Rabbitohs and Bulldogs may find points hard to come by

NRL
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Just three years ago old rivals South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs were battling it out in the NRL Grand Final but now they are a million miles away from competing in the end-of-season showpiece.

It’s been a season to forget for the Bunnies and the Bulldogs, who sit 11th and 13th in the standings respectively with no hope of making the playoffs with a month of the regular season remaining.

Things did pick up for the Rabbitohs last week with a morale-boosting come-from-behind victory over St George Dragons and they should approach this contest with more confidence than their opponents.

In contrast, the Bulldogs slumped to a third consecutive defeat with a dismal display against Parramatta in which they managed just one unconverted try.

That has been the story of Canterbury’s season. They are the lowest-scoring side in the division with a meagre 264 points from their 20 outings.

However, before rushing in to back the Bunnies at odds-on a quick look at the recent meetings between these two suggests a more cautious approach.

Canterbury have won three of the last four contests and in nine of their last ten victories over South Sydney they have scored at least 23 points.

That’s unlikely to happen this time, though, as they have managed to score 20 points or more in just one of their last 13 matches and that’s where the best bet may lie.

It’s a shade of odds-on that total points fall short of 40 and that looks the way to go with both sides in such poor nick.

The Bulldogs’ woes have been documented but Souths' performances don’t make for much better reading.

They’ve won just two of their last six games, and seven overall in a miserable season which can’t end soon enough for the former Premiership champions.

Points have been much easier to come by for the Rabbitohs who put 24 past the Eels last week but that may be about the limit in what could be a tight tussle.

Recommendation
Under 39.5 total match points
1pt 10-11 bet365