Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2020 draw snapshot
- Author
- Timestamp
Here is all you need to know about the Canterbury Bulldogs' 2020 Telstra Premiership draw.
The Lowdown
Teams they play twice
Eels, Cowboys, Tigers, Sharks, Rabbitohs, Warriors, Sea Eagles, Dragons, Knights.
Teams they play once
Raiders, Broncos, Titans, Storm, Roosters, Panthers.
Day-by-day breakdown
Thursday - 4, Friday - 5, Saturday - 11, Sunday - 3, Monday - 1.
Five-day turnarounds
1 (Round 14).
Kick-off
Canterbury won't mind their first month at all (Eels, Cowboys, Tigers, Sharks), having beaten those four sides at least once in 2019. They open the season against Parramatta at Bankwest before hosting North Queensland at ANZ. Another derby against Wests Tigers follows at Bankwest again before taking on Cronulla again at ANZ. The Bulldogs won't leave Sydney until Anzac Day.
Five key match-ups
Eels (Round 1, Bankwest Stadium; Round 6, ANZ Stadium): Western Sydney's most famed rivalry kicks off our season in 2020. Just think about that Bankwest atmosphere for a second, then cancel all plans for March 12. Both sides look to be on the up next year after a lot of one-way traffic in this historic stoush – Parramatta won eight of nine clashes between 2007-11, then Canterbury claimed nine of the next 10 up until 2016, before the Eels ran out victors in six of the last eight.
Rabbitohs (Round 5, ANZ Stadium; Round 15, ANZ Stadium): The Good Friday game always goes well, and Canterbury's late 2019 resurgence saw them knock off the finals-bound Bunnies. It'll be the last one right next to the Easter Show for a while, too, with ANZ Stadium being redeveloped midway through the year.
Sea Eagles (Round 10, Belmore Sports Ground): No doubt it still stings a wee bit for Canterbury fans to see Des Hasler flying high at Manly once more while their club only just emerges out of the salary cap mess that ended his tenure. The Sea Eagles were narrow victors in their one clash in 2019 so the Bulldogs would love to return the favour in their annual Back to Belmore game.
Storm (Round 18, HBF Park, Perth): The first instalment in Canterbury's three-year commitment to take a game to WA. The Dogs have punched above their weight against the NRL heavyweights in recent times, pushing them all the way in an 18-16 loss in Melbourne last year and also at Belmore in 2017 as well.
Panthers (Round 23, Bankwest Stadium): Canterbury will boast a decent ex-Panthers contingent in 2020, with Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Corey Harawira-Naera joined by Sione Katoa. New Penrith hooker Api Koroisau almost joined them in blue and white too until Ivan Cleary swooped late in negotiations.
Toughest stretch
It's a fairly even spread for the Bulldogs this year - but back-to-back clashes with Melbourne in Perth and then the Roosters at the SCG looms large in late July, followed by Newcastle and Cronulla in a tough month.
And another thing
Their last month is a handy one to finish with, especially if they're still in the finals hunt. None of the Dragons, Panthers, Tigers and Knights featured in the finals this year, though there could well be a top-eight spot on the line at some point in that run in 2020.
