League: Bulls hope to stampede over Auckland Lions hat-trick

The Auckland Lions will be going for a three-peat of Bartercard Cup titles when they line up in the Grand Final against Canterbury tomorrow night.

In a repeat of last year's final, when Brian McClennan's Lions won the title in the last 30 seconds of a dramatic match, the Lions will start as favourites after beating the Canterbury Bulls 27-14 in their quarter-final showdown a fortnight ago.

Bulls coach Phil Prescott said revenge for what transpired last year would not be used as motivation.

"All season, we've never spoken about last year and we won't be this week. It's best to let sleeping dogs lie," he told The Press. "The Auckland Lions will start favourite but, one thing's for sure, we'll give a better account of ourselves on Monday than we did [last time against the Lions]."

They will take some confidence into the final, however, after an impressive 30-6 demolition of the Tamaki Leopards last Monday.

A win tomorrow night would go some way to making up for the fact Bulls players will be left out of pocket, considering they have to take two days off work to travel and play in Auckland. It is the fourth time this season they have played in the Monday night slot, beamed live on Maori TV.

"Geographically, we are always going to be affected the worst, unfortunately," Prescott said. "But I really find it hard to get my head around the fact that blokes have got to lose money over it."

The game kicks off at Mt Smart Stadium at about 8.20pm.

* The Sydney Roosters ushered in a new era when they unveiled Chris Anderson as their new coach, with Brad Fittler as his assistant.

Reports out of Sydney had suggested Broncos boss Wayne Bennett would be moving into the hotseat left vacant after Kangaroos coach Ricky Stuart was sacked. But Bennett rebuffed the Roosters' advances, leaving the way open for Anderson to win the job.

Anderson, a premiership-winning coach with Canterbury in 1995 and Melbourne in 1999, last coached in the NRL in 2003 during an ill-fated stint with Cronulla.

The former Australian coach also played 232 first-grade games for Canterbury between 1971-84 and represented Australia in eight tests, the 1975 World Cup and two tours in 1978 and 1982.