The Bulldogs have continued on their merry way to a clinical sixth straight win with a 38-6 thumping of a disappointing Dragons outfit at ANZ Stadium on Sunday.
Des Hasler's men deviated from the cliff-hanger script that has been the norm in a series of hard-fought wins over the past month, never looking like anything but victors as Tim Lafai marked a stellar return from concussion with his first hat-trick in the top grade.
How to solve the defensive rot that has set in for the Dragons is a whole other question for Steve Price, with his charges now having conceded 72 points in their past two games against the Bulldogs and Roosters and slumping to their fifth loss in six starts.
Working through the middle via their much-vaunted forward pack, the competition leaders got themselves into an attacking position again five minutes later and Tony Williams was next on the scoreboard, cleaning up a bat down by Chase Stanley from a Hodkinson bomb - though the halfback produced a rare miss off the tee and was unable to extend the margin beyond 10.
As the opening stanza wore on the Dogs forwards began to chance their arms both before and at the line, with their third try of the afternoon a reward for their increasingly adventurous play.
Lafai was the direct benefactor of a sublime Sam Kasiano offload in traffic on the Dragons line, with the ball being shifted right to catch the home side's defence short and send the Samoan centre over, ensuring the writing was well and truly on the wall for the Red V in the form of a 16-0 deficit with less than half an hour gone.
The Dragons had to be the next to score but it was Lafai again who was next across the line, toeing through a loose ball from a rare kick by Bulldogs forward Josh Jackson and winning the race to the pill to have the Dragons again huddled together behind their try line for the fourth time in 35 minutes.
The Dragons' defensive rot continued upon the resumption, as Lafai put on a exhibition of light footwork for an equally obliging Dragons left-edge defence in the 44th minute to register his third try and push the margin to 26.
With the match in the bag and the contest meandering, Greg Eastwood bought the crowd to its feet with a try in his 150th match, finishing off impressive lead-up work from Williams and Hodkinson by turning the Dragons defence inside out with left and right foot steps reminiscent of his early years spent out wide for the Broncos almost a decade ago.
Refusing to put the cue in the rack, Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds got some miles in the legs with a 90 metre intercept try in the 68th minute, while Brett Morris belatedly got the Dragons on the board with a consolation try with three minutes remaining.
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 38 (T Lafai 3, S Perrett, T Williams, G Eastwood, J Reynolds tries; Hodkinson 5 goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 6 (B Morris try; Widdop goal) at ANZ Stadium. Crowd: 21,077
Des Hasler's men deviated from the cliff-hanger script that has been the norm in a series of hard-fought wins over the past month, never looking like anything but victors as Tim Lafai marked a stellar return from concussion with his first hat-trick in the top grade.
- Dragons 'soft', fuming Price declares
- Hasler desperate to play down Dogs
- WATCH: Full match highlights
- WATCH: Cracking try to Eastwood
- WATCH: Bulldogs press conference
- WATCH: Dragons press conference
- Full match stats
- Relive our live commentary
- Full NRL Telstra Premiership ladder
How to solve the defensive rot that has set in for the Dragons is a whole other question for Steve Price, with his charges now having conceded 72 points in their past two games against the Bulldogs and Roosters and slumping to their fifth loss in six starts.
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Working through the middle via their much-vaunted forward pack, the competition leaders got themselves into an attacking position again five minutes later and Tony Williams was next on the scoreboard, cleaning up a bat down by Chase Stanley from a Hodkinson bomb - though the halfback produced a rare miss off the tee and was unable to extend the margin beyond 10.
As the opening stanza wore on the Dogs forwards began to chance their arms both before and at the line, with their third try of the afternoon a reward for their increasingly adventurous play.
Lafai was the direct benefactor of a sublime Sam Kasiano offload in traffic on the Dragons line, with the ball being shifted right to catch the home side's defence short and send the Samoan centre over, ensuring the writing was well and truly on the wall for the Red V in the form of a 16-0 deficit with less than half an hour gone.
The Dragons had to be the next to score but it was Lafai again who was next across the line, toeing through a loose ball from a rare kick by Bulldogs forward Josh Jackson and winning the race to the pill to have the Dragons again huddled together behind their try line for the fourth time in 35 minutes.
The Dragons' defensive rot continued upon the resumption, as Lafai put on a exhibition of light footwork for an equally obliging Dragons left-edge defence in the 44th minute to register his third try and push the margin to 26.
With the match in the bag and the contest meandering, Greg Eastwood bought the crowd to its feet with a try in his 150th match, finishing off impressive lead-up work from Williams and Hodkinson by turning the Dragons defence inside out with left and right foot steps reminiscent of his early years spent out wide for the Broncos almost a decade ago.
Refusing to put the cue in the rack, Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds got some miles in the legs with a 90 metre intercept try in the 68th minute, while Brett Morris belatedly got the Dragons on the board with a consolation try with three minutes remaining.
Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 38 (T Lafai 3, S Perrett, T Williams, G Eastwood, J Reynolds tries; Hodkinson 5 goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 6 (B Morris try; Widdop goal) at ANZ Stadium. Crowd: 21,077
