The Bulldogs season kicks-off on Friday night with a mouth-watering clash against the Brisbane Broncos at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
Referee Shayne Hayne will start the battle at 8.00pm and with Ben Barba returning to his former home, the Bulldogs faithful are sure to give him a warm welcome.
There will be a number of classic clashes across the field but none more so than the Barba v Perrett at fullback, Reynolds v Hoffman at five-eighth and Graham v Parker up front.
With NRL regulars Greg Eastwood (foot), Sam Kasiano (ankle), Krisnan Inu (jaw) and Tim Lafai (hand) out injured, the opportunity has been given to a number of new recruits to fill the void. Mt Gravatt (QLD) junior Corey Thompson will make his debut on the wing for the side whilst Chase Stanley and Pat O’Hanlon will be making their Bulldogs NRL debuts.
“At the moment I’m excited but I’m sure as the game gets closer the nerves will set in a bit,” Thompson said. “Des let me know on Tuesday that I was in and since then we’ve had a couple of chats about my role and what he wants me to do.
“I just can’t wait to get out there.”
Whilst the Broncos have received some criticism from various media outlets for their differing trial form, Coach Hasler is under no illusion about what to expect from the men from north of the border.
“It’ll be a good start to the year, there has been plenty of hype around it which makes it exciting,” Hasler said.
“They’ve got experience all across the park, Origin and International players in the forward pack and a number of internationals in the backline also. We can’t predict what is going to happen out there but what we can do is prepare as best we can for all situations.
The NRL match will kick-off at 8.00pm. There are still plenty of tickets available so visit ticketek.com.au to secure your seats today.
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