NRL Betting Preview: Back Sydney Roosters to beat Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Recommended bet:
Winning Margin – Sydney Roosters to Win by 1-10 points @ 5/2 (3.50) with Sportsbet
The Sydney Roosters meet the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at the Allianz Stadium on Friday evening, with both teams looking to recover from losing starts in their respective Premiership round 1 games, with the Roosters going down to a 10-8 loss at Wests Tigers, whilst the Bulldogs suffered a 36-18 defeat at home to the 2017 Premiers, Melbourne Storm.
The Roosters went into the new campaign as narrow favourites to win the Premiers this season, so they will be determined not to lose a second consecutive game.
There will be particular interest in the performances of big-name recruits James Tedesco and Cooper Cronk. The Bulldogs put in a decent performance in their loss to Melbourne, so shouldn’t come into this game lacking in self-belief.
The Roosters should be boosted in having five-eighth Luke Keary returning from a broken jaw after missing last week’s match, with Mitch Cornish set to make way. There is also a return for Boyd Cordner to the back row after starting from the bench against Tigers. For their part, the Bulldogs are set to be unchanged from last week.
Historically there’s been little to choose whenever these two teams have clashed, with the head-to-head record over 171 games seeing 86 wins for the Roosters, 80 wins for the Bulldogs and five draws.
There’s equally little to choose when it comes to the 26 matches played between the teams at the Allianz Stadium, with the Roosters recording 14 wins to the Bulldogs 12 wins.
There were two Premiership meetings between the teams last season, with the Roosters edging home in both. They won 28-24 in round 2 at the Allianz Stadium and 24-18 in round 11 at the ANZ Stadium. The Roosters have come out on top in five of the last seven meetings.
The Roosters are firm favourites to win this game and they certainly have the quality in their ranks to suggest that they should win. However, like recent encounters between the two teams, it looks likely to be closely fought and a victory by 1-10 points looks worth a bet at 5/2 (3.50) with Sportsbet.
