The Ash Goninan coached outfit led by two points over Dubbo Kangaroos as the final play of the 2016 grand final unfolded, but unfortunately for Bulldogs, their rivals drove over for a try.

It left the Bulldogs players gutted, but now they have a chance to make amends for that defeat.

With Goninan once more at the helm and a bulk of last year’s squad returning, Bulldogs finished the regular season in second spot, having lost just one of 10 games.

“It was quite a good achievement, we are in the same spot as we were last year. It has been a bit disappointing with the amount of games we have played, so the boys are looking forward to finals time because hopefully it means we get three or four games in a row,” Goninan said.

Bulldogs will begin its final campaign on Saturday at Forbes’ Grinsted Oval with a qualifier against Orange Emus.

It was Emus who Bulldogs beat 11-8 to qualify for last season’s grand final, while this year Bathurst has twice gotten the better of the greens with 23-7 and 18-12 results.

Still, Goninan is expecting a tough encounter on Saturday.

“They’ll always be a tough opponent, we’ve beaten them twice this year, but semi-final time, it’s going to be a completely different game against them and they’re pretty well seasoned, especially in the forward pack,” he said.

“We are expecting a much tougher hit-out this weekend than the last couple of times we have played them.

“It’s usually one of the more physical games we play, there are a lot of players with first grade experience in there.”

According to Goninan, winning the set pieces will be crucial.

“I think in most games of rugby, if the forward pack is going forward and you can win most of the ball, you can then basically let the backs have the glory of scoring all the tries,” he said.

“We will have to be pretty switched on in our line-outs and scrums and also at the breakdown, we can’t afford to give away too many penalties.

“It’s the same game plan we will have that we’ve used all year against them – if you win a majority of the ball in set pieces you go a long way to winning the game.”

The qualifying final between Bulldogs and Orange Emus will kick-off at 12.10pm on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Bathurst Bulldogs’ women’s side is still awaiting confirmation of what lies ahead for them this weekend.

The Tuma Aisake coached outfit finished the regular home and away season with 10 wins – more than any of their rivals – but given they had played at least two more games than any other side, were not awarded the minor premiership.

An adjustment to the ladder dropped Bulldogs to second, meaning they will contest a major semi-final against Mudgee.