NRL Round 16 Preview and Prediction - New Zealand Warriors v Canterbury Bulldogs @ Mount Smart Stadium
New Zealand Warriors v Canterbury Bulldogs @ Mount Smart Stadium
Preview - It's a desperate match-up between two sides on the outside of the Top 8 looking in, as the Warriors and Bulldogs collide for the second time this season across the Tasman. The Warriors are fresh off a bye after one of their best performances of the season, as they dismantled the Titans 28-12 on the Gold Coast for their first victory outside of New Zealand for the year. However, with just 6 wins from 13 games, the Warriors really need to start stringing wins together if they are to elevate themselves into a final's position. The Bulldogs are also coming off a bye and a most recent victory against the Dragons, 16-2 at ANZ Stadium. The Bulldogs went into typical siege mentality after that shocking loss to Penrith to give their fans hope that, like the Warriors, they might have the potential to get on a roll late in the season.
History - The Bulldogs have already beaten the Warriors in New Zealand this year as they took a home game to Dunedin back in Round 3 and ground out a gritty 24-12 victory. The Bulldogs have an excellent record against the Warriors, having won 6 from the past 7 games, as well as 15 from their last 24 games in New Zealand.
New Zealand Warriors' Scouting Report - The Warriors have suffered a massive blow with Kieran Foran ruled out Warriors with a quad tear. Ata Hinguano fills the big shoes left by Foran in the number six number. Solomone Kata is out once again with injury which forces David Fusitu'a into the centres and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad on to the wing.
Canterbury Bulldogs' Scouting Report - The Bulldogs welcome back their inspirational five-eight Josh Reynolds who has missed the past four games with a hamstring injury. This forces Matt Frawley back to the interchange bench, as the Bulldogs look to reignite a stuttering attack that has managed just 4 tries combined in their past 3 games. The Bulldogs get Origin players in Brett David Klemmer and Josh Jackson backing from Origin however Brett Morris has been ruled out with a knee injury.
Verdict - Warriors by 1-6 in a high scoring game
This is a really hard game to call as both these sides have put in a few shockers so far this year. I'm generally not a fan of tipping the Warriors, however I think in front of their home fans they might just have a few more points in them than the struggling Bulldogs. There were signs last week that the Warriors' attack is starting to click with both Isaac Luke and Rodger Tuivasa Sheck's running game starting to cause some damage. The thing for me about tipping the Warriors is can they match the Bulldog's attitude in defence for 80 minutes. The Dogs' defence is what the team has generally relied upon to bounce back this year, and they were like a brick wall against the Dragons at ANZ Stadium last week. I'm expecting this clash to be really physical up front with the Dogs trying to intimidate the Warriors and take them out of their comfort zone. I think this game might be higher scoring than people think and, if it is high scoring, I think that's the sort of game that will suit the Warriors. Their record at Mount Smart has been good this year so I will stick with the Warriors to win by a try or so.