Nightingale: Bulldogs are solid

St George winger Jason Nightingale is expecting a tough time when he and his team mates take on Canterbury this weekend.

The Dragons scored a dramatic late win at Newcastle courtesy of a Jamie Soward golden point field goal in round one and Nightingale says the clash with the Bulldogs on Saturday won’t be any easier.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge as I saw a bit of their game last weekend and they were solid,” said Nightingale.

“They have a lot of strengths from last year including a strong forward pack and players who work for one another across the field.”

The Dragons will have the benefit of an extended rest period after kicking off the NRL‘s opening round against the Knights last Thursday.

It also gave the players a chance to study the form of the other teams ahead of round two, according to Nightingale.

“It was good getting our game out of the way so early because it allowed me to sit back and see where everyone was at over the weekend,” he added.

“I don’t usually get the chance so it was exciting for me and I really enjoyed it.

“The competition overall still looks tight but there was a lot of expansive play going around for so early in the season.”

Dragons coach Steve Price has named an unchanged line up for the match, including centre Matt Cooper in the line up despite him suffering from an ankle sprain against the Knights.

Canterbury meanwhile are sweating on the availability of forward Frank Pritchard after his high shot that left Penrith winger David Simmons hospitalised.

He is due to learn his fate at the NRL judiciary today.