The Newcastle No.1 was O'Brien's biggest concern, with the 26-year-old likely to spend time on the sidelines with a foot injury.
“Nothing to do with the hip pointer [injury from last week]it's in the foot,” O'Brien said. “A ligament in the foot, as far as I know, is pretty rare, so they're not big signs for us. I couldn't tell you exactly what it is, but it's a ligament that down underfoot.
“Apparently this muscle is pretty rare, I only had about 30 seconds just to give you some kind of information, but similar to a Lisfranc. [foot joint] … related to this, but not exactly. That's about all I know.”
Ponga will be sent for a scan on Monday, but with him out, Newcastle face a tough task to turn around their 2-5 season. If they want to find the same success that catapulted them to last year's final, O'Brien said they need to rediscover their love for the game.
“We are playing like a frustrated football team. You look at some of the teams (and the Bulldogs are a good example, the Dragons are a good example) of not having great seasons last year, and they like football at the moment and they like to be in a routine and go. after things,” O’Brien said.
“We're not enjoying it at the moment… We need to find our love for the game again.”
Sunday's result marked a huge turnaround for Canterbury. Last season they were booed by their own fans at half-time and were beaten twice by Newcastle, by a combined score of 108-6. On Sunday they cheered like champions.
The Bulldogs celebrate after Bronson Xerri scores.Credit: Getty
After a chaotic win over the Roosters and a two-point loss to the Storm last week, Ciraldo's side are starting to find their stride.
“I love how this group, any kind of adversity, they just embrace it and walk towards it and I'm so proud of them,” Ciraldo said.
The Bulldogs lost junior forward Chris Patolo to a knee injury in the opening minutes of the game and have suffered a string of injuries to start the season. Ciraldo said they were ready for the bye next week.
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“I felt we improved every week. I feel three [wins] from seven, I'd probably like to have one or two more wins ahead of that, but I felt like we've been in every game, we've given ourselves a chance to win,” he said.
“We didn't freeze some moments at the end of games, but very proud of the effort they put in every game to give themselves a chance to win those games.”
