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NRL

The South Sydney Rabbitohs will look to bounce back from their first defeat of the year when they meet the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium in Round 4 of the 2016 National Rugby League season.

After a hot start into the 2016 NRL season, the Rabbitohs suffered their first loss in the hands of the St. George Illawarra Dragons last week in a low-scoring game. South Sydney’s 8-6 defeat against the Dragons was also costly, with Sam Burgess expected to miss the Rabbitohs’ clash against the Bulldogs, who is coming off a 20-6 loss against the Parramatta Eels last week.

Burgess suffered a neck injury during the Rabbitohs' defeat against the Dragons, where the English rugby star was taken from the field on a medicab after awkwardly leading, with his head taking a hit-up. Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire said Burgess has no chance of suiting up with the club in their Good Friday clash against the Bulldogs, but the 27-year-old is projected to lineup against the Manly Sea Eagles next week.

“He’s good, he came out of hospital yesterday and I think they kept him in there for a longer period just to make sure he was OK,” Maguire said, reports The Guardian. “We’re looking forward to having him back at training tomorrow or the next day and he can start building towards the next game.”

It will be a challenge for the Rabbitohs to play the Bulldogs, who also won their opening two games before a disappointing loss to the Eels last Friday. Canterbury captain James Graham has insisted he would not commit the same mistake he did in last year’s Good Friday match against the Rabbitohs, where the 30-year-old Englishman’s desperate attempt to stop a field goal from Adam Reynolds led to a penalty that cost the Bulldogs the game.

“If something like that happens again I have to deal with it,” Graham said, reports The Australian. “It is something I would like to think I have moved on from. I know it is going to come up but I would like to think I have bettered myself.”

South Sydney Rabbitohs lineup

Greg Inglis, Alex Johnston, Bryson Goodwin, Hymel Hunt, Aaron Gray, Cody Walker, Luke Keary, George Burgess, Cameron McInnes, David Tyrrell, Paul Carter, Kyle Turner, Nathan Brown Interchange: Damien Cook, Jason Clark, Chris Grevsmuhl, Kirisome Auva'a, Jack Gosiewski, Michael Oldfield Coach: Michael Maguire

Canterbury Bulldogs lineup

Will Hopoate, Curtis Rona, Josh Morris, Chase Stanley, Sam Perrett, Josh Reynolds, Moses Mbye, Aiden Tolman, Craig Garvey, James Graham, Josh Jackson, Tony Williams, Greg Eastwood Interchange: Sam Kasiano, Tim Browne, David Klemmer, Adam Elliott, Lloyd Perrett Coach: Des Hasler

Live streaming info and play-by-play updates

Watch NRL 2016 season Round 4: South Sydney Rabbitohs vs Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs live via NRL Digital Pass. Play-by-play updates will be available during game time on Fox Sports AU.

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