‘Absolutely rattled': Bulldogs truth laid bare as Tigers come out firing in Galvin Bowl

News.com.au

3 days ago

Lachlan Galvin has come up against his old Tigers teammates for the first time on Sunday, with one goal: to get the win and return the Bulldogs to the top of the NRL ladder.
But the grudge match quickly turned into a first-half ambush, with Benji Marshall's men taking a big 20-4 lead into halftime.
After years of rebuilding, the Bulldogs have finally positioned themselves as genuine premiership contenders in 2025, or so we thought.
Going into Sunday's grudge match, Canterbury was a perfect 12 from 12 against teams in the bottom 9, but they find themselves on the ropes.
On Sunday, the Bulldogs had plenty of early ball after Terrell May dropped the ball off the kick off.
But after failing to execute, the Tigers made them pay, running in four tries to one in the first half.
And NRL great Cooper Cronk pointed out the Tigers have simply been better in the effort areas.
'The pressure, the intensity, the emotion the Tigers are playing with have the Dogs absolutely rattled,' Ennis said as Adam Doueihi extended the Tigers' lead to 20-0.
' … They are being run over.'
Greg Alexander added: 'This is quite remarkable that a team 14th leads the team coming 3rd'.
'This is remarkable given how 2025 has gone.'
The Tigers led 20-0 with just minutes to go in the first half before some Stephen Crichton magic put Jacob Preston through a hole to give them a sniff right on halftime.
There is plenty of emotion in this, and the second half is sure to provide fireworks on what is a wet and windy Sunday afternoon.
2.50pm: Tigers teach Bulldogs a lesson in a first half masterclass
Doueihi was the star of the first half.
After being catapulted into the halves just an hour before kickoff, with Benji Marshall opting for the veteran over the youngster Latu Fainu, the rookie coach's move proved to be a masterstroke.
Doueihi got the Tigers on the front foot, beating multiple defenders before finding Jahream Bula, who put Jeral Skelton over in the corner for the first points of the afternoon.
The 26-year-old then raced away from deep in his own half before putting Bula over.
Then Api Koroisau darted out of dummy half, before putting in a perfect grubber to Skelton in the corner.
Doueihi then took advantage of a Matt Burton error to sprint away in an incredible length-of-the-field effort to make it 20-0.
The Dogs got one back on the stroke of half-time, but it was the Adam Doueihi show in the first half.
2.20pm: Luai gives Galvin a piece of his mind
Jarome Luai took his chance to gave it to Lachlan Galvin after the Bulldogs halfback reacted following a strong fend by the Tigers star.
Galvin's over-reaction on the ground resulted in a penalty to the Tigers that got them some much-needed momentum.