Australia's best betting sites

Thursday NRL result & line tips for Roosters vs. Bulldogs

  • MATCH UP STATS

    Sydney Roosters vs. Canterbury Bulldogs

    • Season record:

      Sydney Roosters: 1-0
      Canterbury Bulldogs: 0-1
    • Line betting:

      Sydney Roosters: -6 ($1.91 @ Sportsbet)
      Canterbury Bulldogs: +6 ($1.91 @ Sportsbet)

Sydney Roosters vs. Canterbury Bulldogs. Thursday, March 9, 8.05pm, Allianz Stadium.

AFTER a tough round one loss to the Melbourne Storm, the Canterbury Bulldogs won’t find round two any easier against the Sydney Roosters.

The Bulldogs found themselves 12-0 down early against last year’s grand finalists in their first outing of the year and will need a much better start against the Roosters – a team known for fast starts.

The Roosters got off to a hot start against the Titans in Round one, boasting a handful of first-half tries.

“We knew what went wrong in the game. It was how we started in the first half. Melbourne scored two very easy tries in the first six minutes and they were kept scoreless after that. Our main focus for this week is our start,” Bulldogs star Raymond Faitala-Mariner said.

“The start got us and, unfortunately, we couldn’t recover. It’s round one of a marathon season and we’re not going to let this result get us down,” added Will Hopoate.

While the Bulldogs were only able to score one try with Josh Reynolds, the Roosters ran in five first half tries and one in the second half.

Star back Latrell Mitchell scored three tries with new recruit Luke Keary adding another two tries. This poses problems for the Bulldogs which often find it hard to defend against quality halves pairings.

Sportsbet NRL special

“He was really impressive,” Mitchell Pearce said of Luke Keary. “Him and Mick Gordon have brought a lot to the team this year, especially around that spine.

“Lukey’s speed and instincts have been a real threat for us. We did a big block of training of about six weeks because we didn’t make the finals. So me and Lukey trained all pre-season together and got lots of repetition in our attack.”

Pearce said he gets along with Luke Keary who transferred from the South Sydney Rabbitohs to join the cross-state rivals.

“We get along really well. That always helps. He’s a really good bloke. He’s a competitive player and brought a lot to the club over the break and showed that in the first round. I’m really enjoying it. I have been looking forward to playing with him,” Pearce said.

“First game went to plan and came up with some good plays but it’s a long season.”

The Roosters couldn’t find any traction last season due to many off-the-field disruptions, but the core has settled down nicely and punters are digging into the futures bets for the 2017 NRL Premiership.

First things first – a win against the Bulldogs will set the Roosters up for a good season, but the Bulldogs won’t die sleeping so it’s shaping up as a good Thursday night showdown.

Roosters vs. Bulldogs game tip

The bookmakers have this market closer than we anticipated. The Bulldogs are a quality outfit, but they’re in the middle of a losing streak and we couldn’t help but be impressed with the Roosters last weekend.

The Roosters showed signs of tiring in the second half, but the damage had already been done and we think the Roosters are in for a big season.

Bulldogs supporters will enjoy seeing the head-to-head price on offer, but the value is with the $1.45 for the Roosters.

They’re playing at home in front of what should be a big crowd at Allianz Stadium and there’s too much firepower across the park for a defensively-minded Bulldogs team which has seemingly lost some of its identity.

Roosters -6 ($1.9 at Sportsbet) is the play this Thursday night.

For a little more value we suggest taking Roosters 13+ at odds of $2.70 with Sportsbet.com.au. There is more risk involved with this play, but we think the Roosters have more try scoring threats than the Bulldogs.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *