Questions are mounting over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' premiership credentials, with NRL veterans Chad Townsend and Ryan Hoffman pointing to mentality and attitude as key concerns behind the club's inconsistent start to the 2026 season.

Speaking on Zero Tackle's ‘The Boardroom' podcast, the pair dissected a Bulldogs side that has struggled to deliver consistent performances week to week.

“The Bulldogs are concerning for me because with their roster, they should be doing a hell of a lot better than what they are,” Hoffman shared on ‘The Boardroom'.

Currently sitting 10th on the ladder with four losses from their opening seven games, the Bulldogs' season has been defined by fluctuation.

A statement victory over the Penrith Panthers — handing the premiers their first loss of the year — was quickly followed by a disappointing 18-point defeat to an injury-hit Parramatta Eels side.

Townsend believes that inconsistency is where the real issue lies.

“For me, I think the Bulldogs have underperformed so far this season, and I am not sure what it is,” Townsend said.

“But just the inconsistency over the past two weeks and the inability to get up and get the job done against the Parramatta Eels, a team that we know has been decimated by injury and long-term injuries.

“Then again, on the Broncos this past weekend, against another team, you know, without some of their big-name players. No Payne Haas, no Reece Walsh, no Pat Carrigan, but no worries for the Brisbane Broncos. It was a great defensive performance by them.

“But it does beg the question around the Bulldogs. Are they contenders or are they pretenders?

“Because if you're a top four team, you will probably get the job done against those two sides this past week and will definitely for me against the Parramatta team the previous week.”

While much of the external scrutiny has focused on combinations in the halves and attacking structure, Townsend and Hoffman instead highlighted fundamental errors culminating in a poor mindset.

“What hasn't helped them over the past two weeks has been their errors. They've disrespected the ball. They've coughed up the ball. They've given teams more chances to attack and ultimately, you know, haven't been good enough to defend them,” Townsend said.

“They had a great win against Penrith, so they got themselves right up for that game and then to not get yourself up for Parramatta. Yeah, that shows a bit of a soft mentality from the team,” Hoffman added.

Townsend echoed that sentiment, questioning whether complacency had crept in.

“If you've come off the best win of the season against Penrith, where you've knocked them off, you've given them their first loss of the year, you've played really well, did that intensity the next week just drop off because now it's like, did we just fall in love with ourselves? Did we not keep that same mentality, that same level of focus throughout the week? We just thought it's going to, oh, we beat Penrith, you know, the top of the ladder, we're going to roll in and beat Parramatta, you know, easily,” Townsend said.

“I don't know what happened, but it's almost like, you know, you just sort of relax the shoulders a little bit when you go into Parramatta and then, you know, you compound it again thinking, oh, we should beat the Broncos, and it doesn't happen.

“It doesn't happen because ultimately in our game, you get what you deserve in our game. You get what you deserve, and the dogs have got what they've deserved with their performances over the past two weeks.”

Hoffman believes the contrast between the good and elite sides is clear.

“And that's the difference between the good teams and great teams,” he said.

“That's what Penrith do, it doesn't matter what team they're playing on on the ladder, they put in a good performance. They might not win the game, but they don't compound that performance.”

The Bulldogs now face another test of their credentials in Round 9, opening against the North Queensland Cowboys — a side enduring a similarly inconsistent start but coming off a confidence-boosting win over the Sharks.

With the State of Origin period looming for both Bulldogs and Cowboys, both teams will be looking at this window to stabilise their season — and for Canterbury, the question remains whether they have the mindset to match their talent.