Round 12
Newcastle Knights 22 d. Bulldogs 14

2009 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Preview: Bulldogs v Knights - NRL Round 12
Sun May 31, 2009
The Bulldogs find themselves in an enviable position as the State of Origin series gets under way with only one player (prop Ben Hannant) chosen from the front-running team.

Hannant has been in superb form for the Bulldogs this season and will be missed but the loss of only one player means coach Kevin Moore can operate business as usual during what is normally the most demanding and disrupted period of the season.

If the Bulldogs can maintain winning form over the next six weeks there is every chance that they will be poised for an undeniable shot at the minor premiership, a season after they were burdened with the wooden spoon.

The Knights will miss fullback and captain Kurt Gidley, and to a lesser extent winger James McManus, to Origin selection and the team looked well off their game when they were thumped by North Queensland last Monday night.

Former Wests Tigers fullback or winger Shannon McDonnell was bought to the club specifically to cover for Gidley during the Origin period and his pace and skill should prove an asset to the team.

Look to a Bulldogs try as First Scoring Play ($2-10) and a Bulldogs win by 1-12 points ($3-10).

First Tryscoring hopes include Junior Sau ($15), Akuila Uate ($9) and Keith Lulia ($15) for the Knights or Jamal Idris ($11), Luke Patten ($15) or Bryson Goodwin ($11) for the Bulldogs.

Sunday May 31, 2009
Newcastle Knights vs Bulldogs at Energy Australia Stadium, New Lambton, Newcastle (NSW)

Newcastle Knights
Shannon McDonnell, Wes Naqaima, Junior Sau, Keith Lulia, Akuila Uate, Ben Rogers, Jarrod Mullen, Mark Taufua, Isaac De Gois, Chris Houston, Steve Simpson [c], Zeb Taia, Matt Hilder. Subs: George Ndaira, Marvin Karawana, Richie Fa'aoso, Danny Wicks.

Bulldogs
1 Luke Patten, 2 Hazem El Masri, 3 Daryl Millard, 4 Jamal Idris, 5 Bryson Goodwin, 6 Ben Roberts, 7 Brett Kimmorley, 8 Chris Armit, 9 Michael Ennis, 10 Michael Hodgson, 11 Greg Eastwood, 12 Andrew Ryan [c], 13 David Stagg. Subs: 14 Gary Warburton, 15 John Kite, 16 Yileen Gordon, 17 Daniel Holdsworth.

Date: Sun May 31 2009, 3:00PM AEST GMT+10 [Sun May 31 2009, 5:00AM GMT]
Referee: Jason Robinson, Tony De Las Heras

Predictions:
Matthew O'Neill: Bulldogs by 2
Dennis Righetti: Bulldogs by 6
Paul Booth Bulldogs by 16

OVERALL:
Total Games: 30
Newcastle Knights wins: 13. [Pts: 578]
Bulldogs wins: 16. [Pts: 710]
Draws: 1

Biggest wins:
Newcastle Knights: 42 pts: 1995 Australian Rugby League - Round 13 - [View] Sun Jun 25: Knights 42 d. Bulldogs 0 [Crowd: 25229]
Bulldogs: 46 pts: 2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 25 - [View] Fri Aug 27: Bulldogs 52 d. Knights 6 [Crowd: 20043]

Biggest Crowd: 1999 National Rugby League - Round 3 - [View] Sun Mar 21: Canterbury 28 d. Knights 26 [Crowd: 26341]

Last 50 games against each other form line (most recent matches at end of line):
Newcastle Knights: LWWLLWLLLWLWLLWWDLLWLWLLWWLWLW
Bulldogs: WLLWWLWWWLWLWWLLDWWLWLWWLLWLWL

Last 10 games:
2008 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 13 - [View] Sat: Bulldogs 12 l. Newcastle Knights 22 [Crowd: 9565]
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 8 - [View] Sun: Bulldogs 30 d. Newcastle Knights 16 [Crowd: 12654]
2007 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 1 - [View] Sun: Newcastle Knights 25 d. Bulldogs 24 [Crowd: 18791]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 13 - [View] Sat: Bulldogs 38 d. Knights 22 [Crowd: 12658]
2006 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 3 - [View] Fri: Knights 46 d. Bulldogs 22 [Crowd: 25504]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 22 - [View] Sat: Bulldogs 13 l. Knights 28 [Crowd: 13962]
2005 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 7 - [View] Sun: Knights 20 l. Bulldogs 24 [Crowd: 18387]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 25 - [View] Fri Aug 27: Bulldogs 52 d. Knights 6 [Crowd: 20043]
2004 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 9 - [View] Sun May 9: Knights 32 d. Bulldogs 6 [Crowd: 16562]
2003 NRL Telstra Premiership - Round 17 - [View] Sun Jul 6: Bulldogs 48 d. Knights 14 [Crowd: 26234]

Knights v Bulldogs Forum
NRL: Knights v Bulldogs Live Scores & Stats
NYC: Knights v Bulldogs Live Scores & Stats
TAB Sportsbet Website
RleagueBetting.com


Armit fills void left by Hannant, Roberts returns
Tue May 26, 2009
Source: www.bulldogs.com.au

Chris Armit's strong performances have been rewarded with a spot in the starting side for the Bulldogs match against Newcastle at Energy Australia Stadium this Sunday.

Armit fills the void left by Ben Hannant who has been called on for Queensland Origin duty.

Ben Roberts will be back in action after missing last week with a knee injury and he'll rejoin his partner in the halves Brett Kimmorley who is recovering well from the corked thigh that saw him miss most of last week's game against the Melbourne Storm.

Another week and another milestone for Hazem El Masri who will equal Terry Lamb's record for the most grade games - 357. Lamb's games include those played for Wests and the Bulldogs while El Masri's have all been with the Bulldogs.

1. Luke Patten
2. Hazem El Masri
3. Daryl Millard
4. Jamal Idris
5. Bryson Goodwin
6. Ben Roberts
7. Brett Kimmorley
8. Chris Armit
9. Michael Ennis
10. Michael Hodgson
11. Greg Eastwood
12. Andrew Ryan [c]
13. David Stagg

Interchange
14. Gary Warburton
15. John Kite
16. Yileen Gordon
17. Daniel Holdsworth

Note - The Bankstown Bulls NSW Cup team has a bye this week

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