Canterbury may not have been striking fear into their NRL rivals so far this season, but it's the 2009 version of the Bulldogs that has the Sydney Roosters wary.

The Roosters haven't even bothered with footage of Canterbury's first two games of 2010, losses to Newcastle and St George Illawarra, and have instead concentrated on the performances which took the Dogs to within a whisker of the minor premiership last year.

"We haven't looked at their first two games at all, we've looked at a few games from last season because we expect them to be playing more like that," Roosters captain Braith Anasta said ahead of Sunday's ANZ Stadium showdown.

"I think they've just had a slow start to the year and they'll be desperate this week and pretty much we haven't taken into consideration their first two games."

Coach Brian Smith said looking at what the Bulldogs had dished up so far this season would not have helped get his in-form side ready.

"It just doesn't make any sense to under-prepare and they've under-performed a little bit in the last couple of weeks," Smith said.

"It would be foolish of us to suggest that they might turn up like that again when they could well turn up really ready to go, and if they're at their best we'll need to be very good to be able to contest the game well.

"We don't want to give it up because we've had some sort of soft, weak preparation."

Canterbury are still coming to terms with the news star prop Ben Hannant wants out but Anasta, who spent six at times controversial years at the Dogs from 2000-05, knows as well as anyone how the club can bounce back from adversity.

"They're the best at it," he said.

"When times are tough the Dogs are certainly going to hit back and they're one of those consistent teams in the competition that have been for years and they won't want to lose three in a row.

"They're going through a bit of a tough patch and when you start slow I suppose the pressure starts to build and it's not easy.

"I've been to the Bulldogs and I know how it is there and I know how they hit back and when there's a bit of controversy or when they're down in the dumps a little bit they come back fighting and it shouldn't be any different this Sunday."

Smith said he had been an admirer from a distance of the famed Bulldogs culture.

"I think everybody in footy recognises they've been an aggressive and hard-nosed footy club," he said.

"I started in 1973 playing reserve grade for St George and I can remember getting beat up way back then, I'm not sure if I've recovered."

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