The St George Illawarra Dragons come up against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on Monday. Here's a rundown of all the stats you need to know before the game.
Over 37 matches between the two sides, the Bulldogs have won 24 while the Dragons have claimed 13. The Bulldogs' winning edge coming off the back of 11 wins in 12 meetings between 2012 and 2017.
However, the Dragons have turned the tide recently winning two of the past three matches as they prepare for their second encounter this season.
A tumultuous year has the Bulldogs languishing in last place on the NRL Telstra Premiership ladder, with the added insult of owning both the worst defence and attack in the competition.
The Dragons aren't far behind their opponents defensively, conceding the third- most points competition-wide this year.
In attack, the Dragons gain some ground on the Bulldogs, scoring 35 more points this season and ranking fifth best in the league for tackle busts (305). The Bulldogs also rank last in this metric (228 tackle breaks).
Despite their lowly statistics, the Bulldogs rank first competition-wide in competition rate with a season average of 80 per cent. They also rank second in the league for offloads with two of the top three best second phase players in the competition. Corey Harawira-Naera and Kerrod Hollond
Danger man – Will Hopoate
Former State of Origin representative Will Hopoate burst onto the scene in 2010. With a career 38 tries next to his name across 135 appearances, Hopoate is no stranger to finding the try-line.
'Hoppa' has racked up four try assists this season and scored one himself in Round 9 against the Newcastle Knights. With 21 tackles breaks so far this season as well as an average of 140 running metres per game, Hopoate is one of the most lethal outside backs with the ball in hand.
Key matchups
Tariq Sims v Raymond Faitala-Mariner
With both sides missing key figures in the forward pack through Origin commitments, Tariq Sims and Raymond Faitala-Mariner will hope to fill the void.
Sims provides plenty of muscle and intimidation out on the field for the Dragons, playing every game this year and collecting two line breaks, one line break assist, and 315 tackles at 89.7 per cent efficiency.
While Faitala-Mariner has played just three games this season after suffering a knee injury, he will be required to step up considering Dylan Napa is no certainty to back up from State of Origin I.
In his three games, Faitala-Mariner has one try assist, three offloads, 103 tackles at 90.7 per cent efficiency and 83 metres per game.
Corey Norman v Kieran Foran
Corey Norman returns from injury with the task of ending a Dragons' losing streak and outshining fearless campaigner Kieran Foran.
Foran has had a troubled run with injuries keeping him away from the field. However since returning in Round 9 this year, Foran has been produced several impressive displays.
In the four games since returning, Foran has three try assists, four tackle busts, two dropouts forced and averaged 92 metres per game.
While in the eight games before Norman was injured, the talented half had six try assists, six line break assists, three forced dropouts and an averaged 94.8 metres per game.
