Bulldogs strung together two straight wins for the first time in season 2014 when they beat the Mudgee Wombats 40-15 last Saturday and they will be hoping they can extend that run in front of a home crowd tomorrow.

The Gorillas have had a similar run thus far as, like the Bulldogs, the six completed rounds have brought with it three wins and three losses.

It is the Gorillas’ better for and against record which has them currently sitting ahead of the Bulldogs on the ladder – their defence the third best in the competition behind ladder leading Dubbo and Orange Emus.

With currently fourth placed Cowra the third team alongside Narromine and Bathurst having earned 16 competition points, Saturday’s round will bring with it movement on the top half ladder.

Cowra are tipped to beat a struggling Parkes side and look likely to remain in fourth, but given the Boars will hold the home ground advantage, the result is not a given.

While the Bulldogs will have no say in that result, what they are able to produce on Saturday will determine whether or not they leapfrog the Gorillas.

In order to do that, Bulldogs co-coach Scott Johnston said his players must improve on their Mudgee performance. But with the mood in the squad improving, he is confident they can do so.

“A couple of wins in a row gets the heads up and makes the training seem worthwhile. There’s a big difference to everyone’s mentality at training after that,” he said.

“I don’t think we played that well against Mudgee, in fact I think that’s one of the worst games we’ve had this season. That’s something we can put down to them being a mystery team as we hadn’t played them before.”

Narromine are coming off a 22-11 defeat at the hands of defending champions Orange City, but Johnston is expecting something exciting from their opponents.

“They’ll be very physical and very tough. They’ve got a good forward pack, but their backs are also pretty solid. There’s no real weakness in their side,” he said.

“We’ve got the set pieces to match them. Narromine and Bulldogs, for the last five years or so, have always been very close on the scoreboard. It’s become a pretty good rivalry between the two sides.

“It’s a bit of a crucial win to keep that momentum going forward. We have a few tough games coming up after this, so every point we can get is critical.”

Only one change has been made to the Bulldogs line-up which beat Mudgee last Saturday as Joe Crawford lines up on the wing in place of Adam Miles.

The match is set to kick off at 3.20pm on Saturday.

BATHURST BULLDOGS: 1 Andrew Donaldson, 2 Mark Donnelley, 3 Sean Fogarty, 4 Izaak Breen, 5 Lachlan Bull, 6 Ollie Crowe, 7 Adam Dwyer, 8 Alistair Fryer, 9 Tom Hollis, 10 Steve Locke, 11 Brodie Scott, 12 Alex Weal, 13 Josh Lee, 14 Joe Crawford, 15 Jack Roberson.