The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have retained the i4Give Cup and recorded a third-straight King's Birthday win after defeating the Parramatta Eels 14-12.
Cameron Ciraldo’s men felt the energy in Accor Stadium as they ran out to cheers from the 37,638 fans in attendance. And that energy sparked an almighty effort from the likes of Leo Thompson, Connor Tracey and Jacob Kiraz.
Thompson pumped out 71 minutes in the middle, finishing with a mammoth 178 running metres and 34 tackles. Meanwhile Tracey made a big impact in his return from a hamstring injury with 29 runs for 281 metres to go with his try assist
And Jacob Kiraz, who shifted to the wing upon Tracey's return, played through a calf injury to finish the game with a staggering 27 runs for 246 metres and 10 tackle busts.
The Dogs came out firing and enjoyed a high-energy start but copped a significant blow 17 minutes into the game when Harry Hayes limped from the field with a hip-pointer injury.
Meanwhile, both teams fell into an intense grind during the first-half and they went into the half-time break scoreless.
The Dogs finally broke the gridlock 49 minutes into the clash when Sitili Tupouniua - who had been threatening all night - charged over the line off a Lachlan Galvin double-pump pass.
They backed it up just three minutes later with Stephen Crichton winning the battle in the air to catch a Connor Tracey bomb and scoring. The skipper then converted his own try to take the Dogs’ lead to 12-0.
The Eels hit back next with two quick tries of their own to level scores 12-all.
They got on the board after a long-range grubber from Josh Addo-Carr bounced up perfectly for tryscorer Tallyn Da Silva. That was followed by an inspired passage of play from NRL debutant Teancum Brown and Joash Papalii with the latter scoring.
With the game in the balance both teams were looking for any opportunity to land points and it was the Bulldogs who got an important one when Tallyn Da Silva was penalised for a dangerous tackle.
Captain Crichton stepped up to nail a penalty goal from 40 metres out, which ultimately sealed the win.
The Bulldogs will now enjoy a much-needed rest over the bye before returning to Accor Stadium to face the Manly Sea Eagles in Round 16.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 14 (Tupouniua, Crichton tries; Crichton 3 goals) def Parramatta Eels 12 (Da Silva, Papalii tries; Da Silva 2 goals)
