Penrith Panthers v Canterbury Bulldogs
Thursday 27 July 2017
Pepper Stadium
Two desperate sides kick off round 21 when the Panthers host the Bulldogs at Pepper Stadium. Panthers currently sit in 9th position, two competition points out of 8th position while the Bulldogs are undoubtedly playing for their season. A loss here would see their already slim finals hopes all but disappear.
The Dogs have had a late blow with the scratching of veteran winger Brett Morris while Penrith welcome back Bryce Cartwright the side after a lengthy injury layoff. Captain Matt Moylan was left off the original team list on Tuesday succumbing to a hamstring injury.
These two sides last played in round 13 where the Panthers completely shut out the Dogs posting 38 unanswered points. If Dogs don’t turn up again this week, it will be the final dagger in what has been a tremendously disappointing for the Canterbury boys. A loss for the Panthers would potentially see them 4-points out of the top 8 – a tough mountain to climb to play finals footy.
Head to Head Record
Panthers have won the last two matches between the two sides by margins of 38 and 16 points.
Stadium Record
Penrith have won their last 2 at Pepper Stadium and are 3-3 at the venue overall this year. Canterbury have won just 2 of their last 6 when travelling up the Great Western Highway to Penrith.
Tip: Bulldogs should theoretically be desperate for the win but they’ve struggled to score points and it’s very difficult to just flick the switch considering they haven’t been able to produce points all year. Panthers to be too strong despite being without Moylan.
Best Bet: Panthers -6 1.90
Odds: Penrith 1.47 Canterbury 2.75
