With three Bulldogs players absent due to Origin selection, prop Aiden Tolman acknowledges that senior players will need to step up during their Round 12 clash with the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday night.
David Klemmer, Brett Morris and Josh Jackson will miss this weekend’s match after being named in the Blues side for the opening game of the 2017 Origin series.
Tolman, understands it will be a tough game against the reigning premiers, but knows that the senior players need to stand up.
“It’s up to us as senior players to lead from the front, but we’ve got some guys here that are great leaders by their action and I’m sure that’s what they’ll do during the next five weeks of footy. If we play to our potential we’ll be right,” Tolman said.
The Sharks sit in third position on the NRL ladder and are also missing a host of stars.
It will be the first time the Bulldogs have visited the Shire since 2011 and while claiming the two points will be a focus, playing as a group for the entire 80 minutes will be the priority.
“They’ve been playing good footy and you saw last weekend when they were down 14 nil at the break, they showed real character to come back and win the game. They’re a quality side and we need to make sure that we’re turning up because it’s not going to be an easy job. We need to turn up ready to play because it’s a big game for us,” Tolman added.
The Canterbury- Bankstown Bulldogs will head to the Sutherland Shire for the first time since 2011, to face the Cronulla Sharks at 7:30pm this Saturday.
