterbury played the ball more quickly than the mountain men, tackled more efficiently and less often, conceded just six errors and committed only four.
Yet it was the ability of the opposition to be clinical in attack and pounce when the moments presented themselves, that stopped the Bulldogs from pulling off what would have been a stunning upset at BlueBet Stadium.
Round 14 sees the Dogs up against a team in the mix for a potential top four position come seasons’ end. Parramatta will travel a few short kilometres up the road to Accor Stadium in the hope of taking the two points and re-affirming their position at the pointy end of the NRL ladder.
It will be an opportunity to build for the Dogs, who are now scoring more freely and ready to attack their old rival in what looms as yet another passionate affair between the two clubs.
Team news sees the Eels include their three Origin representatives Ryan Matterson, Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard despite the short turnaround and the Bulldogs name an essentially unchanged line-up, with Corey Allan and Jake Averillo formally named in the positions in which they took to the field against the Panthers.
Tevita Pangai Junior has been named on an extended bench, with a late call-up to the starting 13 possible, should coach Potter feel confident in including the powerhouse forward who has spent the last two weeks recovering from back spasms.
Whilst wins remain slim pickings for the Bulldogs at this stage of the season, Parramatta generally bring the best out of the blue and whites and with the Eels’ form patchy heading into this clash, an upset is a possibility.
Key Match-Up
Matt Burton v Dylan Brown: The former Panther did everything in his power to mastermind an upset against his old club in round 13, laying on two tries for Josh Addo-Carr with pinpoint kicks and scoring one himself in a classy display. Burton will need all that and more if the Bulldogs are to beat the Eels for the first time since round 23, 2019.
In Dylan Brown he confronts a confidence player who is backing his own ability to take the line on and come up with match-turning moments. Both men have the skill to turn the game on its head with a flash of brilliance.
