When the Raiders sat down and went through their draw at the start of the season it's a safe bet they would have pencilled in the Magic Round clash with the Bulldogs as a win.
And that may turn out to be the case but no one could have predicted that the Green Machine would be spluttering on the back of five straight losses coming into round 10.
Second-half fadeouts have become a huge concern for the Raiders and it was a trend that continued last weekend when they gave up a 16-0 half-time lead to be rolled by the Knights.
It was a similar tale for the Bulldogs, who trailed just 6-0 at the break against the Dragons but were overpowered in the second term to slump to their eighth loss of the season.
Match: Bulldogs v Raiders
Round 10 -
home Team
Bulldogs
16th Position
away Team
Raiders
8th Position
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
The rundown
Team news
Bulldogs: Front-rower Dylan Napa, who was hoping to return from a shoulder injury, was replaced on Friday in the starting side by Ava Seumanufagai with Joe Stimson elevated to the interchange.
Kyle Flanagan was omitted 24 hours out from kick-off after he was dropped at half-time of the loss to St George Illawarra with Jake Averillo inheriting the No.7 and Brandon Wakeham coming into five-eighth.
Nick Meaney moves into the centres in place of Corey Allan, who is expected to miss 1-3 weeks with an AC joint injury, and Tui Katoa has been named on the wing.
Corey Waddell claims the last bench spot, with Joe Stimson 18th man and Ofahiki Ogden omitted from the side an hour before kick-off.
The Bulldogs have lost their past seven games at Suncorp Stadium.
Raiders: Dunamis Lui starts at lock in place of Ryan Sutton (elbow) with Hudson Young reverting to the bench.
In-form winger Jordan Rapana is out with a hamstring injury, replaced by Semi Valemei.
Former co-captain Josh Hodgson returns from a calf injury on the bench alongside Dunamis Lui and Ryan James with Joseph Tapine (MCL) out and Siliva Havili dropping to the reserves.
Matthew Timoko is 18th man with Sam Williams dropping out of the squad on game day. Siliva Havili and Harry Rushton were cut from the squad when it was reduced to 19 on Friday.
Veteran centre Jarrod Croker must wait at least until round 11 while fullback Charnze Nicholl-Klokstad (neck) is 6-7 weeks away despite having avoided surgery.
The Raiders have been outscored 93-8 in their past five second halves.
Match: Bulldogs v Raiders
Round 10 -
home Team
Bulldogs
away Team
Raiders
Team Lists
Backs
-
Fullback for Bulldogs is number 1 Dallin Watene-ZelezniakFullback for Raiders is number 1 Caleb Aekins
-
Winger for Bulldogs is number 2 Nick CotricWinger for Raiders is number 2 Bailey Simonsson
-
Centre for Bulldogs is number 3 Will HopoateCentre for Raiders is number 3 Sebastian Kris
-
Centre for Bulldogs is number 4 Nick MeaneyCentre for Raiders is number 4 Curtis Scott
-
Winger for Bulldogs is number 5 Tuipulotu KatoaWinger for Raiders is number 5 Semi Valemei
-
Five-Eighth for Bulldogs is number 6 Brandon WakehamFive-Eighth for Raiders is number 6 Jack Wighton
-
Halfback for Bulldogs is number 7 Jake AverilloHalfback for Raiders is number 7 George Williams
Forwards
-
Prop for Bulldogs is number 10 Luke ThompsonProp for Raiders is number 8 Josh Papali'i
-
Hooker for Bulldogs is number 9 Sione KatoaHooker for Raiders is number 9 Tom Starling
-
Prop for Bulldogs is number 16 Ava SeumanufagaiProp for Raiders is number 10 Emre Guler
-
2nd Row for Bulldogs is number 11 Adam Elliott2nd Row for Raiders is number 11 Corey Harawira-Naera
-
2nd Row for Bulldogs is number 12 Chris Smith2nd Row for Raiders is number 12 Elliott Whitehead
-
Lock for Bulldogs is number 13 Renouf AtoniLock for Raiders is number 15 Dunamis Lui
Interchange
-
Interchange for Bulldogs is number 14 Bradley DeitzInterchange for Raiders is number 13 Hudson Young
-
Interchange for Bulldogs is number 15 Corey WaddellInterchange for Raiders is number 14 Josh Hodgson
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Interchange for Bulldogs is number 17 Matt DooreyInterchange for Raiders is number 16 Corey Horsburgh
-
Interchange for Bulldogs is number 23 Ofahiki OgdenInterchange for Raiders is number 17 Ryan James
Reserves
-
Reserve for Bulldogs is number 20 Joe StimsonReserve for Raiders is number 19 Matthew Timoko
Match Officials
- Referee: Chris Butler
- Touch Judge: Todd Smith
- Senior Review Official: Matt Noyen
Last updated:
Key match-up
Luke Thompson v Josh Papalii: Two proud warriors who will look to pick their teammates up and carry them to a desperately needed victory.
Big Papa was back to his damaging best against the Knights, making 131 metres from 12 hit-ups with six tackle breaks, Thompson was tireless in the loss to the Dragons, making 46 tackles and having 15 hit-ups in 68 minutes of game time.
Stat attack
The Raiders have not lost five games on the trot since 2014, when they were rolled by the Storm, Rabbitohs, Warriors, Eels and Dragons between round 19 and round 23.
The longest losing streak in club history is eight, which has occurred twice - round 21, 1985, to round 3, 1986, and again in 2011 between rounds two and nine.
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