Pay counting on support from top Dogs as losses mount

Off-contract Bulldogs coach Dean Pay said it would be "useful for everyone" if the club's board came out and backed him as the future coach of the club.

Pay's response was in answer to a question about whether that support in the next week would be better for himself and the playing group in the wake of the 26-8 loss to the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, a defeat which has the club situated in last position on the NRL ladder with just two competition points after nine rounds.

Pay conceded it was "up to them" when quizzed on whether the Canterbury board should be prompt in making its call on the head coaching position.

The club legend wants to coach the side long-term after in 2018 taking over a squad mired in salary cap woes, which the board conceded at the time of his appointment would be a long-term fix.

Pay said the foundation was there for Canterbury to succeed when asked why he was the man to lead the club in the future.

"The last couple of years have been difficult with what we have been through,” he said.

"We lost two players [Jayden Okunbor and Corey Harawira-Naera] at the start of the year. We have Adam Elliott out, Joe Stimson out and Will Hopoate out with injuries.

“We can go out into the market and look to bolster our recruitment. There’s some kids in there that I have now who have got some games under their belt who are going to be better players moving forward.

"We have got some real positive signs coming soon. It is very hard for everyone at the moment but we will move forward and will get better."

Last year the side rallied to win seven of their last 10 games to all but reach the finals. Pay was honest when asked whether he wanted a chance to finish what he had started as coach.

"If we are going to put some games together we need better performances than what we came up with tonight. That is what that comes down to," he said.

The Bulldogs unleashed former St Helens forward Luke Thompson for his club debut against the Broncos and Pay said the Englishman was a "shining light" at lock. Thompson was put on report for a shoulder charge on Tevita Pangai Jnr but Pay said it "didn't do a lot of damage".

Centre Reimis Smith is on report for a cannonball tackle on Broncos captain Alex Glenn which left the back-rower with a suspected MCL injury.

Pay said he would have another look at it but said it "looked like he hit him in the arse".

"The force was hard but I still think he hit him a bit higher," he said.

Five-eighth Kieran Foran created the only two Bulldogs tries with slick balls but teams are working out that if you shut Foran down then you shut down the Bulldogs.

"He is trying hard Foz and doing a really good job for us," Pay said.

“We have a young half, a young hooker and Dallin [Watene-Zelezniak] at the back so we need some help. They all need to be a little bit better and create a bit more with what we’ve got to get a bit more variety in our attack."

The Bulldogs made far too many errors in the game to mount any pressure on Brisbane but showed their customary resilience.

"We are all disappointed but we’ve got to pick ourselves up early in the week and keep whacking away and make sure we turn up and put in a better performance than what we did tonight," Pay said.

"If we do that and cut our errors out then we will give ourselves the opportunity to win a game."