Finals Week 1: Bulldogs v Sea Eagles preview
Sunday afternoon in the heartland of Rugby League - where else would you rather be?
The Canterbury Bulldogs play finals football for the first time in nearly a decade as they take on the Manly Sea Eagles from Accor Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Having had one of the best runs seen in the competition over the second half of the season, the Dogs attack has been revitalized with Connor Tracey and Toby Sexton providing crucial support to Matt Burton and Stephen Crichton. While the Bulldogs fell by the wayside in the last two weeks with losses to the Cowboys and Manly, they come into this game knowing that they've got what it takes to go against the best.
We are expecting the Bulldogs to attack the Manly edge defence early, testing out Tolutau Koula and Karl Lawton in the opening phases. One can also expect Jacob Kiraz to be a target for the last tackle kicks deep in attack.
The Sea Eagles have battled at times in 2024, having lost Tom Trbojevic twice this season as well as a host of injuries through the representative period. Despite two shock losses to the Tigers and Sharks over the final three weeks, the Sea Eagles will come in as favourites with the vast finals experience as well as the return of Tom Trbojevic.
Daly Cherry Evans will look to guide his side around to yet another finals win, as the side looks to capitalize on their win against the Dogs just two weeks ago. The aforementioned Tom Trbojevic will be floating around the middle, hoping to exploit the Bulldogs forwards in what is a mouthwatering prospect for all Manly fans.
Josh Addo-Carr has stood himself down this week after being subject to an investigation, as Jeral Skelton makes his way into the starting 17. Bronson Xerri and Matt Burton return for the Dogs who got put into their kennel last week, with Blake Taaffe named 18th man.
Tom Trbojevic returns for the Sea Eagles, so Tolu Koula moves to centre, Tommy Talau to the win and Clayton Faulolo heads to the reserves. In what is a small win already, Luke Brooks plays his first ever game of finals football in what is his 231st game in the NRL.
Last meeting: Round 26 2024 - Bulldogs 22 Sea Eagles 34
Who to watch: Matt Burton will be a man on a mission as he looks to take the Bulldogs deeper into September. His involvement in the running game is crucial to getting Canterbury on the front foot, with his combination alongside Viliame Kikau expected to cause problems. His kicking game needs no mention, with the afternoon sun expecting to prove problematic for the back 3 of the Sea Eagles.
It sounds like a broken record, but Tom Trbojevic has to be here for the Sea Eagles to want to progress. They severely missed him last week against the Sharks, as Cronulla were able to snuff out Tolu Koula across the park. The last time Tommy Turbo came back from injury, it took a game before he was really firing - something that can't happen this week as he returns from an AC joint injury. If Turbo runs the Dogs ragged, Manly will run into the second week of finals.
FAVOURITE: These two teams can't be split.
MY TIP: The game of week one is lucky last - with a Canterbury side full of experienced individual campaigners, but not as a team this deep into the season. There's no denying how much they've improved under Cameron Ciraldo, with the recruitment playing a huge part in the success this season. Manly, however, are a team full of September members, having been in more finals recently than nearly any other side. The experience of Daly Cherry Evans will prove just too much for the Dogs, who will come back next year to bite harder… but they won't be barking on Sunday night.
