The Bulldogs walked away from ANZ Stadium in round three with their first loss of the season.
Their opponents, the Eels, built the win on defence and almost kept the home side scoreless until a late consolation try to Bulldogs fullback Will Hopoate.
A furious, fast-paced and high-quality opening 40 minutes was punctuated by impeccable goal line and scrambling defence from both sides with each being forced to soak up a mountain of pressure at different stages, high completion rates and a solitary try – arguably the best of the season so far.
The Eels led 6 nil at half time, before a touch of controversy just before the 60-minute mark that didn’t favour the home side.
Off the back of the call the Eels were able to score two tries through winger Semi Radradra and wrap up a win over arch rivals the Bulldogs.
The key stats are below!
STATISTICS | v PARRAMATTA EELS, ANZ STADIUM | LOSS 20 - 6
Team Stats:
Penalties | Bulldogs 6, Eels 8.
Completions | Bulldogs 30/38 (78.9%), Eels 30/39 (76.9%).
Total runs | Bulldogs 170, Eels 183
Metres gained | Bulldogs 1372, Eels 1657.
Line dropouts| Bulldogs 1, Eels 2.
Line breaks | Bulldogs 2, Eels 4.
Tackle breaks | Bulldogs 15, Eels 47.
Kicks (kicking metres) | Bulldogs 25 (620), Eels 25 (566).
Kick return metres | Bulldogs 116, Eels 170.
Tackles Made | Bulldogs 353, Eels 349.
Missed tackles | Bulldogs 47, Eels 15.
Offloads | Bulldogs 11, Eels 17.
Errors | Bulldogs 7, Eels 7.
Individual Stats:
Runs | Bulldogs: Tolman 21, Graham 15, Klemmer 14. Eels: Radradra 22, Gordon 17, Paulo 16.
Metres gained | Bulldogs: Tolman 155, Klemmer 132, Hopoate 130. Eels: Radradra 240, Gordon 178, Paulo 141.
Tackles made | Bulldogs: Tolman 50, Garvey 45, Jackson 39. Eels: De Gois 47, Moeroa 43, Scott 35.
Missed tackles | Bulldogs: Jackson 9, Reynolds 7, Garvey 5. Eels: Foran 3, Paulo 3, Edwards 3.
Tackle breaks | Bulldogs: Hopoate 4, Williams 4, S Perrett 2. Eels: Radradra 11, Gordon 7, Gutherson 6.
Offloads | Bulldogs: Stanley 3, Reynolds 2, Kasiano 1. Eels: Paulo 4, Takairangi 3, Scott 2.
