After a stuttering start to the NRL season and drama swirling around Belmore, Canterbury coach Des Hasler goes into Sunday's clash against Wests Tigers with tough questions being asked about him and his charges.
Hasler did his best to deflect the pressure and duck the negative headlines when he walked on out his pre-game press conference after just over three minutes on Saturday morning.
While the Bulldogs are in sixth place going the Tigers clash at ANZ Stadium, the club is being forced to front up to questions about their underperformance in the first nine weeks.
Hasler was privately angered a fortnight ago by comments made by Bulldogs great Terry Lamb when he questioned whether the two-time premiership-winning coach understood the Bulldogs' unique culture.
While Hasler has led the side to two grand finals over the past four years, it has been reported the club board has asked that his contract extension negotiations be put on hold until the side shows signs of improvement.
Since round two, the Dogs have failed to string together back-to-back victories and lost several games which they were favoured to win.
In addition, former representative back-rower Tony Williams is fighting for his future, having been dropped to reserve grade.
But Hasler ignored all that on Saturday, instead seeking to deflect attention from his side by praising the Tigers, who have won one from their last seven, describing them as a dark horse of the competition.
"I think they've gone a little bit under the radar to tell you the truth," Hasler said.
"They've played some really exciting football. The only player they're missing is James Tedesco at the back but they boast a really strong forward pack.
"They're a great running side and they can score points."
Skipper Aaron Woods is one of a host of stars returning for the Tigers, alongside five-eighth Mitchell Moses and prop Tim Grant.
Mid-season buy Elijah Taylor has been named on a five-man bench, with coach Jason Taylor yet to decide if he will have his first game in his new colours.
"It's really good, Elijah Taylor being added to the squad adds real depth and competition for positions that we haven't had at the club for a while," Taylor said.
"(Woods) brings go-forward and for long minutes. We're really happy to have him back, he's been champing at the bit. He's got back sooner than expected and that's due to the effort he's put in on the sidelines."
STATS THAT MATTER
* The Tigers have a poor record against the Bulldogs, winning just 11 of 29 games overall, including just two of their past nine encounters.
* The Tigers defence has been lacklustre this season. They concede the second most points in the NRL with 26.6 points per game, the second most tries with 4.7 per game and concede the most run metres at 1545 metres per game.
* The Bulldogs have the second best completion rate of any team, completing 79.8 per cent of their sets.
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