Bulldogs coach Dean Pay insists there has been no talk from his players about Des Hasler as they prepare to face their former mentor for the first time.
Hasler was sensationally sacked by the Bulldogs just months after being re-signed in 2017 and the messy breakup only ended with an out-of-court settlement.
The saga saw Pay given his first NRL head coaching role and paved the way for Hasler's return to Manly, who host the Bulldogs at Brookvale Oval on Saturday.
Pay said Hasler's name hadn't been mentioned in the build up and emphasised his side's only focus was getting off the bottom of the ladder by securing back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
"It hasn't been spoken about amongst the boys," Pay said.
"We got a bit of confidence out of what we did last week (against North Queensland) and we want to build on that and keep making sure that we keep that progression in our game.
"Manly are a really tough side to play, especially at Brookvale. We're under no illusions what we need to do to get the job done."
The Bulldogs won't rush back five-eighth Kieran Foran (ankle) to face the club where he won a premiership in 2011.
"He wants to play, he'd love to go back and play at Brookvale, he had so much success there, but again we've just got to be sensible about the decision," Pay said.
"He needs to be 100 per cent before I'll play him, so he has to make sure he doesn't have any pain in his ankle and everything is 100 per cent before we put him out there and risk him.
"He's been pulling up really well, been doing a fair bit of running. The next part is to get into that bit of contact and kicking."
Queensland Maroons prop Dylan Napa (ankle) is expected to be a late inclusion for the Bulldogs.
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