The Bulldogs have put themselves in a good position coming into the Round 18 clash with the Wests Tigers on Saturday night following wins from their past three matches.
Wins against the Dragons, Broncos and Roosters have come at a good time for the club with the game as a whole entrenched in the representative season.
It’s a crucial period for any NRL club and with the Origin series just about done, setting up the back end of your season is important as clubs begin to fight for the top eight and top four.
The fourth placed Bulldogs have positioned themselves nicely with a bye up their sleeves, but stringing together 80 minute performances is what’s key according to halfback Moses Mbye.
“We’ve managed to string a few wins together now and we’ve shown some patches of quality football that Des knows we can play,” said Mbye.
“For us it’s about focusing on stringing together 80 minute performances.”
After an indifferent start to the season, the Bulldogs have managed to play some of their best footy of the year over the past month, thanks largely to the dominance of the forward pack and the attention to detail the players have applied to their preparation.
“Our forward pack has been outstanding. They’ve been outstanding all year.
“They’re getting us on to the front foot which is very helpful for myself and Josh, but our mindset going into games is a lot better.
“We’re training hard and we probably weren’t applying it and executing it as good as we should have been early on in the season, but we’ve been able to capitalise on quality field position and score some points.
It’s the first time in 2016 that the Bulldogs have won three games in a row and will be looking to make it four on Saturday.
Their opposition the Wests Tigers will be minus their stars, due to Origin commitments and while the 12th placed Tigers will be weakened, becoming complacent is certainly not an issue withy in the playing group.
“All the sides in this competition are so competitive and if you don’t turn up on the night you will get beat.
“The experienced players with in our group let us know you can’t get ahead of yourself and Des doesn’t have to mention it to us.”
