Gold Coast are hit by injury and can barely patch a team together, but that shouldn’t make them any less of an opponent in the mind of Canterbury’s Josh Morris.

The Bulldogs head north knowing that regardless of this weekend’s results, a win over the embattled Titans will guarantee an NRL finals berth.

That outcome looks almost assured, with the undermanned Titans suffering further setbacks during the week.

Retiring foundation player Luke Bailey will be forced to sit out the final game of his NRL career due to a neck injury, while captain Greg Bird is missing due to suspension.

It means another foundation Titan, Mark Minichiello, will lead the team in his final game before heading to the English Super League and NSW star Morris believes those departures will make for a tougher-than-expected opponent.

“It’s in our own hands,” Morris told the Bulldogs website.

“We definitely need to win it. We’re coming up against a Titans side who are likely to pull out anything.

“It’s a definite danger game for us but we definitely need to focus on what we need to do well to get a win.”

The Bulldogs will be boosted by the return of fiery five-eighth Josh Reynolds from suspension, while the Titans are poised to give giant forward Dave Taylor a late fitness test on Sunday morning to determine his eligibility.

The match will be Titans coach Neil Henry’s first since his permanent appointment during the week.

He has called on his team to put together one last effort to end a disappointing campaign on a high.

“We are fairly decimated around our forwards as well, but that’s no excuse for having a lack of energy out there and a will to be in a game of footy,” Henry said.

“It’s our last hit-out, 80 minutes for the year. It’s a long off-season and there’s a few players who won’t be with us next year.

“It will be an emotional game.”