2020 NRL – Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers taking place? Sunday 28th June, 2020 – 09:30 (UK)
Where is Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers taking place? Bankwest Stadium, Sydney
What is the expected weather for Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers? 12c, clear skies
What channel is Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers on? Sky Sports Arena will be televising selected NRL games in the UK and you can find their schedule here. For Australian broadcasters, you can find a list here
Where can I stream Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers? If televised on Sky Sports, then subscribers will be able to stream the match live via Sky Go. Alternatively, the match will be available to subscribers of Watch NRL
Where can I get tickets for Canterbury Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers? Click here for ticket information on 2020 NRL matches
THE TEAM NEWS
CANTERBURY BULLDOGS
Starting 13: Hopoate, R. Smith, Holland, Averillo, Watene-Zelezniak, Foran, Wakeham, To’omaga, Marshall-King, Napa, Jackson, Faitala-Mariner, Elliott – Interchanges: Cogger, Britt, Sue, Ogden – Reserves: Tolman, Meaney
Unavailable: Chris Smith (Injured), Marcelo Montoya (Injured), Joe Stimson (Injured), Lachlan Lewis (Injured), Christian Crichton (Suspended), Luke Thompson (Quarantined)
- Canterbury Bulldogs were made to pay for some poor defending on their edges as their narrow line was exploited on four occasions by Cronulla Sharks who were able to condemn them to defeat.
- The Bulldogs lost by just two points in an evenly-contested match and now come into this game with just one win to their name so far this season which sees them sit at the foot of the ladder.
- Christian Crichton will drop out from last week’s defeat due to suspension so Reimis Smith shifts to the wing in his place while Kerrod Holland will line-up at centre and Jack Cogger earns a spot on the bench but new signing Luke Thompson will be unavailable as the English international must serve a 14-day period of self-isolation after arriving in the country.
WESTS TIGERS
Starting 13: Doueihi, Nofoaluma, J. Leilua, Mbye, Talau, Reynolds, Brooks, Aloiai, Grant, Clark, Garner, L. Leilua, Eisenhuth – Interchanges: Taylor, Mikaele, McIntyre, Chee-Kam – Reserves: Marshall, Lawrence
Unavailable: Jacob Liddle (Injured), Russell Packer (Suspended), Alex Twal (Injured), Robert Jennings (Injured), Zane Musgrove (Injured)
- Wests Tigers produced a stunning first half in their game with North Queensland Cowboys last week but they will be concerned that they were unable to build on that carve-up and offered their opponents a glimmer of hope of mounting an unlikely second half fightback.
- The Tigers were ruthless as they went into the sheds with a 34-0 lead but they lost the second period 2-20 and that will have frustrated head coach Michael Maguire who was hoping for an 80-minute performance from his side.
- To make matters worse for Maguire, he lost a trio of players to injury last week with Robert Jennings, Alex Twal and Zane Musgrove all sidelined as a result of those issues and they are replaced by Tommy Talau, Elijah Taylor and Oliver Clark.
THE PREDICTION
Wests Tigers showed their ability with a superb first half performance last week but still have plenty to work on as they did not back it up in the second half of their game with North Queensland Cowboys. They did enough to win the game by half-time but switched off afterwards and will need to improve on that as they face Canterbury Bulldogs. The side at the bottom of the table lost once again last week and with a 1-5 record, they are desperate for the competition points here and although they have won the last three against the Tigers, it is Wests that should be able to win.
