And the Bulldogs equation to make the semi-finals is as simple as it gets - keep winning.

Two wins from two games to be exact and if they achieve it they will certainly deserve their place in the end-of-season action.

It starts on Saturday when they host second-placed South Newcastle, who will be chop full of confidence after a gritty 14-12 win against Western Suburbs at Harker Oval last Sunday.

Then to finish the regular season it is an away trip to take on Central Newcastle coached by Bulldogs great Phil Williams.

The Bulldogs won their most recent outing against the Lions beating them 24-18 on July 27 and were narrow 22-20 victors over the Butcher Boys on July 7.

However, Souths and Central are two of the form teams of the competition this month and Bulldogs coach Ron Griffiths said the simple reality was that if Kurri weren't up to the challenge then they didn't deserve to play semi-final football.

"If we win those two games we play semi-final football," Griffiths said.

"We will deserve to be there and the competition starts again. You've got to beat the best to be the best in the semi-finals."

The Bulldogs had the weekend off with a wet-weather catch-up round during which Souths beat Wests and Lakes United stormed home to beat Cessnock 26-22 after trailing by 22.

"It was nice to not be playing during those conditions. They are the worst days for footy, every negative seems to be magnified," Griffiths said of the fierce winds across the Hunter on the weekend.

Griffiths said the only two players still under injury cloud at Kurri were utility Ben Wyborn and centre Zeb Dunstan.

"We're not too bad with injuries and the like. We're playing it by ear with Ben Wyborn and Zeb Dunstan at the moment. Other than that everyone should be right to go.

"We're happy with where we are at, particularly the past two games. We're confident in our ability for the back end of the year.

"Jarred Anderson (suspension) will come back into the squad and Jono Maloney (leg injury) will be given strong consideration.

"Confidence has been good, they understand where we are at as a group and what their strengths are. They know if they play to their strengths and continue to do what works well for us as a team we can certainly give it a real shake.

"They've worked hard over the season and I think that little break will do them the world of good."