The Bulldogs staged a comeback very similar to their charge towards the 1998 Grand Final, defeating the Wests Tigers 36-26 in a thrilling game of rugby league.
Canterbury were behind 18-0 and trailed 26-12 at different stages throughout the game, but the Dogs stormed home with an exciting brand of football to claim a 10-point victory.
Many say it was a game that the Tigers should never have lost after dominating the early exchanges, but once again the Bulldogs showed their fight and determination to record a memorable victory.
The Tigers opened the scoring through Terry Hill in the sixth minute and six minutes later, John Hopoate sent Kevin McGuinness over out wide.
Joel Caine grabbed the Tigers third when he crashed over in the corner. The winger converted his try to take the score to 18-0 after 18 minutes.
The Bulldogs fightback started when Dennis Scott capitalised on some brilliant ball movement to cross and Daryl Halligan converted to trail 18-6.
The Dogs were in again when Jamie Feeney collected a superb pass from Brent Sherwin to score under the posts just two minutes from the break. Halligan converted to have the Bulldogs trailing by six at half-time.
The opening 10 minutes of the second half saw Darren Senter score and Kevin McGuinness grab his second try of the match to give the visitors a commanding 26-12 lead.
However, the Bulldogs regained their composure with Hazem El Masri scoring in the 53rd minute and Willie Talau crossing in the 59th minute. Halligan converted both tries and Canterbury were behind by two points.
Talau's try was one of the best tries of the season after the ball went through more than 13 sets of hands.
With a good crowd of 15,097 urging them on, the Dogs continued to grow and after El Masri swan-dived over for his second try, they were never going to lose.
The Bulldogs sealed the victory after fullback Matt Seers dropped the ball on a kick return, allowing Steve Reardon to pick up the ball and fall over the try-line.
Halligan slotted his sixth conversion for the day to seal a 36-26 win and keep the Bulldogs' finals hopes alive.
Bulldogs 36 (El Masri 2, Talau, Reardon, Feeney, Scott tries: Halligan 6 goals)
Def.
Wests Tigers 26 (McGuiness 2, Caine, Hill, Senter tries: Caine 3 goals)
