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Sport Nation
Find your Sport Nation frequencyWhy Bulldogs may struggle to hold onto top two spot
SEN • July 5th, 2025 10:58 pm
The Australian's Andrew Webster believes that the Bulldogs will have a fight on their hands to maintain a spot within the NRL’s top two following Friday’s loss to the Broncos.
The Bulldogs fell short 22-18 against Brisbane, with the result being the Bulldogs’ second loss to the Broncos this season and now their third loss in five matches.
As a result of these losses, they find themselves behind the Canberra Raiders, who are now the ladder leaders, with the Melbourne Storm and New Zealand Warriors within touching distance of the second-placed Bulldogs.
And on SEN’s Saturday League Kick-Off, Webster believes that the Bulldogs will need to play extremely well if they are to maintain that top two spot, having to finish the season playing five top ten teams with no byes remaining.
“I don’t know, it’s going to be pretty tight,” Webster remarked.
“But you’re looking at their draw, they’ve got the Dragons; that should be a win. They’ve got the Sea-Eagles; that should be a win. (Wests) Tigers, that should be a win.
“And then it gets a bit tougher. They’ve got the Warriors, Roosters, Storm, Panthers and Sharks. It’s a tough way to finish the season.
“They can still make the (top) four easy, but top two, you’d hope their attack is clicking and humming by those tough games later in the season.”
Despite the Bulldogs going through a tough patch at the moment, Webster made a point of recognising how far the Bulldogs have come, with it only being four years ago that they were at the bottom of the ladder under former Trent Barrett.
“The foundation that has been built in the last couple of years is remarkable,” he said.
“I think…we have forgotten just where the Bulldogs were. They were last in ’21, and they had the second-worst defence in the competition.
“Now their defence is what is very much winning them games of football. It’s in the Bulldogs’ DNA to defend the way they have been this year.
“That’s why I’ve got no doubt that they would be very upset with the way the second half went last night.”
The Bulldogs' next match is against the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville next Saturday.
