Wayne Bennett has outlined why he has given Jake Averillo his club debut in the NRL against St George IIlawarra and made a late change to his bench.
Averillo, recruited from Canterbury, has played in the trials but was overlooked for Tesi Niu in the centres in last week's 43-18 loss to North Queensland.
The 23-year-old will play against St George Illawarra at Kayo Stadium on Sunday.
Bennett has also promoted utility Kurt Donoghoe to the bench in place of veteran Kenny Bromwich, who will revert to 18th man.
Niu was poor against the Cowboys and Averillo, the Bulldogs' leading try scorer in 2023, had a strong game for Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup.
"Tesi didn't grab his opportunity and when there is very little between players we can't sit around waiting for someone to come good," Bennett said.
"It was a very close decision that one. I just thought it was time to give Jake an opportunity now."
Averillo, like Niu, is brilliant in attack but it was Niu's defensive lapses against the Cowboys that cost him his spot.
"We know Jake can attack but we just need him to defend well," Bennett said.
"He is not the most talkative player in the team but that is a bit hard when you've got Jarrod Wallace and Josh Kerr around.
"Jake has fitted in well and has done his training load. He is ready to go and had a pretty fair game for Norths last week."
Donoghoe will be the Mr Fixit on Sunday and provides balance to the bench rotation.
"We just need more flexibility on the interchange bench," Bennett said.
"We would have had four middle forwards there and that's not workable. Kurt can play a number of positions for us and (lock) Max Plath can play a number of positions so it gives us a bit more flexibility."
Bennett said he "wasn't happy" with the way his halves performed against the Cowboys so he recalled 20-year-old Isaiya Katoa and dropped Sean O'Sullivan at No.7.
Katoa, who played 20 NRL games last year in his rookie season, had a strong game for Norths Devils in the Queensland Cup where his running game was a highlight.
"We need him to do that," Bennett said.
"He is a year older so hopefully he is a year smarter."
