Head Coach Des Hasler spoke with the media on Friday morning ahead of this week's game against the Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium.
The Bulldogs will face a Tigers side minus James Tedesco, Aaron Woods and Robbie Farah, but that didn’t stop the two time premiership winning Coach from praising the confidence of the Tigers halves and the type of footy Jason Taylor has his young side playing.
“Their footy has got some of that unpredictability about it and they’re scoring lots of points,” Hasler said.
“The biggest mistake you can make against the Tigers, is when you underestimate them.
“They’ll still have players who are capable of getting the job done and I think they have been playing well as a team.
“We certainly won’t be underestimating them.”
On the back of three straight wins, the Bulldogs have snuck into fourth position on the ladder, but despite the impressive mid-season surge, Hasler isn’t reading too much into what he can’t control.
“We think we can play a bit better, Hasler added.
“It’s still early to predict what’s going to happen off the back of the third Origin, but all you want to do is build momentum and I think that’s pretty important.
“Even though you play well, you always know there is something you can improve on.”
The Bulldogs welcome back Greg Eastwood into the side this week after spending the past five weeks sidelined with a knee injury.
His return will be a welcome addition with the loss of Josh Jackson and David Klemmer to Origin duties.
“It’s good to have Greg back. He brings lot to the team and I know he is very keen to get back and play.
“With the loss of David Klemmer and Josh Jackson, he’s a welcome addition.”
Hasler also spoke about the impact Brett Morris has had on the side since his return from an extended period on the sideline with a knee injury.
“Brett’s one of the best finishers in the world and he’s gradually building and getting better.
“I can’t wait to see when he gets better when he has already scored five tries in his comeback.
“He brings a lot of confidence to the side and the boys as well.”
Tony Williams has been outstanding over the post month for the Bulldogs and his performances were supported by Hasler on Friday.
“His last month of footy has been really good.
“There’s a lot of purpose about it and it really fits the way the games have been panning out.”
THE business end of the season is fast approaching as the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs host the Wests Tigers at ANZ Stadium.
There'll be no shortage of attacking talent on display as the two Sydney clubs duke it out in a classic Saturday night fixture.
Gather the kids and get out to what's sure to be a cracking game.
