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The Bulldogs bounced back from a heavy defeat to the Warriors to keep their Downer NRL Auckland Nines alive by beating the Broncos 15-13.

It was a true game of two halves, with Canterbury scoring all of the first half points and even though Brisbane scored all the points in the second their comeback fell two points short.

The Dogs drew first blood when a long cutout found Shaun Lane waiting on the wing, before a level-up for Brisbane went begging when Todd Murphy had the ball knocked from his grasp as he looked to score. 

Jarrod McInally stretched Canterbury's lead to 8-0 when he ran in off Chase Stanley, and Tyrone Phillips produced a superb intercept try off a long Sam Thaiday pass to make it 15-0 at half-time.

Jai Arrow got the Broncos on the board with a fingertip grounding having chased through a grubber.

Brisbane narrowed the gap in style when Adam Blair tossed an unbelievable no-look pass infield for Andrew McCullough to score a bonus zone try and hand his side two and a half minutes to attempt an amazing comeback. 

But a long-range Dogs break meant they had to attempt it from their own end and it proved a bridge too far as Canterbury held on.

Canterbury Bulldogs 15 (Lane, McInally, Phillips tries) def Brisbane Broncos 13 (Arrow, McCullough tries)

This article first appeared on NRL.com

Acknowledgement of Country

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs respect and honour the Darug and Eora nations, who are the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.