Round 9: Dragons v Bulldogs preview
Struggling sides look to put some distance between themselves and bottom part of ladder
After an offseason filled with hype and promise of greener pastures, the Bulldogs are currently sitting in 2nd last on the NRL ladder after 8 rounds of football. The only thing preventing their opponents this week the Dragons from slipping down below them on the official table is the two points they received for the bye in Round 1.
Fair to say, it hasn't been the start either side were hoping for, withs major reasons for both sets of struggles coming from factors outside of the playing groups control. The Dragons have had to deal with constant speculation surrounding the future of head coach Anthony Griffin, who's days at the helm appear numbered, while the Bulldogs injury toll has been among the worst in the league, making it even harder for a side that already hadn't had much experience together to gel on the field.
Last week, the Dragons were every chance of pulling off an ANZAC day upset against their more fancied opponents the Roosters, dominating the second half but having their hearts broken by a late Luke Keary field goal. They'll be hoping to harness the form that saw them rolling up the field with ease by spreading the ball early in sets into this week against a Bulldogs side with injuries in the outside backs.
For the Bulldogs, it was another convincing loss, but one that fans will probably see as a positive in the grand scheme of things. Despite the long injury list, they were able to score their highest number of points since round 3, and did so against a Sharks side coming off their best defensive performance of the season. They would've enjoyed the win had they been able to pull it off, but the fact they were even in the game so late is a sign that things are on the improve.
In team news, Max Feagai joins his brother Matt on the wing in his first NRL appearance since Round 11, 2021, replacing the injured Tautau Moga. There are no other changes to the Dragons 17 that went down against the Roosters.
For the Bulldogs, Kyle Flanagan has been dropped to reserve grade, replacing him at five-eighth is a familiar face in Josh Reynolds, who has come off the bench multiple times this season but is starting in the halves for the Bulldogs for the first time since Round 26, 2017, a game which the Bulldogs won to deny the Dragons a spot in the finals. Kurtis Morrin comes onto the bench as a result, while Sam Hughes takes the spot of Andrew Davey.
Last meeting: Round 12 2022 - Bulldogs 24 Dragons 34
Who to watch: Tyrell Sloan at the start of the season was only given another chance at playing fullback because of an unfortunate injury, and so far has been making the best of his opportunity. Highly touted coming out of the Dragons juniors system, Sloan showed that he still had a lot of work to do if he wanted to be a consistent first grader in his stint as custodian last season, and if his recent performances are anything to go by, he's been doing said work and then some. Against the Roosters he had 15 runs for 142 metres as well as a line break assist, try assist, five tackle busts, two offloads and a try of his own in which he demonstrated excellent support play and agility. One area that needs more improvement is his defence, namely tackling; last week he only made one tackle but missed three.
There have been a lot of wraps on Bulldogs rookie centre Paul Alamoti so far in 2023, and he has looked very promising with ball in hand, however on the defensive side he has been a weakness for the Bulldogs. Last week against the Sharks he made only 8 tackles while missing 7, a couple of which led to major breaks that cost his side momentum. Two weeks prior to that against Souths, he made 6 tackles while again missing 7 in a game that was over in the blink of an eye due to the Rabbitohs having success down his edge. Obviously Alamoti is only a rookie and he has an age to fix these issues, and his attacking presence is certainly worth keeping him in the side, but against a Dragons team who last week were most dangerous when attacking the edges, he will need to produce a better defensive performance.
The favourite: The Dragons are 3.5 point favourites at the time of writing.
My tip: The Dragons had the much better performance last week and are playing at WIN Stadium, where they have won their last 6 matches. That's enough for me, Dragons by 10.
