NRL LIVE updates: Bulldogs’ finals push faces tough Warriors test

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs

1. Connor Tracey 2. Jacob Kiraz 3. Matt Burton 4. Enari Tuala 5. Jethro Rinakama 6. Stephen Crichton 7. Lachlan Galvin 8. Max King 9. Bailey Hayward 10. Leo Thompson 11. Viliame Kikau 12. Jacob Preston 13. Jaeman Salmon.

Bench: 14. Sean O’Sullivan 15. Josh Curran 16. Harry Hayes 17. Lipoi Hopoi 19. Jed Reardon 20. Gordon Chan Kum Tong

Warriors

1. Taine Tuaupiki 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak 3. Ali Leiataua 4. Adam Pompey 5. Alofiana Khan-Pereira 6. Chanel Harris-Tavita 7. Te Maire Martin 8. James Fisher-Harris 9. Wayde Egan 10. Mitchell Barnett 11. Kurt Capewell 12. Jacob Laban 13. Erin Clark.

Bench: 14. Samuel Healey 15. Tanner Stowers-Smith 16. Demitric Vaimauga 17. Leka Halasima 21. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad 22. Luke Metcalf

Panthers champion Nathan Cleary has provided a huge update on his playing future, all but ruling out a potential move to the New Zealand Warriors because of fears he could block the path of his little brother, Jett.

What Cleary does beyond the 2027 season – and even if he is prepared to head to the open market on November 1 – has become one of rugby league’s biggest storylines.

The Warriors, where Cleary’s father Ivan coached and played, has been one rival club regularly linked to the halfback, along with the cashed-up PNG Chiefs and their tax exemptions.

The Panthers remain hopeful of getting a deal done, and even sitting down with him and his management in the coming weeks.

The Bulldogs ran away 32-14 victors over the Warriors in the corresponding fixture last season, in round 23.

Newcastle’s finals campaign has been rocked with star pair Dylan Brown and Dylan Lucas both out for the rest of the season after suffering horror injuries in the Knights Friday night loss to the Roosters.

Brown ruptured his ACL injury in 23-22 round 21 defeat, with Lucas also gone after a serious ankle injury. Brown, in the first of a 10-year, $13 million contract, will require reconstructive surgery to his left knee.

Lucas, who made his State of Origin debut for NSW this year, will undergo surgery on Saturday after dislocating and fracturing his left ankle.

Despite losing the pair, the Knights pushed the Roosters until the end, before being thwarted by a Daly Cherry-Evans field goal. Both players have been in fine form this season under coach Justin Holbrook, but their absence could hurt Newcastle’s chances of playing finals footy. The team sits in seventh spot ahead of difficult games against the Broncos and Raiders.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Canterbury’s round 21 clash with the Warriors at Accor Stadium.

It’s a crucial game for the Bulldogs, who after a horror first half of the season are now closing in on a return to the top eight. They’re currently 10th, two competition points behind the eighth-placed Cowboys and with an inferior for-and-against, but they’ve won four of their past five games – easily their best run of form this season.

It’s been the other way round for the Warriors, who lost only twice in the opening dozen rounds of 2026 but have three wins and three losses since then. They’ve lost a couple of their breakout stars from the first half of the year – playmaker Tanah Boyd (ACL, season) and early Dally M frontrunner Jackson Ford (pectoral, finals) – but are otherwise pretty fit, while the Bulldogs welcome Stephen Crichton back to the team and Viliame Kikau back to the starting side this week.

Kick-off is at 5.30.