The St George Illawarra Dragons will face the Parramatta Eels at Bankwest Stadium on Sunday, April 11. This is your Round 5 game guide.
- "Refuse to lose"
- Dragons holiday clinics return in April
- Bird is the word
- Dragons reveal 2021 Indigenous Jersey and polo
Milestone men
Sunday holds extra significance for two of the Dragons' big boppers.
Daniel Alvaro will notch his 100th NRL appearance against the club he played 89 of them for. Click here to see some highlights of Alvaro's career so far.
Chugger's achievement comes after just four matches with St George Illawarra, a stark opposite of his milestone buddy Trent Merrin.
Fan favourite and 2010 premiership winner Merrin will run out for his 150th appearance in the Red V.
The local junior first debuted for the Dragons way back in 2009 meaning this weekend's milestone will be 12 years in the making.
Team news otherwise dictates that Jack Bird (suspension) will return in the centres. His inclusion sees Brayden Wiliame and Jackson Ford shift to the interchange and the reserves respectively.
The Red V is everything to me: Merrin reflects on Dragons career
Matterson returns for Carty Party
The unbeaten Eels regain the services of back-rower Ryan Matterson (concussion) after a fortnight out. Matterson is a key-cog in the Eels' engine room and will be a big boost to the home side.
2021 Eels recruit Bryce Cartwright also looks set to make his Parramatta debut on Sunday. Cartwright returns to Sydney west after debuting at Penrith.
This will be Cartwright’s first NRL game since Round 9 last year when he was at the Gold Coast Titans.
Ray Stone and Keegan Hipgrave are the two players to make way for Matterson and Cartwright.
Stats that matter
Tariq Sims provided his most complete performance in at least 18 months against his former club Newcastle on Easter Sunday.
Sims's two tries went straight on the highlight reel, but it would be his 129 metres and 41 tackles that impressed most in the Newcastle demolition derby.
Andrew McCullough's 59 tackles against the Knights saw him overtake former teammate Jayden Brailey on the competition's top tackle count ladder after a month of football.
Freeze frame
Speaking of Sims, it's been a long time between drinks since he punched his fist in the air over a multi-try performance.
The below snap from NRL Imagery's Shane Myers was undeniably one of the best photos to come from Round 4.
