Source : ABC NEWS
The Penrith Panthers perfect start to the NRL season was ended in comprehensive fashion by the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Stadium Australia on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs raced into a 16-0 lead early thanks to tries to a revitalised Viliame Kikau, Jacob Kiraz and Samuel Hughes, while the Panthers had Casey McLean sent to the sin bin for a high shot.
The Panthers hit back through two Tom Jenkins tries — his sixth multi-score game out of six to start the year — either side of a Dylan Edwards score to draw level.
But having dominant the Panthers early, the Bulldogs regrouped and went again with tries to Jacob Preston and Sitili Tupouniua and two penalty goals from Matt Burton sealed a famous victory.
After one of the most dominant starts to a NRL season in memory, plenty of people were already predicting a Panthers premiership procession.
But the Bulldogs — given barely a hope after two-straight, lacklustre defeats and with captain Stephen Crichton watching injured from the coaches box — threw a colossal spanner in the works with a gutsy display to wholeheartedly ruin Nathan Cleary’s 200th NRL appearance.
The Bulldogs started well, their big forwards powering up the middle and limiting the Panthers’ any freedom to attack.
It was fitting that Kikau — missing in action last week against Souths with just 44 metres from nine runs but managing 103 from 11 this week — powered over for the first with a ferocious fend on Isaah Yeo to boot.
The Panthers may have been unfortunate to lose Casey McLean to the sin bin for a high shot — especially as Kurt Mann somehow escaped punishment for a far more egregious high shot later in the half, one of many vision-defying Bunker decisions in the match — but the Bulldogs took full advantage, with Kiraz scooting over in one corner and Hughes reaching over through the middle before the 20 minute mark.
Casey McLean was sin binned in the opening 10 minutes. (Getty Images: Cameron Spencer)
The Panthers were desperately out of touch, with Yeo, Liam Martin and Cleary all making uncharacteristic errors — they would end with 15 for the match compared to the Bulldogs 10.
But they still fashioned enough territory to send Jenkins over for his now customary two tries, the second a thrilling leap over the head of Marcelo Montoya.
Edwards also scored, making the most of a defensive misread by the Bulldogs as the Panthers drew level.
But having overpowered the Panthers once, the Bulldogs did so again, some furious runs from Sitili Tupouniua (140 metres from 11 runs) pounding the Panthers line, with the hugely impressive Preston — who ran 109 metres with three line breaks and a try assist — scoring one and linking up with Tupouniua for another.
Galvin starred with 102 running metres of his own, as well as four line break assists and a try assist to his name, while Cleary never got going.
There may also be issues for the Panthers on the injury front, with Martin playing just 38 minutes and ending the match with strapping on his left knee.
Look back on how all the action unfolded in our live blog.
Key Events
Updates: Bulldogs vs Panthers
16h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 12:16pm
We’ll wrap things up here
Thanks so much for being with us tonight, a night where the Bulldogs rediscovered their bite and the all-powerful Panthers were turned into pussycats.
A huge result to kick off round six – and we’ll be back for more tomorrow.
We’ll start in the Gong with the under-fire Dragons taking on the resurgent Sea Eagles and follow it up with a fascinating Queensland derby in Brisbane as the injury-ravaged Broncos take on the high-flying Cowboys.
Should be a good Friday night – and I can’t wait to share it with you.
See you then.
16h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:51am
An astonishing game, really
What an upset! I’m upset I didn’t follow to my upset gut with the tipping – well played Bulldogs and I hope to see Penrith back soon…
– Mike
Very entertaining blog Simon on a very baffling game!
– KB
16h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:51am
I am a little bit stunned still
The Bulldogs absolutely dominated up the middle in that game.
As good as the Panthers have been this year, they simply had no answer to being bullied by the Bulldogs’ forward.
Jacob Preston has to figure highly in player of the match reckoning, but Lachie Galvin barely put a foot wrong and neither did Matt Burton.
Big performances from the big Bulldogs names.
FT: The Bulldogs complete boilover win against the Panthers
A stunning result for the Bulldogs!
After two successive results and without their skipper, nobody gave them a hope tonight.
Not even a hint of a hope.
But they came out hard from the start and never let up.
It was mentioned on commentary that the Bulldogs had to win that game twice – once in the first 20 minutes and then again in the final 20 minutes and that’s spot on.
The Panthers were well off song, there’s no questioning that.
