Bulldogs Finish Season With Tough Loss To Broncos

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have finished the 2026 season with a disappointing 34-20 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.

The first points came in the seventh minute when the Broncos scooped up a loose ball and then Payne Haas powered through to score under the posts with a desperate reach. Hayze Perham converted to give Brisbane a 6-0 lead.

The Bulldogs threatened a number of times down the right edge through Matt Burton but couldn’t turn those half-chances into points.

Repeated ruck infringements saw the Broncos reduced to 12 men on the field after Haas was sent to the sin bin for a professional foul. Despite this they were still able to score their second try of the night with Josiah Karapani winning the contest in the air to score in the corner.

A clutch Captain’s challenge that disputed a knock-on call came up trumps for the Bulldogs and they struck with Lachlan Galvin going himself and scoring. Stephen Crichton converted to take the score to 10-6.

Galvin and Jacob Preston combined nicely with the latter breaking into space then looking for AJ Jones on his inside. The rookie forward looked destined to be rewarded for his support with his first NRL try until Perham knocked the ball down.

But the Dogs did eventually go in again, this time with Crichton, Viliame Kikau and Enari Tuala combining - with the latter scoring in the corner. Crichton’s conversion attempt was waved away, leaving the scored locked up 10-all heading into half time.

The Bulldogs copped an untimely blow in the opening minutes of the second half with Bailey Hayward being taken from the field for a HIA.

The Broncos then struck with four consecutive tries, scored by Billy Walters, Ben Hunt, Jordan Riki and Karapani. Perham converted all four, taking the score to 34-10.

The Bulldogs desperately needed to score next to halt the Broncos’ momentum and that’s exactly what they did with a barnstorming run from Kikau, who scored a well-deserved try. Crichton converted to take the score to 34-16.

They backed that up seven minutes later with Galvin grubbering and then scooping up the ball to score his second of the night.

While the Dogs snatched back the momentum in the final 15 minutes it was too little, too late with the Broncos walking away 34-20 winners.