Cameron Ciraldo believes injuries to key players Josh Addo-Carr and Viliame Kikau will provide Canterbury with the "ultimate test" of their culture.
Winger Addo-Carr faces eight weeks on the sidelines with the syndesmosis injury he picked up against Souths last weekend, while premiership-winner Kikau could be out for up to three months after tearing a pectoral muscle at training this week.
English prop Luke Thompson, utility Nu Brown and up-and-coming forwards Franklin Pele and Chris Patolo are among the other Bulldogs sidelined with injuries.
The Bulldogs have been tipped as a chance to break back into the finals under rookie coach Ciraldo this season and have shown flashes of brilliance in wins over Canberra and North Queensland.
But coming off a hefty loss to the Rabbitohs in round six, the under-manned Bulldogs are in for a litmus test against Parramatta this weekend, and in the games that follow.
"This is the ultimate test of our culture," Ciraldo said.
"It's all well and good to talk about how good it is when things are going well.
"But when you're missing a couple of your big-name players and other guys come in and take that opportunity, that's when you really see what your culture stands for, what it represents.
"We've been really strong on that. There are excuses everywhere if we want them, but we're not going to take them."
Ciraldo looked forward to welcoming Kikau into the coaches' box after the premiership-winning second-rower undergoes surgery on Monday.
"It's an opportunity for Kiks to develop himself off the field," he said.
"Pretty quickly after (surgery) he'll come in and still play that leadership role amongst the team and still give advice where he can.
"But he'll also work closely with the coaches and try and develop himself in that regard.
"It's a real growth opportunity for him and he's quite excited about that, as disappointed as he is not to be playing."
Forward Tevita Pangai Jr will play his first game of the season against the Eels on Sunday after recovering from a persistent calf injury.
Ciraldo has known the Tonga international since he was a 13-year-old.
Pangai joined Penrith mid-season in 2021, while Ciraldo was an assistant, with the now Canterbury mentor looking forward to presiding over the player as a head coach for the first time on Sunday.
"We saw a fair bit of him when he was 13 and always knew he was going to be a special talent," Ciraldo said.
"It's funny how our paths have crossed a couple of times since. I'm really glad that I get to work with him again.
"It's unfortunate that he's missed the first six rounds but I'm confident we're going to see the best of Tevita Pangai Jr this year."
