The Warriors head into this round 22 clash on the back of 4-straight losses, whilst also losing 9 of their past 10 matches. Their season is well and truly over, and the players and coaching staff appear to be looking towards the off season more than their upcoming opponents. Speaking of the Bulldogs, they have shown that they aren’t just going to pack it in for the rest of the year, and are building nicely heading into next season.
As always, stay tuned throughout the 2022 NRL season to get the best betting value when taking on the bookies, with our NRL Tips page previewing all the NRL matches in 2022.
New Zealand Warriors vs Canterbury Bulldogs Betting Tips
Mt Smart Stadium, Friday 12th August, 6:00pm (AEST)
Squads
New Zealand Warriors
1. Reece Walsh 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Viliami Vailea 4. Marcelo Montoya 5. Edward Kosi 6. Daejarn Asi 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Addin Fonua-Blake 9. Wayde Egan 10. Tohu Harris 11. Euan Aitken 12. Jack Murchie 13. Josh Curran. INTERCHANGE: 14. Freddy Lussick 15. Bunty Afoa 16. Eliesa Katoa 17. Jackson Frei. RESERVES: 18. Aaron Pene Bayley Sironen 20. Adam Pompey 21. Taniela Otukolo 22. Tom Ale 23. Rocco Berry
Canterbury Bulldogs
1. Jake Averillo 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Aaron Schoupp 4. Braidon Burns 5. Josh Addo-Carr 6. Matt Burton 7. Kyle Flanagan 8. Max King 9. Jeremy Marshall-King 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Josh Jackson 12. Jackson Topine 13. Raymond Faitala-Mariner. INTERCHANGE: 14. Zach Dockar-Clay 15. Joe Stimson 16. Harrison Edwards 17. Chris Patolo. RESERVES: 19. Declan Casey 20. Kurtis Morrin 21. Bailey Biondi-Odo 22. Jeral Skelton 23. Phillip Makatoa
Match Preview
The Warriors welcome back some cattle in their penultimate match at home this season, with rookie centre Viliami Vailea and five eighth Daejarn Asi coming back into the squad. They’ve also shuffled around the forward pack, with Josh Curran and Euan Aitken taking up their usual places in the back row, and the one game experiment of Wayde Egan at five eighth is over, with the rake pushing back into the dummy half role.
Much has been publicised about the improvement over the season of the Bulldogs, and it’s hard to argue. Since the sacking of coach Trent Barrett before round 11, the Bulldogs have won 4 of 10, which in and of itself doesn’t sound overly impressive, however after watching the Bulldogs closely over the first 10 rounds, the change in play style and ultimately the results this has provided, has been spectacular. It’s a big chance for them to get another win, before their final 3 matches against some strong opposition. They will be without Tevita Pangai-Junior for this clash, however, are otherwise unchanged from their last week’s squad.
My numbers for this match-up are just about spot on with the market, with the Bulldogs -1.5 look-ahead line being the play late last week. However, with the number now hovering around Bulldogs -4.5, I can’t bet into this market. The total looks correct as well, however I lean under given Mt Smart Stadium during the evening tends to lend itself to low scoring matches.
I believe the Warriors have a real chance in this one. They kept things interesting 2 weeks ago against the Storm at home, and the Bulldogs don’t have the travel advantage most clubs have over the Warriors. Over the past month, the Bulldogs have played in Sydney, Newcastle, Bundaberg and now Auckland. It’s a short 5-day turnaround for this clash, and it will be tough for them to be up mentally for this encounter.
It's a toss-up, but I’m running the with Bulldogs to get things done based purely on form, however the Warriors will keep it close.
Props: Under 46.5 - $1.90 at NEDS
Edward Kosi (Anytime Try Scorer) - $2.25 at Bet365
Bulldogs 1-12 (Margin)
$3.25 (1 Unit)
