St George Illawarra

Broncos v Dragons: Martin, Hoeter on wing; Sullivan new No.7

Both sides are missing key men with Payne Haas succumbing to a shoulder injury and Kurt Capewell and Selwyn Cobbo on Origin duty while Dragons skipper Ben Hunt is in Queensland camp.

Having lost two on the bounce to the Cowboys and Storm, conceding 72 points in the process, the Broncos need to tighten up their defence and return to the formula that delivered them seven straight wins between round 7-14.

Bulldogs v Dragons: Addo-Carr good to go; McCullough returns

In the last four meetings between these sides the Bulldogs have come away with two wins, including a thumping 28-6 victory at Accor Stadium in round 14 last year when Luke Thompson and Josh Jackson ran riot through the middle.

The forwards will again hold the key if Canterbury are to turn their fortunes around and hand interim coach Mick Potter his first victory on what is sure to be an emotional day back at Belmore Sports Ground.

Korbin to make most of Charity Shield chance before suspension

Sims will become the third member of his family to play in the annual pre-season feature match after brothers Ashton and Tariq but won't make his Dragons premiership debut until round three due to a suspension incurred last season with Brisbane.

He had initially feared also missing St George Illawarra's pre-season trials against Newcastle and Souths but received a clearance to play and intends to make the most of his limited opportunity to impress McGregor.

Blair, Luke and Harris return to boosts Warriors

Harris (knee) and Luke (calf) were listed in the initial line-up for last Sunday's encounter with Gold Coast but didn't recover sufficiently and were later ruled out.

Blair was serving a one-match suspension but, along with Luke and Harris, returns in a starting forward pack showing three changes from the combination used in the 36-12 loss to the Titans.

Luke slots in for Jazz Tevaga, Harris for Joseph Vuna and Blair for Simon Mannering.

Dragons remain unbeaten

The Sharks' 40-20 loss to their local rivals was only one concern, with Andrew Fifita and Paul Gallen sweating on knee scans on Saturday ahead of potentially lengthy stints on the sidelines.

There is particular concern over Fifita, who had his left knee in a brace amd was on crutches, sparking fears he may have damaged his anterior cruciate ligament putting his season in doubt.

Wade Graham (hamstring) and Luke Lewis (knee) will join the pair for scans after minor injuries, cutting through their star-studded forward pack and leaving them with an empty bench by fulltime.

Dragons take a leaf out of Cowboys playbook

With the Dragons dominating the Rabbitohs everywhere except the scoreboard in the first half, McGregor interchanged James Graham, Paul Vaughan and Jack de Belin simultaneously in the 27th minute.

Leeson Ah Mau, Jeremy Latimore and utility Kurt Mann, who played lock, were their replacements.

The starting trio were re-introduced gradually before the midway point of the second half to help the Dragons late in the match when the possession stakes inevitably shifted back towards their opponents.

Sharks v Dragons: Round 2 preview

In light of the incessant roasting Wests Tigers fans gave former golden boy James Tedesco in the round one stoush with the Roosters, it'll be interesting to see how Dugan is received by Dragons followers in his first home game in a Sharks jersey.

The Dragons' display in their convincing win over Brisbane was one of the more impressive performances in the opening round, while the Sharks were first-up losers to the Cowboys but were in striking distance until the closing stages.

Hunt leads Dragons to win over Broncos

Hunt set up the opening try and scored a brilliant intercept in the 34-12 victory while Lodge – booed every time he touched the ball – produced a number of errors and penalties plus the pass that was intercepted for Hunt's 50-metre try.

He did produce some strong carries in his team-high 137 metres and should be better in the long run.

The Broncos completed at just 50% in the first half and their forwards comfortably lost the battle in the middle against the likes of James Graham, Paul Vaughan, Jack De Belin, Tyson Frizell and Tariq Sims.

Big name Dragons recruit Ben Hunt admits halves partnership with Gareth Widdop needs work

The Australian playmaker had a promising outing in St George Illawarra’s 24-18 win over English Super League side Hull FC in a pre-season friendly at ANZ Stadium on Saturday.

In his 70 minutes on the field, Hunt kicked well and went within centimetres of setting up tries for Tim Lafai and Jeremy Latimore with his boot.

 

Sims happy to provide bench impact

After 18 months at the Knights in a dominant leadership role, Sims has only been able to make the starting 13 in Paul McGregor's side once since joining the Red V midway through last season.

The emergence of Paul Vaughan up front and the dominant back-row of Tyson Frizell and Joel Thompson leaves the 27-year-old in unfamiliar territory for the first time since the 2013 season.