Bulldogs outlast valiant Tigers

v BYE

In an unexpectedly close affair, the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs pushed to a 32-22 win over the Wests Tigers for 16,212 at ANZ Stadium tonight.

It was the Bulldogs when these teams last met in round ten that handed down a 36-4 thrashing - but this time it would be much closer, with both sides missing key State of Origin representatives.

The home side took the lead for the final time in the 63rd minute, when Will Hopoate ran across the Tigers defence, attracted Luke Brooks to come from the line and an inside pass to Curtis Rona allowed the winger-turned-centre space to wrong foot two defenders and dash 10m to score beside the posts.

Inside the final ten minutes Sam Perrett's kick and chase pushed Jordan Rankin over the sideline one metre out from goal, and then in the final minute he outpaced covering defenders on the wing to score the match-sealing try.  

Despite the Tigers missing Robbie Farah, Aaron Woods and James Tedesco to State Of Origin duties, their absence wasn't noticeable as the visitors rushed out to a 14-4 lead after 24 minutes.

The Wests' halves partnered well in the third minute when Brooks directed play away from the left to the right. 

From twenty metres out on the last tackle with a long pass he gave Mitchell Moses, in his 50th NRL game, the opportunity to grubber behind the defence for Kevin Naiqama to score.

Wests Tigers fans were treated to a dynamic 80 metre try from Josh Addo-Carr as he ran around Josh Reynolds, broke two tackles and stepped clear of Hopoate at the back to show his blistering speed.  

Brett Morris bagged two more tries to take his 2016 tally to seven four pointers from three games, while rampaging Bulldogs forward Sam Kasiano continued to excel in a bench role as his runs and offloads provided the foundation for the majority of the home side's points.

There were no signs of a depleted Bulldogs forward pack even though Josh Jackson and David Klemmer are both away on the New South Wales Origin camp. 

An hour before kick off Jacob Liddle replaced Michael Chee Kam on the bench to make his NRL debut for the Tigers. He recorded his maiden first grade try when some short quick passing on fifth tackle just metres from the line created space for Liddle to give his team a 22-16 advantage in the 45th minute. 

Both teams will take their final bye round of the season next weekend.

The Bulldogs next play the North Queensland Cowboys in Townsville on Thursday in Round 20, while the Tigers will return to ANZ Stadium for a game against the St George Illawarra Dragons.