Foran did not backtrack when pressed on his bold claims the class of 2019 at Canterbury was up there with the likes of Daly Cherry-Evans, the Stewart brothers, Anthony Watmough, Jamie Lyon and Steve Menzies, who kept the good times rolling over on the northern beaches.

"I've seen what sort of footy side we have here and I know we've got the sort of footy side to challenge the big guns. We just have to build that belief and find a way to get it on.''

"We were bitterly disappointed as players with what we dished up. We owe the club, we owe Dean [Pay], we owe everyone involved, the members, the fans, a performance they're proud of. We owe it to ourselves.

"There's no doubt they were playing on a lot of emotion [because of the Christchurch attacks], they also had an old boys day, all the ex-players were there. But all that stuff shouldn't have mattered. We should have turned up, it was round one, and we didn't.

"I was surprised as anyone watching the game. Everyone was watching it and probably thinking, 'Jesus Christ, what's up with Canterbury this year?' and, 'What have they been doing?'

"I've been around footy long enough, I know what it takes to win, and I believe we have it here in spades,'' Foran said. "People can say what they like about our roster and our playing group, the lack of depth, the lack of this ... we have a footy side here as good as any footy side I've been involved in. We just have to find a way to play our best game and get it on.

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"I wouldn't trade a player we've got for any other player in the comp. That's the honest truth. I have such belief in the playing group here, I know if it clicks we can get it right.''

There will be no better time for the Bulldogs to fire than in the middle of ANZ Stadium against their great rivals. Foran's big-money arrival at Parramatta in 2016 lasted all of nine games, with his relationship breakdown, injuries and stints in rehab making that year ''the hardest of my life''.

"I wish it could have been different,'' he said. "I was angry at a lot of people at that time in my life and what was going on in my world. It wasn't until I took ownership of my life and looked at things I've done wrong and the areas of my life I could fix I was able to understand and be aware of the support and love people had shown me through that time. Brad Arthur was no different. He was there for the toughest time in my life.''