Senior players talk shop on Anzac Day defeat
GAME DAY
Game day guide: Round 8 v Wests Tigers
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Dragons.com.au dragons.com.au
Timestamp
Wed 28 Apr 2021, 05:00 PM
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The St George Illawarra Dragons will face the Wests Tigers at WIN Stadium, Wollongong on Sunday, May 2. This is your Round 8 game guide.
#ThanksMez
The Trent Merrin farewell tour concludes this Sunday afternoon at the very same ground he made his NRL debut at 12 years ago.
Help us farewell Trent,
who selflessly announced his retirement last week. The Dragons will honour his career from 3:45pm with a much-deserved tribute segment and lap of honour.
The first 2000 fans through the gates will also receive a face mask of the 2010 premiership-winning forward.
Use the hashtag #ThanksMez on social media and let the 151-game Dragon know how much you'll miss him in the Red V.
In times of adversity…
The Wests Tigers have been a team under siege this week, which almost certainly makes them a dangerous prospect come Sunday afternoon.
A galvanised Michael Maguire-led outfit is expected to roll into Wollongong in hope of arresting a four-game losing run.
The Tigers welcome back Joey Leilua (thumb) and have reshuffled their entire forward pack in anticipation of a Dragons barrage.
The Tigers have form on their side against the Red V if the previous three seasons are anything to go by. The NRL's other joint-venture club have won three of their last four meetings against the Dragons.
Stats that matter
Josh McGuire may have become an unfortunate social media meme in recent weeks due to his winless run so far in 2021 but it certainly isn't through lack of trying.
In a whopping 59-minute effort from the interchange against the Sydney Roosters, McGuire produced an outstanding 136 metres and 38 tackles.
The old mantra that an old dog can learn new tricks applies to McGuire's teammate and former Dragons Medallist, Tariq Sims.
Sims was a hard man to stop on Anzac Day; his barnstorming try, three tackle breaks and 51 post contact metres a testament to this.
No shortage of footy
There's more St George Illawarra affiliated footy than you poke a stick at this weekend.
It all begins
on Saturday morning (11am) at Leichhardt Oval when the St George Dragons tackle the Sydney Roosters Indigenous Academy in the Tarsha Gale Cup grand final.
Not to be outdone, the SG Ball Illawarra Steelers will soon following the ladies at 3pm, when they take on the Canberra Raiders in search of their second consecutive Under-19s (formerly -18s) premiership.
For the diehard locals or perhaps those Illawarra-bound, the Sunday footy starts early at Corrimal's Ziems Park (11am) when the Jersey Flegg Dragons play the Wests Tigers.
Not to be outdone, the Knock Out Effect Cup Dragons will act as a curtain-raiser to their NRL counterparts come 1:40pm on Sunday at WIN Stadium. Starring down the barrel of five-straight losses, Russell Aitken's men
will be boosted by the return of Billy Brittain.
https://www.dragons.com.au/news/2021/04/28/game-day-guide-round-8-v-wests-tigers/
