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Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Preview & Tips - Dogs day in Good Friday NRL clash?

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: 16 Apr 2025

Jeremy Darke 16 Apr 2025

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Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs expert predictions for Friday’s Round 7 NRL game
Bulldogs are undefeated with a 5-0 streak to start 2025
Rabbitohs struggle in defence, ranked 17th in opposition run meters

Expired

Canterbury Bulldogs (Getty Images)

Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Preview
Head to Head
Canterbury Bulldogs Form
Canterbury Bulldogs Team News
Canterbury Bulldogs Team List
South Sydney Rabbitohs Form
South Sydney Rabbitohs Team News
South Sydney Rabbitohs Team List

Canterbury Bulldogs vs South Sydney Rabbitohs Preview

Canterbury are undefeated in 2025 after the opening five matches and head into the Easter clash fresh off the bye. The Bulldogs should be primed for this and can win and cover on Good Friday.

The Bulldogs are 5-0 to start the 2025 season
The Bulldogs have an average winning margin of 13.2 points this season.
Canterbury Bulldogs are ranked 1st in Run Metres vs South Sydney Rabbitohs's defence ranked 17th
The right side of the Rabbits defence has allowed 5 tries in their last 2 games.

Head to Head

Canterbury and South faced each other just once in 2024 with the Rabbits getting up 20-16 at Accor Stadium in their traditional Good Friday encounter.

South Sydney have been dominant over the Bulldogs in recent years with the Rabbitohs winning six of the last seven matches.

Canterbury Bulldogs Form

The Bulldogs went into the bye 5-0 after a perfect start to the 2025 season despite fending off some injury drama to a couple of their biggest stars, Matt Burton and Villiame Kikau.

The Bulldogs defence needed to stand up in the absence of Burton and Kikau and they did more than that, allowing just 3 tries in their last 3 games.

The Canterbury defence was what they built their 2024 success on and they have brought that form into 2025, proving to be hard to break once again.

Game management has also lifted for the Dogs who rank 1st in possession and first in average run metres this season, playing the game at the right end of the field and forcing their opponents to work hard in defence, which affects their performance in attack.

Canterbury Bulldogs Team News

The Doggies are fresh off the bye and will get some of their big names back making them even more potent this week.

Matt Burton will return from his knee injury that has kept him out for the last few weeks, while Sitili Tupouniua has served his suspension and will be an impact off the bench.

Blake Taafe and Harry Hayes will play in the reserves this week.

Canterbury Bulldogs Team List

1. Connor Tracey

2. Jacob Kiraz

3. Bronson Xerri

4. Stephen Crichton

5. Marcelo Montoya

6. Matt Burton

7. Toby Sexton

8. Max King

9. Reed Mahoney

10. Daniel Suluka-Fifita

11. Josh Curran

12. Jacob Preston

13. Jaeman Salmon

Interchange

14. Kurt Mann

15. Sitili Tupouniua

16. Jack Todd

17. Bailey Hayward

Reserves

19. Blake Taaffe

20. Blake Wilson

21. Jake Turpin

22. Lipoi Hopoi

23. Viliame Kikau

South Sydney Rabbitohs Form

Souths Sydney will be disappointed with their 24-16 loss to North Queensland at Optus Stadium in Perth last weekend, with the Cowboys out-working them with 60% of the territory and just under 500 more run metres than the Bunnies.

Wayne Bennet’s men have now started the season 4-2 but the worry is that the positive record is a result of a decent draw to start the season.

Looking at the raw stats the Rabbitohs are a bottom-six side in most of our key-statistics in both attack and defence. The most worrying is their go-forward, which was a concern heading into the year.

The Rabbits rank 15th in run metres with an average of 1294m per game and are 17th in opposition run metres gained. Souths make just 3.5 linebreaks per game (16th) while they give up an average of 5.2 per game (13th).

South Sydney Rabbitohs Team News

Campbell Graham will make his return on the wing, filing in for Alex Johnston who is once again out of the side with injury.

Cody Walker also returns from injury and will join Latrell Mitchell in the halves, creating a very dangerous pair on paper.

Davvy Moale could feature up front and Liam Le Blanc on the bench if Sean Keppie doesn’t escape the judiciary on Tuesday.

South Sydney Rabbitohs Team List

1. Jye Gray

2. Campbell Graham

3. Euan Aitken

4. Jack Wighton

5. Isaiah Tass

6. Latrell Mitchell

7. Cody Walker

8. Sean Keppie

9. Peter Mamouzelos

10. Tevita Tatola

11. Keaon Koloamatangi

12. Jai Arrow

13. Lachlan Hubner

Interchange

14. Lewis Dodd

15. Siliva Havili

16. Tallis Duncan

17. Davvy Moale

Reserves

18. Liam Le Blanc

19. Salesi Ataata

20. Thomas Fletcher

21. Declan Casey

22. Josh Schuster

Verdict

Canterbury Bulldogs v South Sydney Rabbitohs

Canterbury are backed put South Sydney in their place and cover the 10.5 points as the favourite white the score staying under 44.5 points.

Bronson Xerri will exploit the poor right-side defence of Souths and score a try.

Canterbury -10.5

Handicap/Line

@10/11 - 2 Units

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Under 44.5

Game Total

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