Canterbury have stayed in the race for the NRL top four with a gritty and controlled 30-10 win over a Dolphins side that now has a tenuous grip on eighth position.
The clash in Bundaberg had a finals-style atmosphere befitting what was at stake. The Bulldogs will finish round 24 in fifth position on 32 points but the Dolphins may yet slip out of the finals places by the end of the round if St George Illawarra beat Gold Coast on Sunday.
Dogs halves Matt Burton and Toby Sexton were superb in a performance where Canterbury kept the foot on the throat of the Dolphins and strangled the life out of them after halftime. The Dolphins did not score a point in the second half, the seventh time the Bulldogs had shut out a side this year in the second stanza..
"That is a cool stat and a testament to how fit we are," Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said.
"We had 10 new players at the start of the year and I always thought it was going to be trial and error (with the side's attack) but I feel like we have found our groove the last five or six weeks.
"I think we are capable of being a top-four side."
The only concern for the Bulldogs was a shoulder injury to workhorse forward Josh Curran who battled on with the injury for most of the second 40.
Canterbury got in the grind early with Sexton composed and crafty behind his gritty pack. Sexton and captain Stephen Crichton combined to put Jacob Kiraz over in the corner.
Dolphins forward Felise Kaufusi, who was in a hitman mood in his home town, was unfortunate to be put on report and penalised for what was adjudged a late hit on Bulldogs counterpart Curran. Canterbury took a 6-0 lead courtesy of a Matt Burton penalty.
Two of the fastest players in the modern game combined for a memorable moment.
One of the tackles of the year was pulled off by Dolphins No.1 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow when he found a second gear to run 40 km/h at one point to chase down Josh Addo-Carr two metres from the tryline and tackle the flyer known as "The Foxx" into touch.
Dolphins winger Jamayne Isaako became the first man this season to cross 200 points with a try in the corner before Kiraz went in for his second on the back of a magnificently worked right-side play by Burton.
Both sides played with desperation befitting what was at stake but Dolphins No.6 Kodi Nikorima gave Addo-Carr another chance with a loose pass and this time the Bulldogs winger raced away to score untouched.
Minutes later it was Sexton's turn to err. His pass was intercepted by Dolphins centre Jake Averillo who raced 70m to touch down.
Canterbury led 16-10 at the break and snuffed the Dolphins out in the second stanza with Burton taking charge. His kicking game forced errors and when he sliced through and put centre Bronson Xerri over with panache it was game over.
The Dolphins were punished for their mistakes and ran out of gas and ideas against the relentless Dogs.
"We are not lacking belief. We are just lacking finishing the game with the execution that we need," Dolphins coach Wayne Bennett said.
