Trent Barrett spoke of his pride after watching his Canterbury Bulldogs side edge a scrappy 6-4 win over North Queensland on Sunday.
The Bulldogs are priced at 6/4 to finish in the top eight of the NRL this season and got the season off to a great start thanks to the narrow win in Townsville.
Great start
The Bulldogs only picked up three wins in the 2021 NRL campaign but following some high-profile signings expectations are high for the campaign ahead.
And Barrett is delighted to have started with a win as his side had to battle against the odds, losing a number of players to concussion protocols throughout the game.
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"It's always a tough trip to come to Townsville, but to go through what we had, we had five HIAs and ran out of reserves, had blokes playing out of position and used our 18th man," he said.
"To be able to hang on and get a win is great for us, great for the players and I'm extremely proud of them."
Win for the fans
Meanwhile new signing Josh Addo-Carr was delighted to start with a win and says the victory was extra special for the club's long-suffering fans.
"Ever since I've come to the club they've (the fans) gone above and beyond for myself and my family and all the boys in the team," the former Melbourne Storm ace told AAP.
"It was a crazy win, was one of the toughest games I've played in terms of conditions and a special win for ourselves, our members and fans."
