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The Sea Eagles handed the Dolphins a 52-18 thumping in Brisbane back in round 4.

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Dolphins coach Kristian Woolf has called on the NRL to protect Herbie Farnworth after a string of hip-drop style tackles on his star centre in recent weeks raised fears it is only a matter of time before he suffers a serious injury.

Farnworth has been hit low and from behind on at least five occasions, prompting Woolf to ask referees to monitor the situation as a matter of urgency.

“Because Herbie is so big and powerful and he can break the line, it often leaves players swinging off the back of him and trying to bring him to ground,” Woolf said.

“It’s a concern because it’s a dangerous tackle that happens on a regular basis. All the players are aware of the hip-drop tackle. We look for it more, and we talk about them more.

“Herbie is one of the elite players in our competition, and it’s only a matter of time before one of those tackles ends badly and he suffers a serious injury.”

Hello and welcome to our coverage of a Friday night double-header, with two teams in the bottom half of the top eight battling against two teams fighting to earn a spot in the finals.

First up, the fifth-placed Dolphins visit the 10th-placed Sea Eagles at Manly’s 4 Pines Park. The Sea Eagles are two wins outside the eight after five straight losses and the Dolphins are two wins clear of eighth, with four rounds left to play. Can Manly turn their form around with a big scalp here?

Then the ninth-placed Bulldogs take on seventh-placed South Sydney in a game that could have a huge say on the finals places. Canterbury are looking to bounce back from last week’s tough two-point loss to the Roosters while the Rabbitohs are out to take back-to-back wins for the first time since June.

Kick-off for game one is 6pm, game two begins at 8pm.