St George Illawarra played with precision and intelligence in their opening round win over Parramatta last Friday night but they will need to reach a new level to beat Canterbury this week.

The loss of creative dummy-half Nathan Fien with a broken leg is a huge blow to the Dragons, despite the experience of his replacement, 295-game veteran Luke Priddis.

The journeyman hooker is a two-time premiership winner and a Test and State of Origin representative but at 32 he has lost a lot of the zip that he possessed in his youth.

Speed at the play-the-ball is a crucial commodity in today’s game and even though the Bulldogs are missing their regular hooker Michael Ennis due to a one-game suspension, his replacement, Blake Green, is not lacking for pace off the mark.

This should be a tough and spirited clash with the Bulldogs determined to avenge a loss last season that was as controversial as any game played in 2009. Canterbury have a superb record in Wollongong, having won their last eight games at WIN Stadium stretching all the way back to 1992.

Take a Dragons try ($2 at Luxbet) or penalty goal ($9) as First Scoring Play and consider a Dragons/Bulldogs ($8) or Bulldogs/Dragons ($6.50) outcome in the Half/Full Double.

First Tryscoring chances include Brett Morris, Jason Nightingale or Beau Scott for the Dragons or Josh Morris, Steve Turner or Jamal Idris for the Bulldogs.