A pair of Bulldogs stars are preparing to return to Penrith for the first time while the Panthers look set to welcome back Nathan Cleary for Friday night’s clash.
The halfback sat out last week’s win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs for precautionary reasons, having made his return from a hamstring injury five days earlier.
Cleary had earlier missed three games after picking up the injury in round three.
The Panthers did not miss a beat without their halfback, convincingly defeating Souths, and they are eager to continue a three-week winning streak.
The defending premiers will take on a number of familiar faces at BlueBet Stadium on Friday night as a host of ex-Panthers players return to Penrith.
Bulldogs captain Stephen Crichton and edge forward Viliame Kikau will play their first game against their former club in what is sure to be a hotly contested affair. Matt Burton and Jaeman Salmon will also take on their old club.
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Canterbury have soared into the top eight with a series of impressive performances under the tutelage of former Penrith assistant coach Cameron Ciraldo.
The Bulldogs claimed back-to-back wins for the first time in more than a year with a come-from-behind victory over the Wests Tigers on Saturday.
Forward Jacob Preston is set to play a bigger role on Friday after spending 80 minutes on the bench last weekend in his first week back from a fractured jaw.
The Bulldogs are also hopeful Connor Tracey will be available after he was a late withdrawal from Saturday’s game with a quad injury.
Team News
Panthers: The premiers will take the field 1-17 with no late changes. Skipper Nathan Cleary returns from a hamstring injury but centre Izack Tago is out with suspension.
Paul Alamoti comes into the centre position for his third game of the season. Liam Henry comes back in on the interchange after missing Round 9.
Bulldogs: A late change sees Connor Tracey join the side at fullback after overcoming a quad injury that sidelined him last week.
Blake Taaffe reverts to 18th man. Sam Hughes and Josh Curran have also switched on game day with Hughes joining the starting side as they did in Round 9.
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