NRL Round 5 finishes up on Sunday evening at Accor Stadium, as the top of the table Bulldogs host the Knights fresh off the bye, in a fascinating matchup for both teams. Whilst the Bulldogs have been hit by several early season injuries, it hasn’t stopped them from winning, as they currently sit four wins from four games. The Knights on the other hand, have looked up and down in their three games, but have kept themselves in the hunt with a 2-1 record. Let’s dig into the game and preview what’s ahead.
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Canterbury Bulldogs vs Newcastle Knights
Location: Accor Stadium – Sydney Olympic Park
Date: Sunday, 6th April
Time: 6:15pm AEDT
Odds: Bulldogs ($1.46) vs Knights ($2.75)
Line: Bulldogs -6.5
Points: 44.5
Odds and lines provided with thanks to Ladbrokes. Note that odds and lines can fluctuate throughout the week and are correct at the time of writing.
Match Preview
The Bulldogs were tremendous last weekend, heading to the Shire and beating the Sharks in dominant fashion, after closing as massive 9.5-point underdogs. The defence has started looking dominant over the past two weeks and holding a team as talented as the Sharks to 6 points at home is testament to their defence. Jacob Preston was huge for the Dogs, scoring a try, breaking the line twice, setting up a try/line break, busting 3 tackles and popping two offloads. He is in great form for the Dogs.
The Knights are coming into this one off the bye, however the last time we saw the Knights wasn’t great. They travelled north to face the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium, where they were blown out of the water, losing 26-6. The stats were similar between the teams, but the titans were just far better at getting something from their attack, with the Knights only managing a late consolation try to Bradman Best in the 75th minute. Concerning signs for the Knights.
The Bulldogs and Knights met twice last year, and it made for grim reading for Knights fans. In round 7, the teams met at Accor Stadium, with the Dogs closing 1.5-point home underdogs. The wrong team was clearly favoured, as the Dogs hammered the Knights 36-12. They met six weeks later in round 13, this time in Newcastle, with the Knights closing 5.5-point home favourites. The teams were missing their Origin contingent, but it didn’t matter for the Bulldogs, as they hammered the Knights 32-2.
Moving forward to this week, and the Bulldogs were 6.5-point favourites on the lookahead, re-opened in the same spot, and currently sit as the same 6.5-point favourites they have been all week. I honestly can’t disagree with the number and would only lean towards the Bulldogs in this spot. If the number drops to 5.5, I will probably bet it, but for now I’ll steer clear.
The total opened 46.5 and has dropped to 44.5. I fully support this move, and I make a fair total in the high 30’s, meaning under is the play here. Both these teams have looked solid defensively, with the Bulldogs conceding just 14.5 points per game, and the Knights a poultry 15 points per game. Under is the play.
Under 45.5 Points
$1.90 (2 Units)
Same Game Multi
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Leg 1: Bulldogs ML – Dogs will go to 5-0.
Leg 2: Jacob Preston (1+ try) – Looked tremendous last week and is always a great chance at a try. Not happy he’s back to the right side this week, but he really props this price up nicely.
Leg 3: Bradman Best (1+ try) – Doesn’t like to pass much close to the line, and the left edge of the Knights is where they go in the redzone. The big centre can do it all himself or can simply run off Ponga for a try.
SGM Odds: $11 at BoomBet
