Round 4: Canterbury Bulldogs vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

[DIEHARD]

Canterbury Bulldogs vs Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Sunday April 5th - ANZ Stadium - 2pm Local Time

Bulldogs: 1 Luke Patten, 2 Hazem El Masri, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Jamal Idris , 5 Bryson Goodwin, 6 Ben Roberts , 7 Brett Kimmorley , 8 Ben Hannant, 9 Michael Ennis, 10 Michael Hodgson, 11 Gary Warburton, 12 Andrew Ryan , 13 David Stagg. Subs: 14 Chris Armit, 15 Greg Eastwood, 16 John Kite, 17 Yileen Gordon, 19 Matt Utai, (one to be omitted).

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks: 1 Mitch Brown, 2 Misi Taulapapa, 3 Ben Pomeroy , 4 Blake Ferguson , 5 Luke Covell , 6 Trent Barrett, 7 Brett Seymour, 8 Kade Snowden, 9 Corey Hughes, 10 Luke Douglas, 11 Reece Williams, 12 Anthony Tupou, 13 Paul Gallen [c]. Subs: 14 Reni Maitua , 15 Jack Afamasaga, 16 Bryan Norrie, 17 Tony Caine.

[DIEHARD]

Bulldogs: 1 Luke Patten, 2 Hazem El Masri, 3 Josh Morris, 4 Jamal Idris , 5 Bryson Goodwin, 6 Ben Roberts , 7 Brett Kimmorley , 8 Ben Hannant, 9 Michael Ennis, 10 Michael Hodgson, 11 Gary Warburton, 12 Andrew Ryan , 13 David Stagg. Subs: 14 Chris Armit, 15 Greg Eastwood, 16 John Kite, 17 Yileen Gordon, 19 Matt Utai, (one to be omitted).

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks: 1 Mitch Brown, 2 Misi Taulapapa, 3 Ben Pomeroy , 4 Blake Ferguson , 5 Luke Covell , 6 Trent Barrett, 7 Brett Seymour, 8 Kade Snowden, 9 Corey Hughes, 10 Luke Douglas, 11 Reece Williams, 12 Anthony Tupou, 13 Paul Gallen [c]. Subs: 14 Reni Maitua , 15 Jack Afamasaga, 16 Bryan Norrie, 17 Tony Caine.

[DIEHARD]

BULLDOGS STAND DOWN BARBA, IDRIS AND TE MAARI

Jamal Idris and Ben Barba have been stood down from football this weekend as punishment for breaching the Bulldogs Code of Conduct.

Lee Te Maari who was also found to have broken the Club's Code of Conduct will be stood down from all matches for two weeks. The harsher penalty for Te Maari comes as a consequence of previous breaches.

All three players fronted the disciplinary committee with their managers yesterday afternoon to present their cases and in accordance with the Code of Conduct they have this morning been informed of the outcomes.

"As a Club and as a game I don't think we can be any clearer on what our expectations are in relation to player behaviour," said Bulldogs CEO Todd Greenberg.

"These three players will now have some time free of football to think over their actions.

"Ben and Jamal are young players with big careers ahead of them and I hope this punishment will serve as a warning to them on what they stand to lose if they continue down the wrong path.

"Lee is acutely aware of his responsibilities and I don't expect to see him in front of the disciplinary committee again."

Following an independent investigation into an incident involving Daniel Holdsworth in Cronulla last weekend the Bulldogs have determined no further action is necessary.

Coach Kevin Moore has today named Darryl Millard in the centres to replace Jamal Idris.

Source: Bulldogs

[DIEHARD]

Bulldogs v Cronulla
Sunday, ANZ Stadium, 2pm

Referees: Jason Robinson, Gerard Sutton
Head to head: Bulldogs 48, Sharks 29, Drawn 2
Last clash: Bulldogs 30 bt Sharks 22 at ANZ Stadium (Rnd 11, 2008)
TAB Sportsbet: Bulldogs $1.53, Sharks $2.45
Footy TAB: Sharks +4.5 points

Brett Seymour returns at halfback for the Sharks, but how much that will help the attack remains to be seen. Even when Brett Kimmorley was playing halfback last season the Sharks didn't have many points in them, and the addition of five-eighth Trent Barrett this season, following Kimmorley's departure to the Bulldogs, hasn't changed things.

They haven't got much strike power out wide, apart from winger Misi Taulapapa, and they badly miss injured fullback Brett Kearney, but their defence remains solid and that certainly puts them in with a chance against the Bulldogs, who have their own issues.

The Bulldogs smashed Manly in the first round, when the Sea Eagles were reeling from off-field drama, and then dodged a bullet when they got out of jail at the death to beat Penrith, only to be found to have had 14 men on the field. Then, last weekend, they couldn't take advantage of a Gold Coast team that was missing star halfback Scott Prince and had traditionally struggled in his absence.

It will significantly hurt the Bulldogs, too, that they will play without terrific young centre Jamal Idris, who has been stood down from this game by the club following an off-field incident. The Bulldogs deserve favouritism, but they will need to lift the intensity and cut down on mistakes to win.

BULLDOGS: Luke Patten, Hazem El Masri, Josh Morris, Jamal Idris, Bryson Goodwin, Ben Roberts, Brett Kimmorley, Ben Hannant, Michael Ennis, Michael Hodgson, Gary Warburton, Andrew Ryan (capt), David Stagg. Interchange: Chris Armit, Greg Eastwood, John Kite, Yileen Gordon, Matt Utai (one to be omitted)

SHARKS: Mitch Brown, Misi Taulapapa, Ben Pomeroy, Blake Ferguson, Luke Covell, Trent Barrett, Brett Seymour, Kade Snowden, Corey Hughes, Luke Douglas, Reece Williams, Anthony Tupou, Paul Gallen (capt). Interchange: Reni Maitua, Jack Afamasaga, Bryan Norrie, Tony Caine

Source: http://www.leaguehq.com.au