Pay praises Bulldogs

New Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coach Dean Pay believes the Bulldogs showed plenty of promising signs in their tough initiation against the Melbourne Storm in Perth on Saturday night.

The Bulldogs showed glimpses of brilliance in the loss to the reigning premiers, enough to leave the coach optimistic about his side’s chances heading into next week’s Friday night clash against the Sydney Roosters.

''I thought we had some good periods there, the period before half time they rolled up the field too easy,'' Pay said in the post-match press conference.

''Where we finished our sets and where we were kicking didn't help us too much, there were definitely some promising signs there that we can play some decent football. We had some opportunities we didn't take as well. There are some things there we need to fix as well.

''I thought there were some good things. Kieran [Foran] was quite good. Moses Mbye was good at the back. He played really well. Raymond Faitala-Marine on the edge was good and got through 80 minutes.''

Foran and his new halves partner Matt Frawley both set up tries in their first outing together, while Mbye justified Pay’s decision to move him to fullback from the halves in 2018.

While it wasn't quite the polished performance the coach was hoping for, he believes it's the state of something promising.

''It's a new combination it's going to take a little bit of time,'' he said.

''They worked really hard together in the off-season. Where we started today is the starting point. We'll only go forward from here.

''That's Moses' first real game at [fullback]. He's only going to get better. He's going to be a promising player there for us. He's only a young guy and he's willing to learn - that's the best part about it.''