Bulldogs coach Dean Pay says he has a plan of where he wants to play Dallin Watene-Zelezniak but he's not willing to share at this point in time.
After the disappointment of a 36-12 loss to the Dragons on Monday at ANZ Stadium, after losing by just two the week before to Canberra, you would think Pay would be wanting to boast about where he will play the Kiwis captain.
But his new signing understands he must show where his best position is, according to Pay, even though the former Penrith back has made it clear for some time that he prefers the No.1 jersey.
"I spoke to him about that. He was happy to come to the club knowing that we've got Nick Meaney here [at fullback]. He understood that," Pay said.
"When he starts here it will be the best man for the job and that's how we'll determine where he plays.
Match Highlights: Bulldogs v Dragons
"We'll make that decision during the week. I've got something in my head but it could change during the week."
In his 10 games with Penrith in 2019, before being released last week, Watene-Zelzniak played six on the wing, two at centre and two at fullback.
"Talking to him he's really excited to get back out there. He's going to bring a lot of energy to us," Pay said. "I think he'll improve us and we can't wait for him to get out there."
Pay's more immediate concern is stopping the errors. It's not that they were off the charts on Monday – 10 to the Dragons' 9 – it is the timing.
Most often they came inside the Dragons 20-metre mark, or on the third or fourth tackle as the Bulldogs were making metres and gaining momentum in a set.
"If we can cut some of those errors out, or reduce them, it's going to help," Pay said.
"A lot of it is just a concentration thing. Obviously fatigue sets in. But a lot of it is concentrating from being involved in footy games where the heat is on and you can handle that, and you can get through that.
"And when you need to take a tough carry, you take it and just cop whatever you've got to cop.
"At the moment I just think with our errors and what we're doing, we're at a stage where we need to concentrate really hard and get some consistency in how we're playing our footy."
The loss was the Bulldogs third in a row and 10th for season. And there is still 12 rounds left.
"It is hard [to keep spirits up]. We go to training, the boys put in, their energy is good, we talk about it every week in making sure our performances get better each week," Pay said.
"Obviously tonight is not what we were looking for. But we turned up confident we could do well. So we have to keep working as hard as we can to keep increasing that, reducing our errors, and reducing the negative side of our game."
It didn't help the Bulldogs' flow to lose halfback Jack Cogger in the 24th minute to a head knock. He didn't return from his HIA.