Are the Bulldogs wet track duffers?
It’s a question that Canterbury boss Cameron Ciraldo will be forced to confront this week following his side’s disastrous 28-14 loss to the Wests Tigers in atrocious conditions at CommBank Stadium.
Belmore faithful will say it’s little more than a late season aberration, but the upset loss to the Wests Tigers isn’t the first time Canterbury have had their colours lowered in the wet this NRL season.
Back in Round 12 the then top-of-the-table Bulldogs were humbled 44-8 by the struggling Dolphins in wild conditions at Accor Stadium in just their second defeat of the NRL season.
MORE: Ciraldo concedes Tigers were 'more desperate' after Bulldogs slump
‘The Tigers have rubbed the Bulldogs’ noses into the mud’
The statistical similarities from that sodden night in May with Sunday’s Round 22 Tigers clash are glaring.
Against the Dolphins, Ciraldo’s men had 33 missed tackles, 16 errors and a lowly 64 percent completion rate compared to the Dolphins’ 80 percent.
Yesterday the Bulldogs completed just 67 percent of their sets (versus the Tigers’ 79 percent) while making 13 errors and missing 30 tackles.
“So much was made of this clash heading into today,” veteran broadcaster Warren Smith said during the call for Fox Sports.
“But in the end the Tigers have rubbed the Bulldogs’ noses into the mud, well and truly.”
Making matters even more urgent for Cameron Ciraldo in the coming days, the Round 23 weather forecast suggests the Bulldogs could face more of the same when they host the fourth-placed New Zealand Warriors in Sydney next Saturday night—a side well accustomed to playing in miserable conditions.
Some horses just don’t like it wet and it seems the same may be true for dogs, specifically of the bulldog variety in 2025.