St George Illawarra Dragons' will face the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Saturday, July 18 (3pm). This is your Round 10 game guide.
- All the relevant game day information
- Dragons make one forced change
- NRL reverts to original Covid protocols
- See how the Bulldogs will shape up here
How the turn tables
Both teams faced the ultimate pressure cooker six weeks ago when they collided on Queen's birthday weekend Monday at Bankwest Stadium.
The Bulldogs would ultimately prevail as the pressure mounted on the Red V. The 20-point loss was the impetus for the Dragons to begin writing the wrongs of the opening month of the 2020 campaign.
Winning three of their five games since, the Dragons sit two points outside of the top eight and have been forced into one change following the suspension of Jordan Pereira.
On the other hand, the Bulldogs haven't won since their Dragons triumph and this week parted ways with coach Dean Pay. Interim coach Steve Georgallis hasn't taken long to ring in the chances following a complete spine reshuffle including the demotion of halfback Brendon Wakeham.
The storyline possibilities of Saturday are endless.
Front-rowers approve of Hunt's hooker switch
Lock in intriguing showdown
Last week was a round of firsts for upcoming opposing locks Cameron McInnes and Luke Thompson.
Skipper McInnes's first game formally donning the No. 13 was a beneficial one as the Red V run away with a big victory over the Sea Eagles.
McInnes managed to produce 46 tackles and 144 metres despite receiving an early spell in the Dragons' 30-point win. 80 minutes beckon moving forward for the former City Origin representative.
Not only was McInnes's Bulldogs counterpart Thompson wearing No. 13 for the first time, it was also his first NRL game ever.
A running battle with Bronco Tevita Pangai Jr didn't fuss the English international as he knocked over 86 metres and 36 tackles in an hour of play.
Bulldogs' winning Wollongong ways
The Bulldogs haven't swung by the Illawarra in eight years… thankfully.
Canterbury-Bankstown have won five of its six games against St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium.
The silver lining for the Red V fans concerned with hoodoos is that four of their five wins have been by eight points or fewer.
Round 2, 2010 will be the Dragons' inspiration this week as they look to stir memories of the Red V's 20-point win.
Now-Rooster Brett Morris celebrated a hat-trick, on a day where Trent Merrin knocked up game number five of his NRL career.
Interestingly, Matt Prior lined up in the centres donning the No. 8 jumper alongside Beau Scott whose future thereafter lied in the back row.
Improvement across the board inspiring Sims
Stay Covid safe!
Red V members and partners afforded entrance to attend WIN Stadium on Saturday afternoon are reminded to familiarise themselves with the Covid-19 safe protocols.
A reminder to Red V members not eligible for the original Round 10 ballot as well as non-ticketed members are encouraged to keep an eye on their email inbox throughout the week, as a small portion of tickets may potentially become available for purchase.
