Dogs under pressure, not Eels: Lamb

Bulldogs great Terry Lamb has done the unthinkable, putting pressure on his own team
to win Friday's NRL preliminary final showdown with Parramatta.
As the smoke and mirrors over team selections continued on Tuesday, Lamb saw through
the mist to declare the Bulldogs are the ones under pressure to convert their season
of dominance into a grand final appearance.
"(Parramatta) have got nothing to lose. All the pressure is on Canterbury I think,"
said Lamb at a 1984 grand final reunion on Tuesday.
"You look at Parramatta, they've come from nowhere.
"The pressure is on us more than anything."
The Eels still have several injury concerns ahead of the ANZ Stadium showdown with
coach Daniel Anderson naming both Daniel Mortimer (hip) and Krisnan Inu (hamstring)
on Tuesday despite lingering concerns.
Mortimer remains a major worry, with club great Ray Price advising the rookie
20-year-old to follow an `old wives tale' remedy of using brown paper and vinegar to
help bring out the bruising in his hip.
"I hope he uses it because it does work and I've used it a fair few times," said Price.
"He won't have too many friends to talk to though because he will stink."
But Lamb believes he has inside information that the young five-eighth will not play
on Friday and Feleti Mateo will start the game at pivot.
"If Mortimer plays we will run at him a fair bit and test him out, but my mail is he
probably won't play," said Lamb, who is also on the coaching staff at the Bulldogs.
"I think it will be a loss (for Parramatta) because he is in good form.
"It will be a different game if Feleti plays. Feleti is a runner while Mortimer is
more of an organiser and willing to score tries.
"I don't know if Feleti can play 80 minutes these days, can he?"
The Bulldogs pulled no surprises with their team named on Tuesday, halfback Brett
Kimmorley as expected picked in the No.7 jersey after missing three weeks with a
fractured cheekbone.
Bulldogs great Steve Mortimer says the playmaker must shut out any lingering
thoughts from his mind about his healing cheekbone.
Mortimer said Kimmorley's cheekbone wouldn't be 100 per cent for his return after
suffering a triple fracture on August 30.
The scheming halfback said that his cheekbone was fine but Mortimer thought the
injury would still play on his mind.
"I never had a depressed fracture below the eye but you do think about it if you are
going to break it again," he said.
"I am sure that is going through his mind.
"But he is a very tough player and a very strong in his will to win and I don't
think he can be moved from that and I think that is a good sign for the Bulldogs."
Mortimer said Kimmorley was pivotal to his former club's chances in the clash for a
grand final berth.
"He will take the ball to the line so for the Bulldogs to have a decent chance we
need a playmaker," he said.
"He has been our conductor and director of attack in 2009."
As of 5pm Tuesday more than 55,000 tickets had been sold for the Friday night clash
at ANZ Stadium.