Canterbury skipper James Graham has leapt to the defence of Moses Mbye, warning it's wrong to make the young playmaker a scapegoat for their 2016 NRL capitulation.
Before a ball has even been kicked this year, the spotlight is trained on the Bulldogs' mis-firing attack and whether Mbye and halves partner Josh Reynolds can right the ship.
Pilloried in recent years for relying too much on their power game, allowing their forwards to control too much possession and being too predictable, coach Des Hasler and his men have spent the off-season tweaking their game plan.
But Graham says Mbye shouldn't be shouldering the blame for their ills.
"With Moses people sometimes forget that this is only his second year as a starting halfback," Graham said.
"He's still in that first year, in transition to becoming a starting No.7. I actually can't wait to see how he's going to go.
"He's got an excellent head on his shoulders, he's mature beyond his years. That's why people sometimes forget that he is still young. I'm fully behind him and Josh Reynolds steering this team around the park."
Mbye debuted in 2014, playing hooker in their grand final loss to South Sydney in just his ninth first grade match.
He spent 2015 being shuffled between starting and the bench before playing every game in the No.7 jersey last year.
He began 2016 with a bang and was arguably the form playmaker of the competition after amassing three tries, six try assists, four linebreaks and five linebreak assists in his first four games.
However like the rest of the side, Mbye fell off towards the back end of the year as they sank from fourth spot in round 24 to exiting the finals in the first week.
Mbye was last year signed to a four-year contract extension in a show of faith by Bulldogs management, and Graham said it was within the 23-year-old to become a consistent top liner.
"There's no reason why he can't do that for a whole year," Graham said.
"The form of the team might affect that.
"I'm confident that Moses can fulfil his potential and be one of the best players in this competition."
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