The Wests Tigers will be smarting after the Knights exploited some substandard edge defence to hand them their first defeat of the season.
To get their campaign back on track they'll have to beat the winless Bulldogs, who have shown admirable defensive grit while struggling in attack, having posted 18 points across two rounds.
But Canterbury have had the wood on the Tigers in recent times, taking home the points in their past three clashes including a pair of victories last season.
The Rundown
Team news
Tigers: Prop Thomas Mikaele is likely to miss the match having suffered medial ligament damage in round two. Co-captain Moses Mbye is set to play his first game of the season, however, after overcoming a knee injury. Luke Garner was cleared of any lasting rib or leg injuries and will be available for selection.
Bulldogs: Marcelo Montoya is unlikely to be available until the following week due to his knee injury while Kerrod Holland is hopeful of returning from a similar injury to face the Tigers.
Key match-up
Alex Twal v Dylan Napa. These two front-rowers don't worry about the subtleties of rugby league and rely on brute force to dominate their opponents. Whichever enforcer gets the upper hand will give their team a massive boost in the search for the two competition points on offer.
Brett Kimmorley says
Michael Maguire will be looking for a better performance from his side and he’ll roast a few players during the week. The Tigers let themselves down with poor discipline and poor attitudes, and they were lethargic in the simple areas of the game. They had a bit more spark when Billy Walters moved to the halves and Harry Grant will provide some creativity at dummy-half. The Tigers probably have the ability to score at least 20 points pretty regularly, but I don’t know if the Dogs have the ability to score more than 10 or 15 too often. It’ll be a grinding affair and the Dogs will be in the fight, but I just need to see a bit more creativity and second-phase football from them before I tip them. Tigers by 2
Stat Attack
Canterbury hold a 23-13 head-to-head record over the Wests Tigers since the Balmain-Wests merger kicked off in 2000.
And another thing...
Canterbury need to find an attacking spark somewhere in their roster - they have reliable players up and down their team list who never give an inch, especially in defence, but their lack of potency in attack in the first two rounds has brought them undone.
