After a dominant display in round one over the Sea Eagles, the Bulldogs clawed their way to a two point victory over the Panthers last weekend.
It was ugly and scrappy at times but the commitment and the ability to hang in there for one another stood tall.
The Bulldogs over the summer not only focused on getting fitter, but nailing the finer detail in defence was a priority.
This was evident against the Storm in the final trial when the visitors failed to score a point that mentality has been taken into the opening rounds with the Sea Eagles only scoring six points and the Panthers being kept to two points in the second 40.
“We’ve worked really hard on our defence in the off-season,” said Morris. “Three tries in two games is a good indication of where we’re at.
“We’re really happy with our defence and we’ll look to take that into this week.”
While it was a scrappy affair in round two, the win will be remembered for the conversion from debutant Kerrod Holland.
Holland was rewarded with his first NRL jersey after Chase Stanley suffered a hamstring injury and his moment in his first game came after the full-time siren.
While Morris is 198 games into his NRL career, moments like these are what rugby league’s about.
“Standing behind the kick, it never looked like missing. That was a great indication of the type of bloke he is.
“He has worked hard in the pre-season and he got his reward.”
Another Bulldog making his presence felt, is Will Hopoate. The former Eel will line-up for the first time against his old side this week and after joining the Bulldogs looking to fill the vacant right side centre spot, Hopoate has had to make the transition to the fullback position – a move that’s impressed Morris.
“He’s been in the top three performers in each game
“Hop’s (Hopoate) doing some great things for us and he’ll only get better as he goes on throughout the year.”
The Bulldogs will be looking to bring that winning form and defence back to ANZ Stadium on Friday night for a battle with arch rivals the Parramatta Eels brewing with confidence.
“They will be high on confidence after a win over the Cowboys. They are typically hard clashes against the Eels with a lot of rivalry there.
“I think all the boys are finally looking forward to playing at home and getting a big crowd out there.”
