2014 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season

The 2014 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season was the 80th in the club's history. Coached by Des Hasler and co-captained by Michael Ennis and Frank Pritchard, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2014 Telstra Premiership. Finishing the regular season 7th (out of 16), the team reached the finals for the third consecutive year. They then went on to reach the 2014 NRL Grand final, in which they were defeated by the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
2014 season
CEORaelene Castle
Head CoachDes Hasler
CaptainMichael Ennis
Frank Pritchard
NRLRunners Up
Top try scorerClub: Tim Lafai (14)
Top points scorerClub: Trent Hodkinson (158)
Highest home attendance24,012
Lowest home attendance9,873
Average home attendance15,387
← 2013 2015 →

Pre-season

In the pre-season theBulldogs competed in the 2014 NRL Auckland Nines, the first ever staging of the nine-a-side knockout tournament.

Regular season

The Bulldogs started the regular season with a narrow loss to the Brisbane Broncos before accounting for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the second week of the competition. They would then go on to get beaten by the Penrith Panthers after the siren in round 3. Following this loss the Bulldogs went on a season high 7 game winning streak, during which they made history by becoming the only team to ever win 3 consecutive games by a single point, victories they earned over the Sydney Roosters, the New Zealand Warriors and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Due to the impressive form of the team, several players were called up to play State Of Origin for New South Wales, which triggered a mid-season slump, during which the Bulldogs did not register a win for over a month. The team managed to regain some form towards the end of the origin period, claiming victories over the Canberra Raiders in round 16 and heavy favourites Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in round 17. The Bulldogs played arguably their best defensive game of the year in round 18, when they kept the Melbourne Storm to just 4 points and ran out winners by 2.

What followed was an unpredictable collapse over the following four matches. Injuries and suspensions played havoc during the end of the regular season and after having such good defence all year, the bulldogs let in 123 points in just four games against the Wests Tigers, the North Queensland Cowboys, the Penrith Panthers and the Brisbane Broncos, only managing 56 in return. The Bulldogs next win came in round 23 when they accounted for the Parramatta Eels by 2 points. In round 24 the Bulldogs were able to reverse the result against the Tigers, winning 30-10 and all but assuring themselves a place in the finals.

The final 2 rounds of the regular season came as losses to the South Sydney Rabbitohs, who ran away victors after trailing the Bulldogs for most of the match, and the Gold Coast Titans, who came back from an 18-0 half time deficit to win 19-18 in golden point extra time.

The Bulldogs finished the regular season in Seventh place.

Round Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Crowd
1 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 12-18 Brisbane Broncos Fri 7 Mar 2014, 8:05 pm AEDT ANZ Stadium 18,040
2 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 42-4 Cronulla Sharks Mon 17 Mar 2014, 7:00 pm AEDT ANZ Stadium 12,057
3 Penrith Panthers 18-16 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Sat 22 Mar 2014, 4:30 pm AEDT Centerbet Stadium 13,291
4 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 40-12 Melbourne Storm Sat 29 Mar 2014, 4:30 pm AEDT NIB Stadium 12,014
5 Sydney Roosters 8-9 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Fri 4 Apr 2014, 7:40 pm AEDT Sydney Football Stadium 12,854
6 New Zealand Warriors 20-21 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Sun 13 Apr 2014, 4:00 pm NZST Eden Park 22,165
7 South Sydney Rabbitohs 14-15 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Fri 18 Apr 2014, 4:00 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 43,255
8 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 16-12 Newcastle Knights Sat 26 Apr 2014, 7:30 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 15,286
9 St. George Illawarra Dragons 6-38 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Sun 11 May 2014, 3:00 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 21,077
10 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 16-12 New Zealand Warriors Sun 18 May 2014, 2:00 pm NZST Waikato Stadium 17,673
11 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 12-32 Sydney Roosters Fri 23 May 2014, 7:45 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 19,088
12 BYE
13 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 32-10 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Fri 6 Jun 2014, 7:40 pm AEST Brookvale Oval 9,235
14 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 12-22 Parramatta Eels Sun 15 Jun 2014, 3:00 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 24,012
15 Canberra Raiders 14-22 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Fri 20 Jun 2014, 7:45 pm AEST GIO Stadium 10,873
16 BYE
17 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 23-16 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Fri 4 Jul 2014, 7:45 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 14,921
18 Melbourne Storm 4-6 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Sat 12 Jul 2014, 7:30 pm AEST AAMI Stadium 13,149
19 Wests Tigers 46-18 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Sun 20 Jul 2014, 3:00 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 22,225
20 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 12-20 North Queensland Cowboys Sat 26 Jul 2014, 7:30 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 9,873
21 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 16-22 Penrith Panthers Fri 1 Aug 2014, 7:45 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 11,382
22 Brisbane Broncos 41-10 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Fri 8 Aug 2014, 7:45 pm AEST Suncorp Stadium 28,334
23 Parramatta Eels 16-18 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Fri 15 Aug 2014, 7:45 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 30,394
24 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 30-10 Wests Tigers Thu 21 Aug 2014, 7:45 pm ANZ Stadium 9,877
25 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 14-21 South Sydney Rabbitohs Thu 28 Aug 2014, 7:45 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 20,424
26 Gold Coast Titans 19-18 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sun 7 Sep 2014,3:00pm AEST Robina Stadium 12,563

