Canterbury hooker Jeremy Marshall-King set himself a goal at the start of this season and was met with scorn.
"I wanted to be in the top five hookers in this competition," he told AAP.
"A lot of people laughed at me and were saying that I wouldn't get there but you have got to set the goals high and I reckon I'm pretty close to it."
Canterbury are on the up under interim coach Mick Potter having won three of their last five games, with Marshall-King key to their success.
He has three try assists in consecutive games and will be looking to add more when the Bulldogs travel to face Newcastle on Sunday.
The hooker has been part of an attack that has gone from the worst in the game under Trent Barrett to the seventh best under Potter, with Bulldogs captain Josh Jackson declaring Marshall-King was in the form of his life.
"That's a fair call," said the 26-year-old.
"I think I've had a lot more in me and I've been going a step higher over the last six weeks.
"I think it's a confidence thing and backing myself a lot more.
"Everyone sees Mick Potter but our attack coach Craig Sandercock doesn't get enough credit for what he does."
Marshall-King has been an ever present at the Bulldogs over a lean couple of years and with the arrival of Parramatta's Reed Mahoney at Belmore next year, he has opted to link up with the Dolphins in 2023.
The lure of playing under Wayne Bennett proved too much to resist and Marshall-King will hope to move to Queensland as a 100-game NRL player.
Currently on 94 games with six fixtures remaining in the season, the New Zealander would also like to extend his playing time in 2022 beyond the Dogs' final game of the year.
"It's definitely one of my goals as well to make the Kiwis squad for the World Cup this year," he added.
"The only way I can do that is if I keep playing well for the Bulldogs.
"I've played Nines under Madge (New Zealand coach Michael Maguire). He's not (been in contact yet) but I know I have to keep playing good footy."
