Bulldogs v Sea Eagles NRL round 26 preview & predictions | 30/8

Bulldogs v Sea Eagles R26 best bets

Round 26 match preview: Canterbury Bulldogs v Manly Sea Eagles

Friday night football for round 26 of the 2024 NRL Premiership kicks off with a top eight clash with the Canterbury Bulldogs hosting the Manly Sea Eagles at Accor Stadium in Sydney.

The Bulldogs have had the type of season that is making former Rugby League greats question their legitimacy to take on the Penrith Panthers and Melbourne Storm in a Grand Final. Winners of their last five matches in a row, they have an opportunity to now fight for a top four spot on the ladder and home semi-final matches in September.

Meanwhile, the Sea Eagles stumbled last week in their finals-run stint when they suffered an eight-point loss to the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval in Sydney. Manly’s in a fortunate spot, having drawn one match this season to be three points clear of the Dragons in eighth spot and all but certain to play finals football.

Sea Eagles coach Anthony Siebold has made a number of changes to his sides loss last week, particularly following the suspension of Corey Waddell. Matthew Lodge will be his replacement on the interchange bench, while Tommy Talau (pectoral) will return in the centres, dropping Tolutau Koula back to the interchange bench and forcing Gordon Chan Kum Tong to the extended reserves.

Cameron Ciraldo has also been forced to make changes to his side, with captain and star centre Stephen Crichton suspended for his hit on Warrior Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. Jacob Kiraz will start in the centres, with Jeral Skelton named on the wing. Kurt Mann (collarbone) is also out injured, with Jaeman Salmon named at lock in his place, while Josh Curran (shoulder) has been added to the interchange bench despite playing through shoulder issues.

Bulldogs v Sea Eagles Rd 26 teams list

Canterbury Bulldogs

1. Connor Tracey
2. Jeral Skelton
3. Bronson Xerri
4. Jacob Kiraz
5. Josh Addo-Carr
6. Matt Burton
7. Toby Sexton
8. Max King
9. Reed Mahoney
10. Samuel Hughes
11. Viliame Kikau
12. Jacob Preston
13. Jaeman Salmon
14. Bailey Hayward
15. Kurtis Morrin
16. Harry Hayes
17. Josh Curran

Manly Sea Eagles

1. Tom Trbojevic
2. Jason Saab
3. Tommy Talau
4. Reuben Garrick
5. Lehi Hopoate
6. Luke Brooks
7. Daly Cherry-Evans
8. Taniela Paseka
9. Lachlan Croker
10. Nathan Brown
11. Haumole Olakau’atu
12. Ben Trbojevic
13. Jake Trbojevic
14. Tolutau Koula
15. Josh Aloiai
16. Ethan Bullemor
17. Matthew Lodge

Bulldogs v Sea Eagles R26 betting picks

The Bulldogs will be expected to start as favourites to win this match, with minimal changes to their side, given they opened as -156.25 chances at Neds Bookmaker to secure a sixth win.

Canterbury has won eight of their last ten matches, with their only two losses coming in away matches against the Cowboys and Roosters. The Bulldogs will almost certainly be backed up by an enormous crowd from the Canterbury-Bankstown region. Given the home team has covered the line in 18 of Manly’s last 23 matches, the Bulldogs look to be the smart bet at -111.11 to win by 5 points or more with top NRL bookmakers.

Bulldog Viliame Kikau will line up against the much smaller Sea Eagle Ben Trbojevic in this match. It is most likely the plan of coach Ciraldo to utilise the running and ball-playing skills of five-eighth Matt Burton to isolate Trbojevic for Kikau to score (+280) in a one-on-one scenario at great value.

Canterbury’s brilliant defence in recent weeks has resulted in three of their last five matches being low-scoring affairs, with less than 45 points scored in three of their last five matches. Should their strong defence continue without Crichton in the side in attack, this is likely to be another low-scoring affair (-111.11).

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