Dragons v Sea Eagles preview

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St George Illawarra Dragons v Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles Friday 6:00pm at WIN Stadium, Wollongong / Dharawal

Halfback battle the key as Dragons and Sea Eagles face off

The Dragons were widely tipped to take out this year's wooden spoon and while it is too early to confidently predict whether they will exceed expectations, there were clear signs of improvement in last week's win over the Cowboys. Ben Hunt starred with two try assists, two linebreak assists and a try as his running game proved a handful for the North Queensland defence. The key now for Hunt and the Dragons in general will be to build from that game and the confidence it instilled.

With the Knights, Eels, Warriors and Roosters in the next four weeks, the Dragons need to capitalise on every opportunity they get against more lowly opposition. While it was trial form, their capitulation against the Rabbitohs in the Charity Shield cast doubt over their ability to hold their own against quality opposition.

For the time being though the Dragons are riding on a high and Griffin has named the same 17 to take on a desperate Manly outfit.

Des Hasler may have had his contract extended last week but there are reportedly performance clauses inserted to make sure he is still feeling the pressure. The Sea Eagles were handed plenty of chances last week against an error-prone Rabbitohs side but also failed to get into any real rhythm in the wet and fell to a 26-12 defeat.

The injuries keep piling up too with Andrew Davey replaced by Josh Schuster after suffering a season-ending ACL rupture. It leaves Manly's backrow stocks thin with Curtis Sironen and Haumole Olakau'atu already missing. Tom Trbojevic will also miss at least another week with the Dylan Walker fullback experiment here to stay for the time being.

Last meeting: Round 9 2020 - Dragons 34 Sea Eagles 4

Who to watch: The battle of the halfbacks shapes as the most intriguing one ahead of Friday's match-up.

Ben Hunt has taken on added responsibility at the Dragons this year and it has brought the best out of him if last week's man-of-the-match performance is anything to go by. Hunt was challenging the line with intent and not just playing to his strengths but his teammates too, keeping the ball in play to tire the Cowboys forwards and give his big men an advantage up front. He executed the game plan to perfection.

Daly Cherry-Evans has always been the leader at Manly but now he is facing increasing scrutiny after a poor performance last week. The Sea Eagles lacked direction and intent inside the South Sydney red zone and needed their experienced halfback to lead from the front. It is not all on DCE but his kicking options, admittedly in the wet, were not his best. With a weakened forward pack, Manly will need Cherry-Evans to better dictate terms with his long-range kicking game.

The favourite: It is relatively even but recent winning form and home-ground advantage sees the Dragons slight favourites.

My tip: Manly are in a dire position at the moment and desperation alone is all they have going for them. On paper though, their team just lacks the class and quality at the Dragons' disposal. St George Illawarra by 10.

1. Matthew Dufty 2. Cody Ramsey 3. Jack Bird 4. Zac Lomax 5. Mikaele Ravalawa 6. Corey Norman 7. Ben Hunt 8. Blake Lawrie 9. Andrew McCullough 10. Paul Vaughan 11. Josh Kerr 12. Tariq Sims 13. Tyrell Fuimaono 14. Poasa Faamausili 15. Trent Merrin 16. Daniel Alvaro 17. Brayden Wiliame

1. Dylan Walker 2. Jason Saab 3. Brad Parker 4. Moses Suli 5. Reuben Garrick 6. Kieran Foran 7. Daly Cherry-Evans 8. Taniela Paseka 9. Lachlan Croker 10. Martin Taupau 11. Jack Gosiewski 12. Josh Schuster 13. Jake Trbojevic 14. Cade Cust 16. Sean Keppie 17. Josh Aloiai 20. Toafofoa Sipley

Referees: Chris Sutton; Sideline Officials: Nick Beashel, Kasey Badger; Video Referees: Chris Butler;