Finals

In week one of the finals the Bulldogs travelled to Melbourne to face the Melbourne Storm in an elimination final. For the second time in one year the Bulldogs were able to account for the Storm in their own backyard. The Bulldogs started with a bang and ran up a 24-0 half time lead, the storm managed to stop the flow of points in the second half, but were ultimately eliminated, losing 28-4.

The following week they faced the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in a semi-final that went into golden point extra time. In a fiery affair that saw one player from each team spend 10 minutes in the sin bin at different times of the game, the Bulldogs raced out to an early 16-0 lead before conceding a try on halftime, leaving the half time score at 16-6. In the second half Manly managed to draw level at 16-16 and looked to have the momentum to win the game. With less than 10 minutes remaining in normal time, Trent Hodkinson kicked a field goal to give the Bulldogs a 17-16 lead. However Manly hit back with a field goal of their own and the scores were locked at 17-17 after 80 minutes. Each team had one shot at field goal in the opening minutes of extra time with no success, until 4 minutes in Hodkinson nailed his second field goal of the night to win the match 18-17, eliminating Manly and securing a Preliminary Final against the Penrith Panthers.

In week three of the finals the Bulldogs and the Panthers met in a Grand Final qualifier to see who would face the South Sydney Rabbitohs the following week. The Bulldogs entered the game as favourites and scored twice in the opening half an hour to set up an early 12-0 lead. The Panthers hit back on half time and the teams headed into the break at 12-6. Moments before half time Michael Ennis the Bulldogs on field captain suffered what was later found out to be a double fracture in his foot and he did not return in the second half. With the captain and hooker off the field the Bulldog's attack was hampered in the second half, but their desperation in defence remained. Defying the odds the Bulldogs, without the direction of their captain, were next to score in the 57th minute to extend their lead to 18-6. The Panthers fought bravely and were able to score in the 72nd minute, reducing the deficit to one converted try. The game went down to the wire with the Bulldogs penalised as the full-time siren sounded, handing Penrith one final opportunity to level the scores. The play did not work however and in eerily similar circumstances to 2004 the Bulldogs defeated the Panthers without the services of their captain in the second half to secure a grand final birth.

The Bulldogs faced the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the 2014 NRL Grand Final on 5 October and were defeated 30-6.

Round Home Score Away Match Information
Date and Time Venue Crowd
ELIM FINAL Melbourne Storm 4-28 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sun 14 Sep 2014, 4:10 pm AEST AAMI Stadium 19,230
SEMI FINAL Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 17-18 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sat 20 Sep 2014, 7:45 pm AEST Sydney Football Stadium 28,186
PRELIM FINAL Penrith Panthers 12-18 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Sat 27 Sep 2014, 7:55 pm AEST ANZ Stadium 46,168
GRAND FINAL South Sydney Rabbitohs 30-6 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs Sun 5 Oct 2014, 7:20 pm AEDT ANZ Stadium 83,833
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References

    See also

    List of Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs seasons

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