"To be quite honest I'm not surprised to out start of the year and that can happen when you bring two really exceptional players to a side which is already pretty good," Bayley told the Singleton Argus.

"We're looking at a side where we were hot favourites to win the competition but now (after two straight defeats) we haven't been performing.

"It wouldn't be the first time where a hot side doesn't start well and you can look at the NRL for examples."

The Greyhounds prevailed 26-16 before a large Pirtek Park crowd in their season opener against Denman.

However they would be unable to match the Devils in their return leg before suffering an upset 32-30 defeat to the visiting Aberdeen Tigers on Sunday.

"I always get disappointed because I hate losing but at the end of the day I still believe that we can be an absolute force by the end of the season," he added.

"But until the boys get a bit more respect for the football I don't know if we're going to play to our potential."

Bayley has also confirmed the return of marque recruit Frank-Paul Nu'uausala for Sunday's away clash against the Tigers.

"Frank will be back this week which will be good; he missed out against Aberdeen due to family reasons," he continued.

"While Frank's an exceptional player and he would have been great to have on Sunday I'm not sure if we would have won with him anyways."