bulldogs win .
Parramatta Eels Canterbury Bulldogs
READERS NOTE:No Comments are mine and if you want to talk to me then do so through the pm's.
Another Saturday Night game here as the Eels open their season at home against the Bulldogs,this match should be a very rough and tough affair as these matches normally are.
Parra made it all the way to the Semis last season to fall short against the eventual winners the Storm,they have lost tahu to Rugby Union and with the salary cap hitting have also had to drop some other players as well,they do though have a good side,but they have lost Jarrod Hayne for this first round match,Hayne was switched to centre to replace Tahu and was looking good with grothe outside him,but alas he has been injured as is the nature of this game and in comes fresh faced 20 year old Tautai,expect him to get some treatment tonight.However Haynes injury aside and the Eels still field a very strong side with a backline that consists of Burt,Reddy,Inu and Grothe and they have some real talent and strenght in there,Mateo at Standoff is a gamble but it could work and Finch is a good half back,their forwards are also very good with Cayless,Riddell and Moimoi forming their front row,Hindmarsh,Lowrie and Wagon their back rowers,but their bench is a bot of a worry with Keating,Cordoba,Oake and Gullouao all on there,not much real punch in that bench and unless their starting 13 can really put them on the front foot they will find the going tough with that bench,but their starting 13 is a very good looking side though.
The Bulldogs bowed out in the Quarter Finals last season to this very side the Eels 25-6 and when you look through this Bulldogs side you can really see the affect of the salary Cap taking it's toll on the once powerfull pack of the Dogs,Gone is O'Melley,Sherwin and Mason and their once strong forward reserves are gone also,but they still field a very good side who will play with that same rough style that the Bulldogs are famous for.Their backline is good but not as strong as they once were Genral Patten remains as does Tonga and El Masri and Utai is back this season after two horror injury seasons and Winitana who looked very handy in a couple of games last year for them is in at centre also,Roberts and Holdsworth are their halves pairing both players started looking alot better towards the end of last season especially Roberts who to be honest has been a good player for a whiule now but has never stepped up to that next level the Bulldogs managment has been waiting for but he did play a full season last year and should be all the better for it this season,the Bulldogs pack is once again big and very mobile with Hickey,Hughes and Tsoulous making up a very big front row pairing Wiliams,Ryan and Te Marri making up a very mobile back row,but once again it is their bench that puts them out in front of the Eels for me,Maitua,Cleal,Williams and Sullivan are all very good players,Cleal seemed to really step up under the Bulldogs regime last season,Maitua was very strong as usual and Sullivan is an excitement machine especially from the bench,the Doggies might have lost some of their main players now,but the players they have retained are young and have been breed in that Bulldogs culture and have had alot og game time over the last few seasons.
These sides played each other 3 times last year with the Eels winning two of those matches,the Semi Final as already said and they beat the Bulldogs away also in Rd 21...22-34,however the Bulldogs beat the Eels in their first match of the season in Rd 6 at Parramatta Stadium 18-21.
The Eels have had little luck in the opening round over their last 5 seasons only winning once in 2005 away to the Tigers 12-28,they lost their opening round match last season 34-18 to the Warriors in Auckland in 2006 they were beaten 25-6 in Newxastle by the Knights,2005 has already been mentioned,2004 was an awful loss away to the Bulldogs 48 -14 and in 2003 they lost away to the Roosters 32-18.
The Bulldogs have won 3 of their last 5 opening round matches but have lost their last two,all 3 wins comming at home,last season as already mentioned to the Knights in that second half come back from the Knights 25-24,2006 and they lost at home to open their season to the Panthers 22-24,2005 they beat the Dragons 46-28,2004 they beat the Eels 48-14 and 2004 they also beat the Bunnies 34-26.
This match looks very even with hayne not playing and really it will come down to whos forward pack and reserves can get the best go forward,I think the Eels will start the better but once the Bench players come into play the Bulldogs could kick on from there through their forwards,both backlines have alot of talent in them but they are also both very strong defence wise,Inu and Grothe hold the keys for the Eels while Patten,Tonga and El masri are the key for the Dogs,this game is a tough one to call also,but I think the fact that the Eels have now had to replace Hayne for this match one week befor the start of the season masy not of given the young boy Tautai enough time to prepare and get ready for their pattens and for that reason and the Bulldogs bench i'm giving this game to the Bulldogs...Good Luck.
