SYDNEY - The Bulldogs will welcome back representative duo Ben Hannant and Ben Roberts as they ramp up their National Rugby League minor premiership bid against the Warriors on Sunday.
Hannant (knee) and Roberts (calf) both missed Monday night's comfortable win over the Sydney Roosters, but the pair were
rushed back in as the Bulldogs look to keep up the pressure on St George Illawarra - the two sides tied atop the NRL ladder on 36 competition points.
Aside from the push for the minor premiership, Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore will no doubt be keen to give his first-choice 17 as much game time as possible as he looks to shore up combinations ahead of the finals.
"There's certainly some areas that we can improve on and I think our attack at times (against the Roosters) showed some really good signs," Moore said.
"We certainly do have some areas to improve on but the thing I'm happy about at he moment is we're meeting the challenges that are being thrown at us week to week, and that's something that we've been really good at all year."
The Bulldogs chances of claiming top spot have been boosted with the Warriors to be without test stars Steve Price and Simon Mannering.
Price will undergo eye surgery which will rule him out for the remainder of the NRL season while Mannering could return for the last round game against Melbourne after being ruled out with a knee injury.
Several big names will make their return elsewhere this weekend with Manly regaining the services of star fullback Brett Stewart after 18 weeks on the sidelines with a knee injury.
Stewart's former test teammate Israel Folau will also make his comeback from an ankle injury for Brisbane, the Broncos also getting prop Joel Clinton back on the bench.
Parramatta and Penrith have stuck with winning combinations for their western Sydney blockbuster on Friday night, while Wests Tigers coach Tim Sheens has been forced to name Blake Ayshford and Rhys Hanbury on the wings to cover for the loss of Taniela Tuiaki and Beau Ryan.
The Tigers go up against a Gold Coast side boosted by the return of Queensland Origin lock Ashley Harrison, with coach John Cartwright also naming under 20s hooker Kayne Lawton and Chris Walker on a seven-man bench.
- AAP
