Attitude up to the individual says Tolman

Attitude is up to the individual. That was the message from Aiden Tolman as he fronted the media this week to discuss the Bulldogs upcoming match away to the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday.

The 244 game NRL veteran spoke of his disappointment over last weekend’s 22-10 Magic Round loss to the Newcastle Knight’s, while defending coach Dean Pay’s squad selections saying, “Dean has to pick a side that he thinks is going to do the job.”

He also added, "if players have the right attitude and are playing good football that first grade spots are up for grabs."

Kieran Foran made his return from an ankle injury against the Knights, bringing a great deal of experience to a side that has lacked the presence of big game players so far this season.

Foran played a key part in Will Hopoate’s 56th minute try, showing great hands and composure to deliver the cut-out ball to Josh Jackson who would hand the ball off to Hopoate for the four-pointer.

Tolman went on to say he expects a tough challenge against the Titans this weekend and commended the performance of their forward pack in the wake of losing captain Ryan James for the rest of the season to a ruptured ACL.

Queensland Origin hopeful Jai Arrow won particular praise from Tolman, with the lock being one of the Titans standout performers in a start to the season that has borne just two wins so far.

Arrow boasts 24 tackle breaks and an 89% tackle efficiency rate in his 9 appearances this season.

Shannon Boyd has also stepped up in the absence of James, but only played 11 minutes in the Titans 26-18 Magic Round loss to the Sharks, suffering a concussion which saw him miss the remainder of the game and could leave him in doubt for this week.

Tolman also took the time to praise his side’s youngsters. Many of whom have either debuted this season, or in the latter stages of 2018, believing that while the club is in what he described as a “rebuilding phase”, it’s been pleasing to see so many quality young players come through and cement themselves into the squad.