Round 14: Dragons v Wests Tigers preview
All eyes will be on the Dragons' Origin trio as Shane Flanagan's side look to build on a character-building comeback win over Penrith on Friday night.
The Dragons host a Wests Tigers side that is well-rested after the bye, although Benji Marshall's team would have been eager to get out on the field sooner given they are now on an eight-game losing skid.
It has been a rough past few months for the Tigers, who showed promising signs earlier in the season but have dropped off defensively, most recently going down 42-28 to North Queensland.
The Dragons, meanwhile, looked to be in trouble after falling behind 10-0 against Penrith at halftime last week before wrestling back momentum with an inspired display up front to score 22 unanswered points.
The big question mark heading into this Friday's game is whether Origin stars Ben Hunt, Jaydn Su'A and Zac Lomax will back up, with all three listed among the reserves.
The Tigers, meanwhile, welcome Justin Olam back in a reshuffle that sees Charlie Staines named in the centres while Alex Lobb and Solomon Alaimalo line up on the wing.
Elsewhere, Alex Twal joins the starting side with David Klemmer suspended while Isaiah Papali'I is sidelined with an ankle injury, seeing Alex Seyfarth and Justin Matamua into the run-on team.
Brent Naden returns from suspension on the bench while versatile Cook Islands representative Reuben Porter, who is capable of playing both on the edge and middle, is named to make his NRL debut.
Last meeting: Round 6 2024 - Wests Tigers 12 Dragons 24
Who to watch: Luciano Leilua was granted a release from the Tigers in 2022 and has become a bit of a journeyman in recent years, eventually returning to the club who gave him his NRL debut after a short stint at North Queensland.
While Leilua's workrate and consistent application across the 80 minutes has at times come into question, there is little denying his game-breaking ability on the edge. Leilua had a few particularly nice runs against the Panthers last week and could pull apart the Tigers' inexperienced edges with his late offloads and evasive running style.
For the Tigers, this will be hooker Apisai Koroisau's first chance to make a statement since being left out of the NSW Blues side for Game 1. While Koroisau will always put club football first, there is no denying that he needs to be performing for the Tigers to even be in the position to be picked for the rest of the series. In other words, playing well in club land will only benefit Koroisau on both fronts.
The Dragons bullied the Panthers up front last week, although a craft hooker like Koroisau may thrive going up against such a big pack, especially as the game wears on. Look for Koroisau to duck and weave out of dummy-half, picking up extra metres while looking for the late pass or offload to open up space for his outside men.
Favourite: The Dragons are well backed to get the job one at home.
My tip: The Tigers could be a sneaky chance of pulling off the upset if the Dragons' Origin trio don't back up, given there is always the risk they turn up flat after last week's big win. But back at home and up against a Tigers side that is still finding its way, we'll take the consistency of the Dragons here.
