Mbye to overcome knee injury for Bulldogs

Mar 7, 2017 - 10:05 PM Canterbury are confident halfback Moses Mbye will overcome a knee problem in time to take on the Sydney Roosters on Thursday night.

Mbye suffered the injury late in the Bulldogs' season-opening 12-6 NRL loss to Melbourne last Friday, when he collided with a falling Suliasi Vunivalu in the wet.

Canterbury trainers initially called for a stretcher but Mbye stayed on and finished the final five minutes of the match.

Concerns over his fitness were raised when he missed training on Monday and the Bulldogs have named reserve playmaker Matt Frawley on their extended bench.

But coach Des Hasler on Wednesday said he expected Mbye to play.

"With the quick turnaround to Thursday he will just spend a lot of time in the hyperbaric," Hasler said.

"But we're pretty sure he will be okay."

Mbye and halves partner Josh Reynolds again had their critics last week when they failed to seal a win despite the Bulldogs dominating possession for most of the game.

Hasler said heavy rain had played its part but with Sydney's big wet continuing, he expected his side to handle it better on Thursday night.

"Allianz is prone to a fairly slippery surface," Hasler said.

"We didn't take our chances, particularly against a side like Melbourne who are very experienced at closing a game down.

"That's something we need to be aware of."

Reynolds was particularly self-critical despite being the Bulldogs' only try-scorer - something Hasler hopes will fire him up this weekend.

"Josh plays a definite game of passion and heartfelt," Hasler said.

"He was probably a bit disappointed he came up with some errors at a crucial time.

"I'm sure he'll be up to make amends this week."

The Bulldogs' failure to make the most of their scoring opportunities has added further pressure to their often-criticised attack.

They posted more than 20 points just once in their final eight games last year and managed just the one try on Friday evening despite holding 54 per cent of the ball and being tackled in Melbourne's 20-metre zone 29 times.

But Hasler maintains there are no issues.

"Sometimes I think you've got to put things in context," he said.

"It was difficult to play an open brand of footy last week, but we're comfortable with where we are."

Source: AAP