Bulldogs have their sights set on an undefeated run through the second round of matches and a struggling Lions outfit are the last side standing in the way of that achievement.

The Bathurst men rallied in the absence of Jaymen Carter during last week’s win over the Dubbo Kangaroos and have now recorded a win against every team in Central West Rugby Union’s top tier.

Carter’s ankle injury has put him out for the season but the Bulldogs welcome back Peter Fitzsimmons from Country Cockatoos duty this round.

Bathurst Bulldogs coach Dean Oxley said the win over ’Roos bodes well for the trip to Orange.

“We made some really significant gains on Saturday. One of those was that we handled the adversity of losing Jaymen Carter,” he said. 

“We’re trying to get our players to problem solve and adapt, and they’ve done that.

“The fact they played for 80 minutes is something we’ve tried to work on as well. The downside is that when we have had significant wins and positive outcomes we’ve tended to relax.

“We set some goals week by week, and this time it’s to go through round two undefeated and to also win just our second game away from home.

“After being Dubbo, the only side that we hadn’t beaten in this competition, there’s a belief that we can beat any side and there’s a greater belief that we can win the competition.”

Bulldogs thumped the Lions 61-5 during the opening round clash at Ashwood Park.

Even with their shaky away record Bulldogs will like their chances of going back-to-back against a City team who have struggled to click in attack through the season.

Oxley said a similar approach to the win over Dubbo is needed for the journey to Pride Park.

“They’re a very big and physical team. It’s more of what we faced against Dubbo. We’ve just got to stick to our structures and be able to adapt to what they throw at us,” he said.

“They’ve got a lot of pride in their club and their not just going to roll over, just like any other side in this comp. It’s about matching their physicality while maintaining focus on our play, which has been quite positive in recent weeks.”

Bulldogs hold a 10 point advantage over third-placed Cowra Eagles while Bathurst sit just three points away from leaders Orange Emus. 

Bulldogs will not want to look too far ahead but with just six games left the blue and gold surely have a minor premiership in their sights.

Bonus points will become crucial in the run home.

Outside of the direct swap of Carter and Fitzsimmons Bulldogs are expected to field an identical squad to the one which took down the Kangaroos last Saturday.

This Saturday’s match at Pride Park gets underway from 3.15pm.