Canterbury winger Sam Perrett claims Manly’s formidable NRL finals experience isn’t even a blip on the radar heading into their showdown on Friday night.

“What experience Manly has over us, it’s not even a focus, not even a thought in my mind,” he told reporters of Friday’s qualifying final at ANZ Stadium.

“We’ve got a good mix in the team, there’s blokes that have played finals for other teams in other years so I don’t think it’s a disadvantage where we’re at, at all.

“I like to think I can do the same job no matter the circumstances, so I hope I can pass some confidence on to the rest of the team.”

The Sydney Roosters released the New Zealand international mid-season to sign with the Bulldogs until the end of 2015, and he hasn’t looked back.

“It’s unreal, it’s chalk and cheese,” he said of the switch.

He’d been stagnating after eight years with the Roosters when he transferred to the Dogs in a package deal with his brother Lloyd.

“I just wasn’t getting the best out of myself and I got to a point where it felt like a dead end. I needed to go through a new door,” he said.

“Knowing that you fit in and they’ve got a plan for you and that you’re wanted, that’s a big thing.”

Although he says he never felt so stifled by the Roosters that he thought of retiring, Perrett said he didn’t feel as though he was “really improving, both like a player and as a person”.

As Bulldogs coach Des Hasler readies his team for the clash against his former side, and deputy Geoff Toovey, Perrett denies there are any special tricks planned, with the `Dogs merely planning to maintain consistency.

“Nothing more than keeping our heads down and training and preparing hard, focusing on our number one goal, which is performing on the day,” he said.