But as many people were proclaiming a Panthers procession to the premiership, the Bulldogs not only laid a glove on the champions elect, but put them on the canvas.
16h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:44am
80′ Penalty Bulldogs!
Tupouniua steamrolls a pair of Panthers!
They lie all over him and give away a penalty that the Bulldogs will kick.
And Burton kicks it through!
16h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:42am
78′ Tuala is over! But is it a knock on?
A lovely kick, a really lovely kick to the right corner.
Montoya and Jenkins are up and contest the ball.
Who knows what the Bunker will see here given some of his calls tonight.
He spots a Montoya knock on. It’s as plausible as anything, I suppose.
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:40am
77′ BRIAN TO’O LOSES THE BALL!
The Panthers are dead and buried!
The Bulldogs start their set inside Panthers territory and, with three minutes remaining, this most unlikely of results, is sealed!
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:37am
75′ Bulldogs lead by three scores
Matt Burton.
He’s four from five tonight.
He’s 10 metres in from the right side, 20 metres out.
AND HE KICKS IT!
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:36am
73′ Bulldogs penalty!
The kick from Galvin wasn’t the best, a bit short.
But it worked.
Jenkins came forward to claim the kick, couldn’t, knocked on and Blaize Talagi is offside.
The Bulldogs can all but seal it here by kicking a penalty.
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:35am
72′ Panthers knock on!
The short kick off does not work and the Bulldogs have a chance to finish this one!
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:34am
72′ Liam Martin is off
And he’s got his left knee taped up and strapped.
He’s barely played tonight so must be injured.
70′ THE BULLDOGS SCORE!
Sitili Tupouniua scores!
Jacob Preston fashions a gap where there was none available!
He tears towards the line after shrugging aside a poor challenge from Casey McLean.
He passes to his support runner Sitili Tupouniua who races over to score.
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Lachie Galvin with the linebreak assist.
The kick is good, the Bulldogs lead 28-16 with nine minutes remaining!
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:30am
68′ Kikau loses the ball!
Viliame Kikau came into the line at a rate of knots, but the pass from Galvin wasn’t quite perfect as he needed it to be at that pace and Paul Alamoti monstered him with a shot.
The Panthers move the ball out from their own 10.
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:26am
65′ Penrith knock on, Panthers challenge
The ball hits the shoulder of Scott Sorenson and looks like it goes backwards.
Unless you’re the Bunker, apparently.
Wow.
That ball clearly has hit the shoulder and gone backwards, but the Bunker, seeing the same vision we are seeing, says it’s gone forwards.
Must mean something different where they train.
Anyway, neither side has a challenge left.
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:24am
63′ Nathan Cleary has attempted two little grubbers in a row
In consecutive sets.
Neither of them have worked, mind you.
Is he playing the long game, trying to drag Connor Tracey forward so he can put in a deeper bomb and turn him around?
If that is the plan, he needs to do it better than he currently is.
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:22am
61′ THE BULLDOGS FLUFF THEIR LINES AGAIN! But they are going to challenge
Enari Tuala knocks the ball on.
But a while after he knocks it on, a second or two later in fact, Jenkins’s hand touches Tuala’s face.
It can’t be a high shot, surely.
He knocked it on some time before Jenkins even got there!
The Bunker says it’s not a high shot.
Interesting – the reasoning the Bunker gave was clearly wrong, there was contact with the face of Tuala, but it was so incidental that you’d make heavier contact going in for a peck on your nanna’s cheek.
Anyway, the challenge is lost.
The Panthers clear their lines.
I wonder if either of these sides will complete another set before the end of the game…
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:18am
59′ NOW THE PANTHERS COUGH IT UP!
MY GOODNESS!
It’s a very strong tackle, but this is shocking from the Panthers.
The Bulldogs defence is making up for their unforced errors in attack at the moment – and there will be a good field position for them to start, inside the Panthers 40.
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:17am
58′ Shocker from the Bulldogs
Oh my goodness – neither side can put a set together at the moment.
Perhaps they’d all rather be at the Easter show?
Bailey Hayward this time, just fails to pick the ball up, knocking it on at the play the ball.
Poor.
17h agoThu 9 Apr 2026 at 11:16am
57′ Dylan Edwards loses the ball in the tackle!
Powerful defence from the Bulldogs means they reverse the error and the Panthers continue to struggle to make any ground through the midfield.
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