HAVING rolled competition heavyweights Kangaroos three weeks ago, the Cootamundra Bulldogs get the opportunity to claim another major scalp when they travel to Wagga’s Equex Centre tomorrow to take on ladder leaders Brothers.

Despite the standing on the top rung, the Brethren have been able to fly under the radar due to the

enormous amount of media coverage afforded to Wagga’s glamour club Roos.

Potentially it’s a four-point pick up for the Bulldogs as following this weekend’s game they receive their first bye of the season the following week.

The Bulldogs are currently seventh on the ladder, however all six teams above them have been gifted their two points from the bye and with several of these sides to meet each other over the next fortnight, four points will be a massive advantage to any team.

One player the club will have to do without for the immediate future is Englishman Michael Murphy who suffered a broken arm in last week’s victory over Temora.

From what seemed an innocuous contact, Murphy left the field immediately and vented his frustration by hurling his mouthguard at the ground.

Having broken his right forearm a number of times, Murphy knows too well what a break feels like, and while he appeared to have good movement and was able to clench his fist repeatedly, deep down he knew the extent of the damage to his left arm.

Murphy went straight to hospital after the incident where his self-diagnosis was confirmed, while he was operated on in Wagga this week and could miss anything up to two months of football

While Murphy’s absence will be a huge blow, as his work rate in defence since being switched to the forwards has been a highlight of his play, the Bulldogs will be strengthened by the return of centre Jono Carl.

Knocked out in a sickening head clash against Junee, Carl has passed the medical tests and will be keen to take his place on the right side of the field where he could be matched against teenage centre Jack Littlejohn.

Carl comes in for Heath Lomax who did nothing wrong last week, while a slight forward reshuffle will see Anthony Grounds pushed up to the front row to allow the versatile Tom Sellars to fill in at lock.

No doubt Brothers will centre plenty of their attack around former NRL star Craig Field, however in Matt Ridley, Sam Geale and Scott Orr, the Brethren have plenty of players who can cause the Bulldogs headaches around the ruck.

First up defence is going to be critical to success as will be the elimination of errors coming out of their defensive zone.