Josh Reynolds and Aaron Woods face their former clubs for the first time as the Wests Tigers clash with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
TEAM FORM GUIDE
Tigers
The Tigers have won just 1 game out of their last five leaving them barely clinging on to a Top 8 spot. In their last match against the Panthers they put in a strong defensive performance but were unable to fire any shots in attack, going down 16-2.
The Panthers scored two tries in a 10 minute period in the first half but were kept try-less by the Tigers in the second half even after getting a player sin-binned.
Bulldogs
The Bulldogs share the same 1-4 record as the Tigers but their season is in a far more precarious position as they sit 14th on the ladder. They’re competitive in games, they’re just unable to finish them off as the biggest losing margin of those 4 games was 8 points.
That was the case against the Sharks as some tough officiating calls went against them and a season best performance from Matt Moylan handed them a 22-16 loss.
SQUAD NEWS
Tigers
In a big overhaul, Tuimoala Lolohea comes back into the side at fullback, Mahe Fonua returns to left centre after missing last week for not meeting team standards and Corey Thompson shifts to the wing in place of Malakai Watene-Zelezniak.
Jacob Liddle starts at Hooker with Elijah Taylor moving back to his preferred position of Lock. Michael Chee-Kam starts on the right edge back-row while Josh Reynolds returns from injury on the bench.
Bulldogs
John Olive replaces the injured Josh Morris at centre. David Klemmer has gone back to the starting position and Raymond Faitala-Mariner returns to the back-row after missing last week’s game.
PREVIEW
Key Players ย
Aaron Woods. The man who left the Tigers because of instability to go to the club that is paying Greg Eastwood 800k a season to play reserve grade. He’ll be out to prove a point against his former team and he’ll certainly have a lot of attention directed his way. If he can run for more than 150m and get away a few offloads or quick play-the-balls he’ll be giving his team a massive boost.
Tui Lolohea. Recalled from reserve grade with the idea of helping to improve their attack, he’ll have a great opportunity to prove to the coach he deserves the fullback spot in first grade. Lolohea isn’t as consistent as Thompson at fullback but he does bring more creativity and spark to the role.
KEY STAT
The Bulldogs have conceded 4 tries down their right edge in their last 3 games.
SQUADS
Tigers
1 Tuimoala Lolohea
2 David Nofoaluma
3 Esan Marsters
4 Mahe Fonua
5 Corey Thompson
6 Benji Marshall
7 Luke Brooks
8 Russell Packer
9 Jacob Liddle
10 Ben Matulino
11 Chris Lawrence (c)
12 Michael Chee-Kam
13 Elijah Taylor
Interchange:ย
14 Alex Twal
15 Josh Reynolds
16 Matt Eisenhuth
17 Sauaso Sue
Reserves:ย
18 Josh Aloiai
19 Chris McQueen
20 Tim Grant
21 Kevin Naiqama
Bulldogs
1 Moses Mbye
2 Brett Morris
3 John Olive
4 Will Hopoate
5 Marcelo Montoya
6 Matt Frawley
7 Kieran Foran
8 Aaron Woods
9 Jeremy Marshall-King
10 David Klemmer
11 Josh Jackson (c)
12 Raymond Faitala-Mariner
13 Rhyse Martin
Interchange:ย
14 Adam Elliott
15 Clay Priest
16 Renouf Toomaga
17 Kerrod Holland
Reserves:ย
18 Greg Eastwood
19 Reimis Smith
20 Asipeli Fine
21 Michael Lichaa
THE IMPORTANT DETAILS
Date: Sunday 27th May
Venue: ANZ Stadium
Kick-off: 4:10pm
WHO WILL WIN?
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