Bulldogs skipper Andrew Ryan says he feels some sympathy for the struggling Sydney Roosters players and knows exactly what they're going through in their NRL season from hell.

The Roosters have just three games to try to avoid the ignominy of winning a first wooden spoon since 1966, and Ryan - who found himself in a similar position last year when the Bulldogs finished last - realises how difficult life can be at the bottom.

"Last year was a really tough year for us and although we are lucky enough to play rugby league for a living, it was hard to come into work when you are taking it every week," he told AAP.

"The mindset we were going into games with was just to go out and win, but when your confidence is down you make mistakes and everything seems to go against you and it makes things very difficult.

"But when you are constantly taking it like we did last year, it makes you appreciate the good times even more."

The Bulldogs can draw level on points with ladder leaders St George Illawarra with a win against the Roosters on Monday, but Ryan said winning the minor premiership has not been discussed too much by the players.

He also believes regardless of where the team finishes, it has been a successful season for the club, who have been transformed on and off the field.

"Most of the time you judge a season by its end result but at the start of the season we never made any predictions about where we wanted to finish," he said.

"But for this team just coming together with so many new faces it has been a real success story.

"We are proud of what we have done, but we have got to the stage now where it doesn't mean anything if you are not competitive in the semis."

Ryan, who tasted grand final success in 2004 has also noticed the return of the Bulldogs' ruthless streak and the ability to grind out results, just as they used to in their premiership-winning season.

"The Bulldogs spirit is something that has always been ingrained in the way we trained and around the club," he said.

"I think with Kevin Moore having such a long-standing association with the club he has help foster that and that has shown in the way we won games such as last week against the Cowboys.

"It is obviously helped by confidence as well, which has just grown. When you have five or six young players in one team and results are not good, it can be very difficult and that is what happened last year.

"But those young guys like Ben Roberts and Gary Warburton have in many ways benefited from that experience and been outstanding this season."

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