Pressure is the key word on many people's lips as the Dragons prepare for Monday's must-win showdown with Canterbury.
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While both teams languish near the foot of the ladder, there is plenty of interest for fans as the pressure cooker continues for Paul McGregor and rival coach Dean Pay.
The spotlight will also be shone on Red V debutant Adam Clune, who will form a new-look halves combination with Ben Hunt. Customary no.6 Corey Norman shifts to fullback and Matt Dufty drops out among a raft of changes made by McGregor.
Pay said the Dragons were "probably tinkering with what they're doing". It's opened the door for Clune - who turns 25 on Monday - to make his NRL debut.
"He's a talented kid, he's quick and takes the line on. He's not young... but he'll be excited about what he can do and he's got plenty of up to him," Pay said.
"[But] it's not about what they're doing, it's about what we're doing and making sure we get our footy game on."
The Bulldogs have also made numerous changes ahead of Monday's game, headlined by the return of five-eighth Kieran Foran from a hamstring injury.
The New Zealand international will line up for his 200th NRL game, replacing youngster Jack Cogger, pairing up with Lachlan Lewis.
"We've lacked the experience in our halves," Pay said.
"Just having him [Foran] there this week and how we've trained has given us a real lift. We're hoping that we can get the best out of him, and he brings the best out of every player that we've got out there. We're all excited and we want him to get through Monday and get through the next 17 games.
"Kieran's in really good nick. We gave him an extra week to make sure he's 100 per cent, he will trot out there on Monday 100 per cent fit. He's had such a bad run with injury and it's been well documented. [But] the boys are really pumped about running out there with him on Monday. Jack [Cogger] is obviously disappointed. But when you have a quality player like Kieran coming back into the team, someone has to miss out. [Lewis] plays on the left side and Keiran on the right, so they complement each other. Towards the end of last year, they struck up a bit of combination so we're hoping we can do the same on Monday."
Kieran's [Foran] in really good nick. We gave him an extra week to make sure he's 100 per cent, he will trot out there on Monday 100 per cent fit.
- Bulldogs coach Dean Pay
The Dragons and Bulldogs remain winless in 2020 and both sides come into the game at Bankwest Stadium following poor losses last week. The pressure continues to mount on their coaches.
"All I can control is what we do on Monday and that's all we've been focusing on this week," Pay said.
"We were disappointed with our effort last week. Obviously having 30 points put on us last week is not where we want to be, we want to defend better than that. That's an area we're going to look at to try on Monday and be better at, and get back to the standards we've set for ourselves.
"All we're focused on is just getting the job done on Monday, that's where my focus is and where all the players are as well. We're focused on turning up and putting in a really good performance."
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