Rankine has been named at right-wing, replacing an injured Hayden Leopold, while Sean Fogarty has returned to take up his position at tighthead prop.

And the Bulldogs have a tricky opposition on Saturday, against an improved Lions outfit that will be hurting after the drama surrounding their match against Cowra the previous round.

Lions skipper Josh Tremain was involved in an incident, where he was allegedly punched in the head by a Cowra player and collapsed to the ground, before later being taken to hospital.

He later had scans, which came back clear, but he was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Prior to the match against Cowra, Orange City had enjoyed a 22-all draw with city rivals Emus, the closest Orange derby result in three years.

Considering all that, Bulldogs coach Dean Oxley is expecting to go up against fired-up Orange City outfit, as his side hunts for a seventh consecutive win to start the season.

"They've been building over the past couple of the weeks and Viv Paasi has had a clean out for what he wants to achieve. He's taken some massive steps to rebuild and make Orange City very competitive," he said.

"Basically, we're looking to be playing against the calibre of top teams when we play any team and Orange City have certainly put themselves right in that picture.

Oxley picked one Orange City who's enjoying a solid season this year - Keegan Harding.

"He's a five-eight who's been playing some good football and a person who we'll be watching very carefully. Some of his highlights is his running game and his kicking game, as well as his passing game," he said.

"He's been organising their attack and their point scoring ability has increased this year on the back of what he's been doing."

The last time the two sides met, in round two action on April 13, Bulldogs blitzed their opponents, racing away to a comfortable 62-28 win at Ashwood Park.

Kick-off is at 3.15pm.