Canterbury could overcome outrageous NRL finals odds
A week after paying $101 to make the NRL finals, Canterbury find themselves within striking distance of a rugby league fairytale and they are playing with nothing to lose.
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Seven days ago, Canterbury were paying $101 to make the NRL finals. But nobody, it seems, told the players.
“Oh, a lot’s changed at our club in a few weeks,” Bulldogs winger Nick Meaney said.
“You can feel it too. At training, all of the boys are smiling, laughing, joking around.
“And yet at the same time, we’re also serious, realising we have a job to do in these last two games. It’s a job we can get done too.
“We know that on our day, we’re a team can go with anyone.”
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Unthinkable only a fortnight ago, Canterbury are suddenly headed into a Thursday Night Football showdown with North Queensland looking to secure not only a fifth straight win, but also the most unlikely of NRL playoffs appearances.
Now paying $29 in TAB top-eight betting, the Dogs must beat the Cowboys, plus Brisbane in Round 26 — and then have a range of other results fall favourably — to have any hope of making the finals on 24 points.
Specifically, Canterbury needs Brisbane, Wests Tigers and Penrith to each go winless over the final fortnight.
The struggling Newcastle Knights would also need to lose to Gold Coast this weekend but then beat Penrith away in the final round.
“And all of the boys, they’re really positive,” Meaney said of a side that has resurrected its season under coach Dean Pay.
“Early on in the year, we weren’t winning too many games and you could see the pressure and stress on everyone at the club.
“But at the same time, you could also see that everyone still wanted to be successful.
“That’s something I’ve noticed really since switching to Canterbury — this is a club that doesn’t accept anything but success. And that’s where our team wants to be.
“So even when things weren’t going well on the park, when we weren’t winning games, things were still positive because everyone was so keen to see where we could get to.”
Still do.
Which is why the Bulldogs are now looking to revive the ghosts of 2015, when under coach Des Hasler the side won six games on a run to the finals. A year earlier, the Dogs also won seven straight in a season that eventually saw them lose the grand final to South Sydney.
Apart from their own games, Bulldogs fans will also be keeping a close eye on the final two matches of Brisbane (Parramatta, Canterbury), Wests Tigers (St George Illawarra, Cronulla), Penrith (Roosters, Knights) and Newcastle (Gold Coast, Penrith).
But first, and most importantly, Canterbury must overcome a Cowboys side sat way down in 14th on the NRL ladder.
“We just need to keep things going,” Meaney continues. “In recent wins, our defence has been a stand out.
“Last week we kept Parramatta, who are a strong attacking side, to only the one try. But we need to do it again against the Cowboys, which won’t be easy against the likes of Jason Taumalolo, Michael Morgan and Scott Drinkwater at fullback.
“But if our defence is on, we’ll win.”
Originally published as Canterbury could overcome outrageous NRL finals odds
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