Canterbury Bulldogs enforcer David Klemmer can’t wait to play some real football this weekend after appearing at the Auckland Nines.

The Bulldogs return to Belmore on Saturday to face the highly-fancied Penrith Panthers in a re-match from their 2016 finals clash where Penrith booted the Doggies out of the premiership race.

“It’s a big week this week. It’s the first time the team will come together and I can’t wait to play on Belmore,” Klemmer told Bulldogs.com.au.

“It should be a good day. I think it’s going to be warm, but it will be a great afternoon for footy against the Panthers.”

Klemmer praised the Panthers and earmarked them as one of the teams to beat this season.

“They have bought well over the summer and they’ll be looking for a good hit-out on Saturday. It’s a good test for us to see where we are at, because I expect them to have a big year in 2017.”