Sea Eagles v Bulldogs: Bullemor benched; Wakeham, Schoupp in for Dogs
A Sea Eagles side stung by two heavy losses to start the year will be hoping their first home game is the catalyst to jump-start their season against a new-look Bulldogs side that has impressed with their grit and defence so far this year.
After last year's horror 0-4 start, the Sea Eagles would not have been expecting the early stages of this year to pan out in similar fashion, especially with star fullback Tom Trbojevic fit to start the season - although they have faced two of the competition's most heavily-fancied sides.
The Bulldogs are 1-1 and arguably unlucky not to be 2-0, but are still very much a work in progress. If coach Trent Barrett can help his current club add more early-season pain onto his former club it will go a long way to building a confident platform for the rest of their 2022 campaign.
NRL Teams: Sea Eagles v Bulldogs
The Rundown
Final team news
Sea Eagles: Des Hasler has sprung one late change with Andrew Davey starting in the back row. Ethan Bullemor will drop back to the bench.
Bulldogs: Winger Jayden Okunbor came out of the team on Saturday and his place is taken by Aaron Schoupp. Brandon Wakeham will also start at halfback in place of Jake Averillo, who drops to 18th man. Luke Thompson and Corey Waddell also switch places, with the Englishman set to come off the bench.
Match: Sea Eagles v Bulldogs
Round 3 -
home Team
Sea Eagles
away Team
Bulldogs
Team Lists
Backs
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Fullback for Sea Eagles is number 1 Tom TrbojevicFullback for Bulldogs is number 1 Matthew Dufty
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Winger for Sea Eagles is number 2 Jason SaabWinger for Bulldogs is number 5 Josh Addo-Carr
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Centre for Sea Eagles is number 3 Brad ParkerCentre for Bulldogs is number 3 Braidon Burns
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Centre for Sea Eagles is number 4 Morgan HarperCentre for Bulldogs is number 4 Brent Naden
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Winger for Sea Eagles is number 5 Reuben GarrickWinger for Bulldogs is number 25 Aaron Schoupp
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Five-Eighth for Sea Eagles is number 6 Kieran ForanFive-Eighth for Bulldogs is number 6 Matt Burton
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Halfback for Sea Eagles is number 7 Daly Cherry-EvansHalfback for Bulldogs is number 20 Brandon Wakeham
Forwards
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Prop for Sea Eagles is number 8 Sean KeppieProp for Bulldogs is number 10 Paul Vaughan
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Hooker for Sea Eagles is number 9 Lachlan CrokerHooker for Bulldogs is number 9 Jeremy Marshall-King
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Prop for Sea Eagles is number 10 Martin TaupauProp for Bulldogs is number 15 Corey Waddell
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2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 11 Haumole Olakau'atu2nd Row for Bulldogs is number 11 Jack Hetherington
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2nd Row for Sea Eagles is number 16 Andrew Davey2nd Row for Bulldogs is number 12 Tevita Pangai Junior
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Lock for Sea Eagles is number 13 Jake TrbojevicLock for Bulldogs is number 13 Josh Jackson
Interchange
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 12 Ethan BullemorInterchange for Bulldogs is number 8 Luke Thompson
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 14 Dylan WalkerInterchange for Bulldogs is number 14 Bailey Biondi-Odo
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 15 Karl LawtonInterchange for Bulldogs is number 16 Max King
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Interchange for Sea Eagles is number 17 Taniela PasekaInterchange for Bulldogs is number 19 Chris Patolo
Reserves
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Replacement for Sea Eagles is number 20 Tolutau KoulaReplacement for Bulldogs is number 7 Jake Averillo
Match Officials
- Referee: Ben Cummins
- Touch Judge: Ziggy Przeklasa-Adamski
- Touch Judge: Darian Furner
- Senior Review Official: Steve Chiddy
Last updated:
Key match-up
Tom Trbojevic v Matt Dufty: There's been plenty of focus on the lack of impact from reigning Dally M medallist Trbojevic so far but he hasn't had much of a platform to work from. Dufty meanwhile has looked very sharp at his new club and at this early stage has more busts (9), line breaks (2) and average metres (177) than Turbo.
Stat attack
With just 20 points conceded in two games, the Dogs currently have the league's fourth-best defence while Manly's 54 points against is the most in the NRL so far.
