New Zealand Warriors v Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
Friday Night, Mt Smart Stadium
Round 16 kicks off with the Bulldogs travelling across the ditch to face a Warriors side looking to build on a strong performance in their last start.
As both clubs come off the bye, they should be refreshed and raring to go, however, the Warriors have a key selection headache as Keiran Foran nurses a quad injury. He'll be given until the last minute to prove his fitness with Solomone Kata the only change from their last game as Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad returns on the wing.
The Bulldogs had a strong win over the Dragons a fortnight ago and will welcome the return of Josh Reynolds this week as Matt Frawley drops back to the bench. Despite their offensive woes, their defence has been relatively strong in 2017 and will need to be again if they are to halt Shaun Johnson and co.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck is in sublime form as well while Jacob Lillyman won't be thrilled after being dropped from Queensland's Origin squad, that will undoubtedly help the Warriors as they come up against a strong Bulldogs pack consisting of David Klemmer, Josh Jackson and James Graham.
The Warriors start as clear favourites which presumably means they'll get beaten convincingly, right?
Let's hope not. When on song, they're one of the most entertaining teams in the league to watch and will look to build on a strong 5-2 home record in 2017.
Consistent rain is also being predicted for game time on Friday night, which could add complications to the Bulldogs' already mundane offence.
Warriors by 8.