Pick : Bulldogs WIN
Odds : 2.70
Stake : 7 / 10
Bookmaker : Canbet
Date : 2008-03-15
READERS NOTE:No Comments are mine and if you want to talk to me then do so through the pm's.
Another Saturday Night game here as the Eels open their season at home against the Bulldogs,this match should be a very rough and tough affair as these matches normally are.
Parra made it all the way to the Semis last season to fall short against the eventual winners the Storm,they have lost tahu to Rugby Union and with the salary cap hitting have also had to drop some other players as well,they do though have a good side,but they have lost Jarrod Hayne for this first round match,Hayne was switched to centre to replace Tahu and was looking good with grothe outside him,but alas he has been injured as is the nature of this game and in comes fresh faced 20 year old Tautai,expect him to get some treatment tonight.However Haynes injury aside and the Eels still field a very strong side with a backline that consists of Burt,Reddy,Inu and Grothe and they have some real talent and strenght in there,Mateo at Standoff is a gamble but it could work and Finch is a good half back,their forwards are also very good with Cayless,Riddell and Moimoi forming their front row,Hindmarsh,Lowrie and Wagon their back rowers,but their bench is a bot of a worry with Keating,Cordoba,Oake and Gullouao all on there,not much real punch in that bench and unless their starting 13 can really put them on the front foot they will find the going tough with that bench,but their starting 13 is a very good looking side though.
The Bulldogs bowed out in the Quarter Finals last season to this very side the Eels 25-6 and when you look through this Bulldogs side you can really see the affect of the salary Cap taking it's toll on the once powerfull pack of the Dogs,Gone is O'Melley,Sherwin and Mason and their once strong forward reserves are gone also,but they still field a very good side who will play with that same rough style that the Bulldogs are famous for.Their backline is good but not as strong as they once were Genral Patten remains as does Tonga and El Masri and Utai is back this season after two horror injury seasons and Winitana who looked very handy in a couple of games last year for them is in at centre also,Roberts and Holdsworth are their halves pairing both players started looking alot better towards the end of last season especially Roberts who to be honest has been a good player for a whiule now but has never stepped up to that next level the Bulldogs managment has been waiting for but he did play a full season last year and should be all the better for it this season,the Bulldogs pack is once again big and very mobile with Hickey,Hughes and Tsoulous making up a very big front row pairing Wiliams,Ryan and Te Marri making up a very mobile back row,but once again it is their bench that puts them out in front of the Eels for me,Maitua,Cleal,Williams and Sullivan are all very good players,Cleal seemed to really step up under the Bulldogs regime last season,Maitua was very strong as usual and Sullivan is an excitement machine especially from the bench,the Doggies might have lost some of their main players now,but the players they have retained are young and have been breed in that Bulldogs culture and have had alot og game time over the last few seasons.
These sides played each other 3 times last year with the Eels winning two of those matches,the Semi Final as already said and they beat the Bulldogs away also in Rd 21...22-34,however the Bulldogs beat the Eels in their first match of the season in Rd 6 at Parramatta Stadium 18-21.
The Eels have had little luck in the opening round over their last 5 seasons only winning once in 2005 away to the Tigers 12-28,they lost their opening round match last season 34-18 to the Warriors in Auckland in 2006 they were beaten 25-6 in Newxastle by the Knights,2005 has already been mentioned,2004 was an awful loss away to the Bulldogs 48 -14 and in 2003 they lost away to the Roosters 32-18.
The Bulldogs have won 3 of their last 5 opening round matches but have lost their last two,all 3 wins comming at home,last season as already mentioned to the Knights in that second half come back from the Knights 25-24,2006 and they lost at home to open their season to the Panthers 22-24,2005 they beat the Dragons 46-28,2004 they beat the Eels 48-14 and 2004 they also beat the Bunnies 34-26.
This match looks very even with hayne not playing and really it will come down to whos forward pack and reserves can get the best go forward,I think the Eels will start the better but once the Bench players come into play the Bulldogs could kick on from there through their forwards,both backlines have alot of talent in them but they are also both very strong defence wise,Inu and Grothe hold the keys for the Eels while Patten,Tonga and El masri are the key for the Dogs,this game is a tough one to call also,but I think the fact that the Eels have now had to replace Hayne for this match one week befor the start of the season masy not of given the young boy Tautai enough time to prepare and get ready for their pattens and for that reason and the Bulldogs bench i'm giving this game to the Bulldogs...Good Luck.
Pick : Bulldogs WIN
Odds : 2.70
Stake : 7 / 10
Bookmaker : Canbet
Date : 2008-03-15