I tipped the Bulldogs to take out the minor premiership but, after last weekend's lost to the Knights, I'm having serious doubts.That's because I now realise just how much the Dogs will miss Hazem El Masri.The winger was a goal kicking freak. Last season alone, he was good for an average of just over three goals a match - six points. He was such a reliable kicker that the Dogs could run onto the field having pretty much already banked those six points. And that's such a huge asset to have and puts you at a great advantage over your opponents.But now those six points aren't a guarantee any more. The Dogs lost to the Knights by four points - and El Masri's replacement Michael Ennis missed all four of his shots at goal.If El Masri was still at the Dogs, they win last weekend's game. Simple as that.Which isn't to knock Ennis as a kicker. He's just as good as most of his counterparts - it's just that El Masri was so far ahead of everyone else.He was also what would get them over the line in close games. And that means the 2010 Dogs could easily find themselves sliding down the ladder compared to last season. in fact there's even an outside chance they could miss the finals.That's not as outlandish at it seems - lets look at last season's results. The Dogs won five games by four points or less. Had they not had El Masri's reliable boot and lost all five of those games, they'd have dropped 10 competition points. If you take those points off them and reallocate them to their opponents, you find the Dogs fall all the way from second spot to ninth.All because of about 10 missed goals. That's how tight the competition is these days - a quality goalkicker can be the difference between making the finals and missing out.Granted that's a worst-case scenario but the underlying message is the same. Without El Masri, the Dogs can no longer count on winning those close games. Which means they'll find it much, much harder to replicate the efforts of last season.