Round 22: Bulldogs v Dolphins preview
Two battered and bruised teams; the Bulldogs take the Dolphins up north to Bundaberg to play at their home away from home for the weekend, where one team is doing everything they can to avoid the dreaded 17th position on the ladder and the other is looking to make a desperate entry to the top 8 for finals.
The Bulldogs have now lost back-to-back games, both conceding 44 points, after their sixth win of the series against the Rabbitohs back in Round 19. They are currently sitting in 16th position, 4 points clear of wooden spoon, along with a bye up their sleeve, fighting in every match to ensure that they have a chance of winning and inching their way away from the dreaded last place.
Many starring Bulldogs players return to the side this week after suffering injuries that left that sidelined for both extended and short period of time. Viliame Kikau returns for his first match since Round 4 after suffering a pectoral injury, alongside representative winger Josh Addo-Carr who strained his hamstring. Braidon Burns (abdomen), Jacob Preston (illness) and Toby Sexton (concussion) all rejoin the starting side after missing the Round 22 clash against the Panthers. These changes leave Kyle Flanagan and Corey Waddell to return to the bench after starting last week, and Jayden Okunbor playing as 18th man.
The Dolphins are fresh off their much-needed final bye of the season, after enduring their third loss in a month, to the Panthers in Round 20. The Dolphins are desperately trying to pull together an end of the season miracle to pull themselves back into the eight, where they currently sit in 13th position, one win out of the eight, however have an extremely poor for and against differential.
Jeremy Marshall-King returns to the Dolphins side after nursing an ongoing shoulder injury, which forces rookie dummy-half Harrison Graham to be dropped to the reserves. Kenny Bromwich starts as prop, due to Ray Stone suffering a broken hand. After successfully challenging his Grade 1 Shoulder Charge, Jarrod Wallace is good to go and will be starting off the bench. Having played his last two games at centre, Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow returns to the fullback position, causing Kodi Nikorima to revert to five-eighth, Anthony Milford to the bench and Valynce Te Whare as the new centre.
The very short history of the Dolphins is on their side for the upcoming game this Sunday afternoon, where they have won seven of their total 13 games in Queensland, compared the Bulldogs who have only managed to win two of their previous 21 games on QLD soil.
Who to watch: Fast-flyer Josh Addo-Carr returns after a short stint on the sidelines, and this winger has an impressive history at QLD grounds, scoring 38 tries from 35 games in Queensland venues, and he's bound to add another on Sunday afternoon. Addo-Carr has also scored 8 tries this season, including 2 doubles in Round 3 and Round 14.
Jamayne Isaako opposes Josh Addo-Carr for the Dolphins and will be giving him a run for his money. Isaako is the NRL's leading point scorer sitting on 173 points, and he has played and scored in every single Dolphin's game. His points scoring includes four try doubles and one hat trick, with a total of 15 tries and 56 goals.
Favourite: The Dolphins are favoured to take another win for the season and add two points to their count.
My tip: Both sides have struggled with both attack and defence throughout the season, and this will be an interesting game for each team. I think that the Dolphins have more fight left in them and have more to play for, with the desperation of making the final eight starting to hit them. The Bulldogs, despite the return of many key players for the round, are nearing the end of a challenging season, and I really only see them playing a strong 20 minutes and not being able to withhold against the Dolphins for the entirety of the game. Dolphins by 12.
