The Bulldogs have temporarily moved into the top four while handing the Dragons their fourth straight loss on the back of an impressive defensive display, winning 13-10 at ANZ Stadium on Friday night.
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However it wasn't all good news for the Bulldogs, as five-eighth Josh Reynolds may find himself in hot water for tripping Dragons back-rower Joel Thompson.
Reynolds – who has been cited previously for tripping opposition players – stuck his leg out when Thompson looked likely to score the game's first try in the 15th minute.
While it was missed by both on-field officials, it won't be the last the incident is heard of with the NRL's match review committee likely to examine the incident considering the Bulldogs playmaker has been charged for two similar occurrences in the past two seasons.
Up until that point the Dragons dominated proceedings despite being denied two earlier tries by the bunker, with Reynolds's leg denying Thompson by mere inches.
The Red V may have their own dramas to contend with as well with Tyson Frizell coming into contact with assistant referee Chris James within the first three minutes of the game.
As fate would have it, Reynolds eventually scored the game's first four-pointer in the 24th minute when halves partner Moses Mbye broke free through the Dragons defence which allowed centre Josh Morris to come up with the assist.
Sam Kasiano crashed over five minutes later when he found himself one-on-one with Dragons skipper Gareth Widdop in close quarters to the white stripe.
Bulldogs back-rower Greg Eastwood limped off just five-minutes before half-time but it wouldn't dim Reynolds's spirits after he managed to nail a 40-metre field goal as the siren sounded.
The Dragons finally had things rolling in the 46th minute when winger Kurt Mann crossed for his eighth try in six games by capitalising from a Widdop kick through.
Dragons centre Euan Aitken scored an almost identical try from the boot of Widdop midway through the second half to bring the scoreline back within a one try difference.
The Red V controlled the majority of possession from there on and while they had several of chances, it wasn't to be.
Their best chance to steal the game came in the final three minutes when Widdop looked to have made inroads in the Bulldogs' defence but it was quickly shut down by Bulldogs fullback Will Hopoate, who helped seal his side's eventual three-point victory.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 13 (Josh Reynolds, Sam Kasiano tries; Moses Mbye 2 goals; Josh Reynolds field goal) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 10 (Kurt Mann, Euan Aitken tries; Gareth Widdop goal) at ANZ Stadium. Crowd: 15,008. Half-time: Bulldogs 13-0.
