Canterbury coach Des Hasler has labelled his side's display against Canberra as "diabolical" and says the players were keen to make amends against the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night.
In his first season at Belmore, Hasler has the opportunity to sew up the minor premiership with a victory over the lowly eastern suburbs club.
That milestone could have been locked away last Friday night but the Bulldogs opened the door for Melbourne to pip them for first when they succumbed 34-6 to the rampant Raiders, their 12-match winning streak coming to an end in the process.
Hasler said on Wednesday that his side face finals oblivion if they're forced to defend for long periods after coughing up early possession.
"If you pulled the game apart, we were diabolical with the ball," said Hasler.
"There were probably eight times we turned the ball over on zero tackle."
"They know it wasn't up to scratch and they know it wasn't acceptable."
"But I thought Canberra seized the opportunity and had to play good footy. I think they completed 21 of 24 (sets) in the first half."
The Bulldogs will aim to turn things around against the Roosters, who shocked Wests Tigers 44-20 with their finals hopes on the line.
Hasler is wary of a team without the pressure of looming finals action and who played with panache in fullback Anthony Minichiello's 250th game for the club.
"They'll want to amend (the Canberra performance) this week against another side that are difficult to play against," said Hasler.
"The Roosters - they're big players, outstanding athletes individually, so they'll be having a lot of fun on Saturday night."
Bulldogs second-rower Frank Pritchard said his side don't want to head into the finals on the back of two straight losses after dominating the competition for three months.
He said his fellow forwards need to find a way to combat a Roosters pack that includes his New Zealand teammates Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and Frank-Paul Nuuausala.
"They've got a big forward pack. It's up to us to match them," said Pritchard.
"If we don't come with our A-game, they're just going to squash us like Canberra did."
Pritchard added he's looking forward to welcoming back hooker Michael Ennis, who was rested for the clash with Canberra but is expected back to add energy to the Bulldogs in attack.
- AAP