NRL Round 14 – Bulldogs v Dragons match preview, odds and tips

ANZ Stadium, Sydney, Monday 8th June 2015, 4.00pm EST.

Weather: Sunny

WHAT a game to cap-off the long weekend.

The Bulldogs welcome back captain courageous, James Graham, however lost Tony Williams for the season in a training mishap during the week. Canterbury’s coach Des Hasler is yet to name a replacement, with the news disappointing for fans as ’T-Rex’ had been exuding some good in his past few matches. Rumours are circling that talented fullback Brett Morris will make a return from injury, looking to boost his selection chances ahead of origin two.

St George Illawarra Dragons are flying high on top of the table, annihilating the Cronulla Sharks last week, 42 points to 6. Paul Mcgregor’s side have only gone down once this year – to South Sydney back in round nine – and William Hill are offering $11.00 for Dragons fans who believe they can take out the premiership.

These two sides have met on 28 occasions, with the Bulldogs leading the victory count 17 to 11.

Des Hasler’s men also have a slight better win percentage at ANZ Stadium of 56%, compared to the Dragons 52%.

Betting Summary:

The head-to-head markets are fluctuating with most betting providers, with Luxbet.com.au providing the best value for St George at $1.94 and Canterbury fans can secure $1.95 with sportsbet.com.au in the outright market.

The line is +1 to the Bulldogs at $1.92 with crownbet.com.au.

Bulldogs (1-12) $3.20 at williamhill.com.au

Bulldogs (13+) $4.35 at sportsbet.com.au

Dragons (1-12) $3.50 at williamhill.com.au

Dragons (13+) $4.50 at luxbet.com.au

First-Try Scorer:

If Brett Morris returns in this game, Canterbury’s back-line will be reignited to score plenty of points. Winger Curtis Rona is most favoured for the blue and whites at $10 with Luxbet.com.au and fellow winger Jason Nightingale is the Dragon’s most popular option at $11 with Williamhill.com.au.

Sam Perrett (Bulldogs) $15.00 at Crownbet.com.au, $3.25 to score at any stage

Corey Thompson (Bulldogs) $12.00

Josh Morris (Bulldogs) $12.00, $2.50 to score at any stage

Moses Mbye (Bulldogs) $17.00

Eto Nabuli (Dragons) $11.00, $2.20 to score at any stage

Josh Dugan (Dragons) $13.00, $2.50 to score at any stage

Euan Aitken (Dragons) $15.00

Peter Mata’utia (Dragons) $15.00

Other Exotic Markets:

The half and full-time doubles always provide great value for punters looking for options other than head-to-head and line markets.

Surprisingly, a majority of the money has come for the Bulldogs’ to lead from start to finish, paying $2.75 with Crownbet.com.au.

Punters who believe St George will make a comeback in the second-half can get $8.90 with Luxbet.com.au.

St George are paying $2.90 with Crownbet.com.au to win both halves and if Bulldogs fans believe they can make a comeback will get $8.70 from Luxbet.com.au.

As always, most betting companies offer individual score predictor odds for punters which can provide a far greater return than the 1-12 and 13+ margins.

With both teams fielding stunning back-lines, the winner/total points market is worth having a look at. For Bulldogs victory and >38.5 points, Crownbet.com.au are offering $3.60 and Dragons/>38.5 paying $3.70.

Crownbet.com.au also offer some enticing odds on first-try scorer and overall winner odds. For Curtis Rona to score the first-try and the Bulldogs to win is paying $12.00, while the best double the Dragons appears to be Josh Dugan to score the first-try, along with a Dragons victory at $21.00.

With origin two selection just around the corner, individual performances will be heavily scruitinized tomorrow, along with the all important two competition points on offer for the winner.