St George Illawarra and Wests Tigers kick off Round 21 in Thursday night footy with both sides desperate to get away from the bottom of the ladder after disappointing campaigns.
The Dragons are fresh off their final bye of the year and host a Wests Tigers outfit who showed some good signs against the Knights in attack but were ultimately outplayed defensively, particularly on their edges.
With four points between the Bulldogs, who also have another bye up their sleeve, the winner of this match will go a long way towards avoiding the dreaded wooden spoon.
Both sides met each other earlier this year in Magic Round with Wests Tigers coming out on top to secure their first victory of the season despite a last-ditch effort by the Red V in the final minute.
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Team news
Dragons: The Dragons are 1-17 with no late changes. Fullback Tyrell Sloan (calf) and hooker Jacob Liddle (head knock) return after picking up injuries prior to the bye while skipper Ben Hunt is back at the helm after missing Round 19 on Origin duty. Jack Bird returns from a knee complaint after two successful hit-outs in NSW Cup and Dan Russell will start in the back row in place of Ben Murdoch-Masila (knee).
Wests Tigers: A late change just prior to kick-off with Shawn Blore dropping out after suffering a quad strain in the warm-up and Fonua Pole moving from 18th Man to the starting side in jersey No.15. Asu Kepaoa is the new 18th Man. Aitasi James was added to the bench on Wednesday. David Nofoaluma is back on the wing having recovered from a shoulder injury and Daine Laurie is back in the No.6 jersey, pushing Will Smith out of the side. Tallyn de Silva gets another opportunity on the bench with Jake Simpkin making way. Luke Brooks (hamstring) is at least another week away as he closes in on the final stages of his career at the joint venture.
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Stat Attack
- The Dragons have won five of their past seven games against Wests Tigers.
- Wests Tigers have been outscored 144-30 in their past three games.
- Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa has scored seven tries in his past five games.
- Wests Tigers halfback Brandon Wakeham has landed his last 18 attempts at goal.
- The Dragons have conceded 102 points in three consecutive losses at WIN Stadium.
- The Dragons have scored 64 tries this season compared to Wests Tigers tally of 46.
- All four of the Dragons' wins have come on home soil this season (three at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium and one at WIN Stadium).
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Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the