The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have locked in their first top four finish since 2012 after defeating the Penrith Panthers 28-4 at Accor Stadium.
Jacob Preston bagged a hat-trick, Lachlan Galvin scored a try and set another up, while 12 players ran over 100 metres in a positive performance a fortnight out from finals.
The Dogs were first on the scoreboard with Lachlan Galvin starting and finishing off a thrilling passage of play. Galvin put Josh Curran through a hole and then ran around on the outside to receive the ball back from Curran before charging towards the corner to score his fourth try as a Bulldog.
Sitili Tupouniua, who was in his second game back from a hamstring injury, was injected into the game mid-way through the first half made his presence known with a rampaging run only to be held up over the line.
It set the tone for what was to come though with Tupounia featuring heavily for the remainder of the match. It also kick-started things for the Bulldogs with tries coming on either side of half time – both scored by Preston.
Captain Stephen Crichton scooped up a wayward pass and then found Connor Tracey on the inside, who then delivered the ball on a platter for Preston. Burton took over the goal-kicking duties and sent his side into the break with a 10-0 lead.
The Dogs picked up from where they left off with Preston crossing for his second of the night off a neat ball from Galvin. The try took Preston to a total of 10 to make him the team’s new leading tryscorer for 2025.
The joy kept coming in the second half with Burton fooling the Panthers’ defence with a show-and-go to score untouched. This time Crichton took on the kicking duties and converted to take the lead to 22-0.
The Panthers, however, responded three minutes later with Daine Laurie throwing a double cutout pass to set up Paul Alamoti.
But Cameron Ciraldo’s men recouped and Preston scored his third of the night with the star second-rower beating five Panthers defenders – and whipping out some footwork – to score.
The night took a turn when Jacob Kiraz was forced from the field with a lower limb injury. But the team pushed on and finished with a 28-4 win.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 28 (Preston 3, Galvin, Burton tries; Burton 3, Crichton 1 goals) def Penrith Panthers 4 (Alamoti try)
