Dragons v Rabbitohs preview

St. George Illawarra Dragons v South Sydney Rabbitohs
Sydney Cricket Ground - Saturday 7:30pm

Can the Dragons stop the slide, or will the Rabbitohs be too strong?

After losing their first two games, St George Illawarra bounced back to put together a string of wins in 2015, dropping only one game in their next 9. That game, in round 9, was concidentally against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, where the bunnies finished up winners in a tough encounter.

Since then the Dragons have been on a downward spiral. Losses to the Bulldogs, Roosters, Eels and Cowboys, as well as last weekend's loss to the Sharks, have left the Dragons at the wrong end of the top eight, clinging to their finals chances by their fingertis.

The Dragons will welcome back a number of troops that were unavailable against the Sharks last weekend. Josh Dugan, Benji Marshall, Tyson Frizell and Joel Thompson will all line up for the Dragons, with Charly Runciman, Drew Hutchinson, Mark Ioane and Nathan Green dropping out of the side. Justin Hunt will move from fullback to the wing to accommodate Dugan, and Jake Marketo and Will Matthews return to a 7 man extended interchange bench.

The Rabbitohs have performed better in the last few weeks, however their two losses (to the Panthers and the Tigers) were both by more than 12 points. Two byes over the Origin period mean that the Rabbitohs have been starved of footy over the past 6 weeks, so they'll either be extremely fresh, or extremely rusty.

The Rabbitohs also have a returning Origin star, with Greg Inglis lining up at fullback. His return drops Joel Reddy out of the side, and moves Alex Johnston back to the wing. Souths will be without suspended hooker Issac Luke, with Cameron McInnes starting at hooker. Jason Clark has also not been named this week, with Tim Grant starting at prop and Dave Tyrell on the interchange bench.

Last meeting: Round 9 2015 - South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 St. George Illawarra Dragons 10

Who to watch: The Dragons spine, although underrated, is one of the better spines in the competition - at least on paper. The return of Benji Marshall to the side will add a level of experience and spark that was sorely missing against the Sharks last weekend. His combination with Gareth Widdop and Mitch Rein, as well as Josh Dugan sweeping at the back, makes for entertaining viewing.

They'll come up against another great spine - including Inglis, Luke Keary, Adam Reynolds. The loss of Isaac Luke to suspension cannot be overstated, but Cameron McInnes will provide solid service from dummy half.

The favourite: The Dragons will start this game as massive outsiders, at just over $3. They'll be much improved over the performance they put in last week, but will it be enough to get over the top of the Rabbitohs? Probably not.

My tip: I think the bunnies will be too good for the Dragons, although I don't think the difference between these two sides is anywhere near as big as the bookies want you to think. Rabbitohs by 8.

1. Josh Dugan 2. Justin Hunt 3. Euan Aitken 4. Peter Mata'utia 5. Jason Nightingale 6. Gareth Widdop 7. Benji Marshall 8. Leeson Ah Mau 9. Mitch Rein 10. Ben Creagh 11. Tyson Frizell 12. Joel Thompson 13. Mike Cooper
Interchange: 14. George Rose 15. Will Matthews 16. Jake Marketo 17. Heath L'Estrange 18. Drew Hutchison 19. Charly Runciman 20. Mark Ioane

1. Greg Inglis 2. Alex Johnston 3. Dylan Walker 4. Bryson Goodwin 5. Aaron Gray 6. Luke Keary 7. Adam Reynolds 8. George Burgess 9. Cameron McInnes 10. Tim Grant 11. Glenn Stewart 12. John Sutton 13. Chris McQueen
Interchange: 14. David Tyrrell 15. Ben Lowe 16. Chris Grevsmuhl 17. Thomas Burgess

Referees: Adam Devcich, Chris Sutton; Sideline Officials: Brett Suttor, Steve Carrall; Video Referees: Jared Maxwell, Luke Patten;

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