Bulldogs can go all the way: Cross
Daniel Cross in action against the Kangaroos last weekend
DANIEL Cross believes the Bulldogs have entered this season with renewed confidence as a result of their preliminary final appearance last year.
Cross, 26, said the Dogs' semi-final win over the Sydney Swans and narrow loss to Geelong the week after suggested his side was capable of going one step further this year.
"It shows we've certainly got the cattle to get there. You have to play exceptionally well during the year to make the finals and then to make the top four. The finals are just another story," he said on Wednesday.
"We know we can win finals now. The Swans have been a great finals side for the past four or five years and they've won a flag.
"To beat them last year was great."
The Dogs are currently light on for injuries and have several players performing in the lower leagues.
Cross said the depth of the list – including the increasing number of Bulldogs capable of playing through the midfield – had made the side stronger this year.
"It's really hard for the coaches at the moment to pick the 22, which is a great thing for us," he said.
"They've had trouble in the past finding the best 22 but now there are guys who are playing exceptionally well down at Williamstown and can't fit into our side.
"A lot of our forwards can go through the midfield, which is good for Rocket and [midfield coach] Leon Cameron.
"It allows all of us to play different roles throughout the day. You're not locked into one role for the day and you can be flexible with what you can do.
"Having more guys through the midfield is great."
Cross said the recent inclusion of 22-year-old Liam Picken, who provided a terrific tag on Kangaroos' captain Brent Harvey last weekend, had helped "free up" players like Matthew Boyd and himself.
"He's a really good story. He's like Boydy and Dale [Morris], coming off the rookie list and slotting straight in," he said.
"If he keeps playing the way he did against an exceptional player like Harvey, I wouldn't see why he couldn't play for the rest of the year.
"It's great for us. It frees up guys like Boydy to run off a bit more while he does the lock-down job.
"He's got all the attributes for a good tagger; he's hard at it and loves a contest, so it's good to have a guy like that in the side."
Cross said he was "feeling really good" within his body after his pre-season hit a slight hurdle late last year when he suffered the onset of bulging discs in his spine.
"I've got on top of the back and I'm doing extra work outside the club to make sure my back stays strong and I don't have a reoccurrence of what happened."