Warriors v Bulldogs
ANZ Stadium, 5pm tomorrow
A club desperately needing to turn things around faces one that has done just that when the Warriors meet the Bulldogs in Sydney tomorrow.
Equal top of the NRL ladder - at least until the Dragons play the Rabbitohs tonight - the Bulldogs have won 10 of their 11 home matches this season, firming as second-favourites for the title. The dead-and-buried Warriors are being lined up as so much cannon fodder for a match being billed as long-serving winger Hazem El Masri's home farewell.
Turn back the clock 11 months, however, and it was a different story. The down-and-out Bulldogs were the perfect opponent for the surging Warriors when they visited ANZ Stadium in round 19 last season. Wing Malo Solomona scored a hat-trick as they ran in eight tries in a rampant 40-22 victory.
The win was the Warriors' third straight as they compiled a run that took them ultimately to within a game of the grand final.
But for a Bulldogs club still reeling from the defection of Sonny Bill Williams, it was the first of six straight losses, a dismal run that would earn them the wooden spoon.
How times have changed.
"It is getting stacked a bit like we are going along just to be the sideshow," Warriors coach Ivan Cleary said. "I guess that is something that we have to aim up against.
"They are having a great season. They have been really consistent. So it is a great chance to see [where we are] on a big day in front of a big crowd."
Cleary might not like what he sees. The Warriors may have produced a surprisingly solid victory over a flat Raiders side last week but they head to Sydney minus several vital cogs.
Captain Steve Price's comeback lasted just one match, an eye injury ending his season two weeks early, while workhorse second rower Simon Mannering (knee) and wing Kevin Locke are also out.
Locke succumbed to a hamstring complaint at training on Thursday. His right-sided partnership with Jerome Ropati added another dimension to the attack against the Raiders. His replacement, Patrick Ah Van, has been less convincing, particularly during a torrid final 20 minutes in his last outing against the Titans in round 22.
Young forwards Russell Packer and Ben Matulino return to the side, while Joel Moon has been retained at five-eighth after an impressive return to his favoured position against the Raiders.
The recruitment of Brett Seymour and James Maloney and the expected promotion of exciting young prospect Shaun Johnson means there will be plenty of competition for the playmaking spots next year.
Moon admitted he was disappointed to be shifted to centre after failing to command the five-eighth position earlier in the season but Cleary has indicated he still believes the former Bronco's long-term future lies at six.
"I was [disappointed] but I guess it was just a matter of performance," Moon said. "It doesn't matter where you are playing, if you are not performing you'll get shifted. I think it is the best position for me but we'll just see how it goes."
His former team-mate, winger Denan Kemp, is expected to return to Brisbane after being granted a release from the final year of his Warriors' contract but Moon said he had not considered doing the same despite the club's struggles this season.
"That's a personal thing for [Kemp].
"[The season] has been pretty disappointing considering how our team was on paper but I think there are things there we can build on. We know what we have got to fix."
BULLDOGS v WARRIORS:
Bulldogs
Luke Patten
Hazem El Masri
Josh Morris
Jamal Idris
Bryson Goodwin
Ben Roberts
Brett Kimmorley
Ben Hannant
Michael Ennis
Michael Hodgson
Greg Eastwood
Andrew Ryan (c)
David Stagg
Interchange: Jarrad Hickey, Chris Armit, Yileen Gordon, Gary Warburton.
Warriors
Wade McKinnon
Patrick Ah Van
Lance Hohaia
Jerome Ropati
Manu Vatuvei
Joel Moon
Stacey Jones
Sam Rapira
Aaron Heremaia
Evarn Tuimavave
Lewis Brown
Ukuma Ta'ai
Micheal Luck (c)
Interchange: Ian Henderson, Russell Packer, Jacob Lillyman, Ben Matulino, AIdan Kirk (one to be omitted)
