Parramatta star Nathan Hindmarsh yesterday revealed he had feared the possibility of playing the Bulldogs in a finals match all season, and that despite losing three games straight, the Bulldogs were entitled to be confident about their chances of beating the Eels in Saturday's first semi-final at Telstra Stadium.

But the Bulldogs weren't having a bar of that last night, their captain, Andrew Ryan, declaring Hindmarsh was giving the Bulldogs too much credit, and that they couldn't expect to win unless they improved considerably on their recent form.

The psychological war between two of the game's greatest rival clubs began first thing yesterday, when Hindmarsh declared after his team's morning weights and video session that the Bulldogs had it all up front - including the "best forward in the world" in Sonny Bill Williams.

Second-rower Hindmarsh was adamant the Bulldogs were entitled to talk up their chances of winning, saying: "They're a very confident team - and they should be. They've got a great forward pack and [fullback] Luke Patten is in fine form as well. They deserve to be confident, even though they've had a few losses.

"I'm always wary of playing Canterbury. They are the type of team … I've said it since the start of the season, if I'm going to play in the semi-finals, Canterbury is the team I really wouldn't like to be playing. They're very dangerous.

"They've got the forward pack and their back line isn't too bad either. I watched Willie Tonga on Saturday night - he played very well. I think Williams is the best forward in the game - or the world - at the moment, so having him back and fresh from a week off as well, is going to make them extra dangerous."

Asked for his reaction to Hindmarsh's comments, Ryan said the Bulldogs would not be fooled into thinking they didn't need to improve on their recent form - losses in the last two rounds against Melbourne and North Queensland and another loss to the Cowboys in the opening week of the finals - just to compete with Parramatta.

"He's putting us on a pedestal that we don't deserve on our current form," Ryan said. "We've got the potential, but you don't last long at this time of the year unless you realise your potential. That's what finals are all about, and we have to win on Saturday or we're out.

"'Hindy' realises that if we get it right on the day we can be dangerous, but it's up to us to show that we can produce. Against the Cowboys on Saturday we improved on how we played against them the week before, but I watched Parramatta play the Warriors on Friday night and I was impressed.

"North Queensland are a good side but, defensively, Parramatta were excellent, and we're going to have to go up a couple of levels to beat them. We made 13 errors and gave away 14 penalties against the Cowboys. We have to get rid of that stuff for a start."

Hindmarsh's teammates joined in the chorus. Nathan Cayless said of the Bulldogs: "If you look at their forward pack, they've got a lot of Test players, a lot of strength and strike power."

Halfback Tim Smith added: "They can be intimidating, with their forward pack. They're a big bunch of blokes, with some quality players."

The Eels have lost centre Ben Smith with a knee injury for the game, while the Bulldogs get second-rower Williams back from suspension. It isn't often the Bulldogs can field their best forward pack. Injury and suspension usually eat into it to some degree. But they will be able to field their full pack against Parramatta.

Only a few bookmakers had posted prices on the game yesterday, before the teams being named tonight, and they had the Bulldogs as slight favourites.

Meanwhile, the NRL has defended the McIntyre finals system against suggestions that it has passed its use-by date and should be replaced by the format used by the AFL. Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett is among those advocating change, saying on Sunday that "the AFL have got a better system".

But the NRL's chief operating officer, Graham Annesley, said yesterday that the league felt the McIntyre system best suited the competition and that there were no plans to consider a change for next season.