Despite being unable to pick up a win the past five weeks, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have shown signs that they're heading in the right direction the last few games, staying mostly competitive with two of the competition's top tier sides - the Panthers and the Rabbitohs.

And, the injection of once casted-away halfback Kyle Flanagan has put a smile on fans' faces. However, those grins are waning this morning as Bulldogs general manager Gus Gould has called out to the league's office for a lifeline after reports of a COVID outbreak have struck the Doggies locker room.

According toย The Daily Telegraph, the Bulldogs had at least four players return positive RAT results upon arrival to training at Belmore this morning.

Reports are that these players, who are yet to be identified, have been sent for PCR tests to confirm the results.

This news has come only days after the Bulldogs suffered a series of injuries during their clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Corey Waddell will return after missing last week's match, slotting in for the now-injured (concussion protocol) Chris Patolo. However, Braidon Burns has suffered a hamstring injury and is expected to miss a minimum of eight weeks.

Amidst this ravaging of their lineup, the Bulldogs' boss will be filing an exemption to the league office in order to fill their player quotas.

While the players haven't been identified, the injuries already suffered to the club's outside backs (Burns and Corey Allen) will likely result in a similar style of player being plugged in - Jayden Okunbor or Isaac Lumelume.

The Bulldogs will travel to Brisbane this week to take on the Broncos who they lost to in a close one in Round 2.