With Mitch Moses at his majestic best the Eels snared a second win of the season on Monday but they still have plenty of work to do as they head into a showdown with old rivals Canterbury.
Moses laid on four tries and pulled the strings superbly as the Eels did enough to hold off a gutsy Tigers outfit while the presence of edge forwards Ryan Matterson and Shaun Lane gives the 2022 grand finalists a more potent look.
The Bulldogs are coming off a horror Good Friday in which they conceded 50 points against Souths and lost their most dangerous attacking weapon Josh Addo-Carr to a serious ankle injury.
Cameron Ciraldo's men had already been dealt some harsh blows with injuries in the forwards but in Addo-Carr, Matt Burton and Jacob Kiraz they had firepower out wide to ensure they could put pressure on opposition defences.
Addo-Carr had posted five tries and 23 line breaks in the opening six matches and his X-factor will be sorely missed but the Bulldogs have shown plenty of resolve in most games and they are sure to be up for the fight.
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Team News
Eels: A few late changes for the home side. Veteran hooker Josh Hodgson is out with Brendan Hands to start. Bryce Cartwright moves back to the bench with Ryan Matterson starting on the edge and J'Maine Hopgood coming into the starting side at lock. Matt Doorey is the new man on the bench with Jakob Arthur 18th man.
Bulldogs: The Bulldogs were dealt a blow on Wednesday when Viliame Kikau suffered a pectoral injury at training. Corey Waddell moves into the starting side as does Jayden Okunbor on the wing for Josh Addo-Carr. The new faces on the bench are Jackson Topine and Andrew Davey. Declan Casey will be 18th man.
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Stat Attack
- The Eels have won five of their past six games against the Bulldogs.
- The Bulldogs have won only two of their past 14 games at CommBank Stadium.
- Eels fullback Clint Gutherson has scored nine tries in 14 games against the Bulldogs.
- Bulldogs centre Jake Averillo has scored four tries in five games against the Eels.
- Eels winger Maika Sivo has scored 38 tries from 40 games at CommBank Stadium.
Stats supplied by David Middleton, League Information Services, author of the official annual of the NRL.