2019 NRL Round 12 betting preview – Bulldogs vs Raiders

Canterbury Bulldogs – $1.91 at Bet365
Canberra Raiders – $1.91

The upcoming State of Origin series has rather levelled the playing field for Saturday’s NRL clash at ANZ Stadium.

While the Canterbury Bulldogs have only one player out on representative duty, the Canberra Raiders are missing three.

NRL 2019 BETTING GUIDE

Ricky Stuart’s men are also on a three-game losing streak after last week’s disappointing defeat to North Queensland.

Another loss to lower-ranked opposition could see the Raiders slide out of the eight when they looked like premiership contenders only a month ago.

For the Dogs, this is a big chance to steal a couple of points and get off the bottom of the ladder.

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Canterbury Bulldogs team news

Dylan Napa is part of the Queensland squad for Origin I, so Ofahiki Ogden starts at lock and Raymond Faitala-Mariner joins the bench. Adam Elliott, Kerrod Holland, Lachlan Lewis and Michael Lichaa are all named in the reserves.

CANTERBURY BULLDOGS NRL ODDS

Out: Dylan Napa (Origin)
In: Raymond Faitala-Mariner

Canberra Raiders team news

John Bateman is named as a reserve and expected to play, but Josh Hodgson has a busted thumb and Nick Cotric, Josh Papalii and Jack Wighton are all away on Origin duty. Sebastian Kris and Aidan Sezer come into the back half, while Siliva Havili and Corey Horsburgh complete the forward pack.

CANBERRA RAIDERS NRL ODDS

Out: Josh Hodgson (thumb), Nick Cotric, Josh Papalii, Jack Wighton (all Origin)
In: Siliva Havili, Corey Horsburgh, Sebastian Kris, Aidan Sezer

Bulldogs vs Raiders tryscorer betting tips

Markets courtesy of Sportsbet.com.au

Reimis Smith
First tryscorer – $8.50
Anytime tryscorer – $2
Two or more tries – $6.50

The Doggies are struggling, but Smith has been a reliable scoring outlet all season. The 22-year-old winger has notched tries in six out of 11 starts in 2019 – an excellent strike rate in an average team.

Michael Oldfield
First tryscorer – $9
Anytime tryscorer – $2.10
Two or more tries – $7.50

Like Smith, Oldfield has not let Canberra’s poor form affect his scoring output. The journeyman flanker has found the line three times in four games this season, including two in the Raiders’ hat-trick of defeats.

Canterbury vs Canberra NRL stats and trends

• Only Gold Coast (257) and SGI (253) have conceded more points than the Dogs (252) after 11 rounds
• Canterbury sit third in the NRL for both total kicks (235) and total kick metres (6,423)
• The Raiders lead the league for dummy half runs (167) and rank second for charge downs (4)
• Canberra are also top of the pile for 40/20 kicks with three – two more than the Dogs

Bulldogs vs Raiders betting predictions

It is easy to say the Raiders are in a slump, but results alone don’t tell the whole story.

While they were off against the Cowboys last week, Canberra were hardly disgraced in their losses to Souths and Sydney.

Canterbury, meanwhile, have managed three wins all year and were utterly outplayed by Melbourne last time out.

This will test the Raiders’ depth, but the incoming players – especially Sezer – should relish the opportunity.

Canberra Raiders to win/Michael Oldfield to score a try – $3 at Sportsbet