Young Pups Put On A Show In Pre-Season Trial

Fans got a look at the next generation of Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players on Saturday with the Club fielding a number of exciting prospects in its first clash of the 2026 Pre-season Challenge.

Although the young pups went down 34-30 to a North Queensland Cowboys that was made up of a number of NRL players, they staged an admirable fightback in the second half to take the game right down to the wire.

The Cowboys had a hot start at Jubilee Stadium, scoring four consecutive tries to shoot out to a 28-0 lead.

But a big hit from emerging prop Jack Underhill turned the momentum and the Dogs got on the board not long after through new recruit Justin Matamua, who pulled out some footwork and beat four players to score.

The Bulldogs came out firing after the break, scoring four consecutive tries of their own to make it a four-point game.

It all started with 18-year-old Aaymon Fitzgibbon, who slotted in at centre, scoring off a neat Joseph Teaupa grubber, before speedy winger Cooper Toy barged over for a try.

Then came two tries in three minutes – both set up by Teaupa – with Louis Grossemy and Jope Rauqe on the end of them.

The Cowboys responded in the 75th minute, but the Dogs fought right through to the end and ran in one more try with three minutes left on the clock when a stellar floating pass from Alex Conti set up Mikey Nassar in the corner.

Teaupa finished the game with three try assists, AJ Jones was tireless in defence with 36 tackles - no misses - while Zyon Maiu'u was enormous on both sides of the ball, finishing with 139 running metres and 23 tackles.

Meanwhile, new recruit Matamua impressed in his first hit-out as a Bulldog, topping the game with 161 running metres to go with his try, linebreak and nine tackle busts.