Lolesi: No. 1 is cursed 

Don't be surprised if the Bulldogs ditch their No.1 jersey.

Regular centre Jamaal Lolesi admitted it was cursed after receiving the nod as the Bulldogs' fourth fullback in as many weeks following a knee injury to Hazem El Masri.

Pointscoring machine El Masri was today ruled out for "six to eight weeks" with a knee medial ligament tear suffered in last Friday night's win over Brisbane.

"The coach has said to me: "I don't want you wearing the No.1, it's cursed," Lolesi laughed.

"I'll wear the No.2 - it went well for me last week." Lolesi is the fourth to fill the custodian role after Luke Patten, Trent Cutler (both ankle) and now El Masri went down in consecutive weeks.

Bulldogs club doctor Hugh Hazard confirmed El Masri would not require surgery but would miss the rest of the NRL regular season.

In a worse-case scenario, El Masri won't be available until the NRL preliminary final - if the defending premiers make it that far.

Hazard said El Masri would be fitted with a brace and required intensive rehabilitation.

"If we make the finals and the grand final he's got every chance of playing again but we've got to get that far," he said.

"We've got to keep winning, unless we run out of troops."

Hazard said Patten would not return for another "three to four weeks" and Cutler for "four to five weeks".

Bulldogs star Sonny Bill Williams (knee) won't be back for another three weeks while Queensland Origin rep Willie Tonga (knee) has been slated for a return in "four to five weeks".

"There are no surprise comebacks, not at this stage. I wish there was," Hazard said.

El Masri, who has averaged 10 points a game this season, had not missed a match since 1999, playing 174 consecutive games for the Bulldogs.

He was just 20 games short of Jason Taylor's league record of 194 consecutive matches.

Lolesi will move into fullback while Cameron Phelps is expected to move into the centres.

Lolesi had also been tipped to fill in as goalkicker but was leapfrogged by halves Braith Anasta and Brent Sherwin after his efforts at training this morning.

Lolesi sprayed his first six attempts at goal before dropping out in an unofficial contest with Anasta and Sherwin who "tied" for top honours.

Bulldogs prop Mark O'Meley said El Masri's loss was "another challenge" for the defending premier as they lift for a finals tilt.

The Bulldogs are ninth with a 9-8 record but are only one point outside the top eight with six regular season rounds left.

"It's another challenge that we've got to overcome, we've had plenty all year," he said of the club's horror injury run.

"But I think we've got a bit of depth back in the last month and in the next month we get more back - if anything it will only make it harder for blokes to hold spots."

The Bulldogs have won three straight to again start a premiership buzz.

But O'Meley was having none of that talk as they lined up for what he believed were the "hardest" games of their season in the next fortnight - second-last South Sydney and cellar dwellers Newcastle.

Despite their rivals' ladder placing, O'Meley believed it would be no picnic taking on Souths and Newcastle as they try to stave off the wooden spoon.

"(Coach Steve Folkes) Folkesy keeps us pretty level-headed and makes sure we don't get too carried away - we are still not in the eight," he said.

"We've got to take baby steps, as Folkesy says, towards the finals.

"We've got two of our hardest games in the next two weeks - Souths and Newcastle.

"They were struggling at the start of the year but they are hitting their straps now - it just doesn't seem to be getting any easier for us."

The Bulldogs begin their finals push against Souths at Aussie Stadium on Sunday - Sherwin's 150th first grade game.