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St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canterbury Bulldogs Preview & Tips - Dogs to take down the Dragons in NRL Round 1

Jeremy Darke

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Last updated: 06 Mar 2025

Jeremy Darke 06 Mar 2025

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St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canterbury Bulldogs expert predictions for Saturday’s Round 1 NRL game
Bulldogs favored to beat Dragons, continuing 3-win streak
Dragons face challenges with player departures, ranked 14th in league meter gains

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canterbury Bulldogs Preview
Head to Head
St George Illawarra Dragons Form
St George Illawarra Dragons Team News
St George Illawarra Dragons Team List
Canterbury Bulldogs Form
Canterbury Bulldogs Team News
Canterbury Bulldogs Team List

St George Illawarra Dragons vs Canterbury Bulldogs Preview

The Canterbury Bulldogs enjoy a successful 2024 season and are backed to make a winning start against the Dragons. St George are in a rebuild stage and the should find the Dogs too hot to handle.

Canterbury have won their last 3 matches against St George
10 of 13 St George losses in 2024 were by a margin of 13+
Canterbury scored over 20.5 points in 7 of their final 8 matches of 2024.
Bronson Xerri has scored 6 tries in 4 games against the Dragons. He has also scored 4 tries in his last 5 NRL games.

Head to Head

Canterbury won both matches against the Saints pretty comfortably in 2024 with a 44-12 victory at Accor, followed up by a 28-10 drubbing at Netstrata Jubilee stadium.

The two victories to the Dogs improved their recent head-to-head record against the Dragons, giving them 4 wins in the last 5 matches.

St George Illawarra Dragons Form

The Dragons got a sniff of the finals late last season but their inconsistency came back to haunt them as they finished the season with 3 losses to miss out on the eight by a win and a disgraceful plus/minus.

St George were in a lot of their matches in 2024, at least until halftime. They then made a habit of getting blown out, with 10 of their 13 losses being by a 13+ margin.

That stinks bad attitude and with their two biggest names in Ben Hunt and Zac Lomax moving on from the club, it is hard to see that improving.

The Dragons had problems moving the ball forward, ranked 14th in the league with 1,378 metres gained per game. They were not good stopping their opponents either ranked 13th in run metres conceded.

With their best kicker in Hunt playing in Brisbane, territory is going to be a tough battle for the Dragons in 2025.

St George Illawarra Dragons Team News

Clint Gutherson, Val Holmes, Lachlan Ilias, Damien Cook and Emre Guler will all start for the Dragons, while Ben Hunt and Zac Lomax are the big name departures from the club.

Tyrell Sloan has been dropped with former Eels captain, King Gutho taking his spot. Jacob Liddle has also been dropped to the bench with Damien Cook arriving at the club from Souths.

St George Illawarra Dragons Team List

1. Clint Gutherson

2. Mathew Feagai

3. Moses Suli

4. Valentine Holmes

5. Christian Tuipulotu

6. Kyle Flanagan

7. Lachlan Ilias

8. Toby Couchman

9. Damien Cook

10. Emre Guler

11. Luciano Leilua

12. Jaydn Su'A

13. Jack de Belin

Interchange

14. Jacob Liddle

15. Ryan Couchman

16. Raymond Faitala-Mariner

17. Hamish Stewart

Reserves

18. Dylan Egan

19. Tyrell Sloan

20. Lyhkan King-Togia

21. Loko Pasifiki Tonga

22. Tom Eisenhuth

Canterbury Bulldogs Form

I want to say Canterbury were the surprise packet of 2024, however, throwing their cash around and recruiting players like they were toilet paper during Covid, they really should have been a top team in the league.

What was unexpected was the quality of their defence, ranked top of the league for most of the season and finishing the year ranked third with an average of just 18.2 opposition points per game.

The Dogs were also second-best in the NRL at conceding linebreaks, with only themselves and the Panthers conceding an average less than 4 opposition breaks per game.

With a fairly settled offseason, Canterbury are set to build on the performance in 2024, but will that weight of expectation now hinder them?

Canterbury Bulldogs Team News

Josh Addo-Carr’s departure gives newcomer Marcelo Montoya an opening on the wing, while new Roosters’ recruit Sitili Tupouniua will add depth to the Bulldogs rotation from the bench.

Josh Curran is suspended after an incident in the trials and Harry Hayes will start on the pine.

Canterbury Bulldogs Team List

1. Connor Tracey

2. Blake Wilson

3. Bronson Xerri

4. Stephen Crichton

5. Marcelo Montoya

6. Matt Burton

7. Toby Sexton

8. Max King

9. Reed Mahoney

10. Sam Hughes

11. Viliame Kikau

12. Jacob Preston

13. Kurt Mann

Interchange

14. Bailey Hayward

15. Sitili Tupouniua

16. Harry Hayes

17. Jaeman Salmon

Reserves

19. Blake Taaffe

20. Kurtis Morrin

21. Daniel Suluka-Fifita

22. Luke Smith

23. Ratu Rinakama

Verdict

St George Illawarra Dragons v Canterbury Bulldogs

Bronson Xerri is backed to score a try as the Bulldogs reach their team total of 20.5 points and cover as the 3.5-point favourites.

Canterbury -3.5

Handicap/Line

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