Bulldogs Ready to Bite NPL Rivals
Image supplied by Alan Minifie
Returned Capalaba FC midfielder Rhys Lambert believes the Bulldogs can make serious moves on the National Premier Leagues table starting this weekend.
The Bulldogs return from last weekend’s bye when they host the sixth-placed Moreton Bay United at John Fredericks Park on Saturday evening.
The match will mark the return of the 26-year-old Lambert, who started the season with Gold Coast Knights, to David Booth’s squad after helping the Bulldogs achieve promotion from the Football Queensland Premier League last year.
Also a former NPL Queensland Premiership and Championship winner in 2014 with Palm Beach SC, Lambert said he is looking forward to making an immediate impact on the pitch after getting limited playing time for the Knights this season.
“I was playing mainly off the bench at Knights and I really wanted more game time and that opportunity to make a bigger impact on the field,” Lambert explained.
For Lambert, making an impact comes with high ambition, explaining that the Bulldogs’ current third-from-last position on the table is not reflective of the team’s performances nor potential.
“We have two or three games in hand at the moment on nearly all the teams in the competition and we are looking to win all of those in the coming weeks to get us up the table,” he said.
“We will start with Moreton Bay this weekend and, hopefully, that will set the standard for the rest of the season.”
To that end, Lambert said he doesn’t believe the team’s approach nor unity has been affected by their last start home defeat to Olympic FC.
“Coming off a four-nil loss you might think we’d be battered and bruised but we are not,” he said.
“The confidence is high and we know were right in that game until the send off. There were a lot of great things to take away from that match in terms of our progress.
He added: “We are only five points away from the top four and there is no reason why we can’t be a top four side. We definitely have the talent in the squad to achieve that.”
To that end, Lambert said one priority is to shore up the team’s record at home after shipping seven goals at John Fredericks Park this season in just two matches.
“We need to be rock solid at home and improve our record – make it a bit of a fortress - it should be hard for teams to come to our ground and play the way they want.
“Due to COVID, I think most teams are a little unsettled at the back at the moment due to disrupted squads and it is important that we can get on top of that as soon as possible and make our move,” he concluded.
Lambert’s addition to the Bulldogs squad comes the same week as the departure of utility Ethan Grimley from the club by mutual agreement.
The match on Saturday will be the first ever league encounter between the Bulldogs and Jets. Their only previous meeting was in FFA Cup qualification in 2016 – won by the Jets 3-1.