Losing to their despised Sydney rivals in a Round 22 quagmire was bad enough.
But one of the more eye-opening stat lines of the 2025 NRL season reveals Benji Marshall’s Wests Tigers have now won more games against top eight sides than the Canterbury Bulldogs.
Given the two clubs’ disparate places on the NRL ladder, it’s a statistic as surprising as it is damning—and far more of a concern to the premiership credentials of the Bulldogs than a tribute to the enigmatic Tigers.
So far in 2025 Benji Marshall’s twelfth-placed Tigers have beaten the Bulldogs (3rd), Dolphins (8th) and Sharks (7th).
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Cameron Ciraldo’s third-placed Bulldogs have only managed to top the Sharks (7th) and Raiders (1st).
Digging even deeper, the stats also reveal a significant discrepancy in the strength of each team’s draw so far in 2025.
From their twenty games played so far this season, the Tigers have faced top eight sides on ten occasions—half their entire season—for three wins and seven losses.
Meanwhile from their nineteen matches, the Bulldogs have played top eight rivals on just six occasions for two wins and four losses.
On the flip side, Canterbury now faces one of the NRL’s toughest finals run-ins—of their remaining five games the lowest ranked opponent is the ninth-placed Roosters.
Canterbury Bulldogs vs Top 8
| Round 4 | Won | Sharks 6-20 |
| Round 8 | Lost | Broncos 42-18 |
| Round 10 | Won | Raiders 20-32 |
| Round 12 | Lost | Dolphins 8-44 |
| Round 17 | Lost | Panthers 8-6 |
| Round 18 | Lost | Broncos 18-22 |
Wests Tigers vs Top 8
| Round 3 | Won | Dolphins 18-30 |
| Round 4 | Lost | Warriors 24-26 |
| Round 5 | Lost | Broncos 46-24 |
| Round 8 | Won | Sharks 20-18 |
| Round 10 | Lost | Storm 64-0 |
| Round 14 | Lost | Panthers 14-18 |
| Round 16 | Lost | Raiders 12-16 |
| Round 19 | Lost | Warriors 34-14 |
| Round 21 | Lost | Panthers 36-2 |
| Round 22 | Won | Bulldogs 28-14 |