Dogs wind back the clock to dominate Titans

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Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs v Gold Coast Titans

The Bulldogs have survived injuries and fight backs to take a 40-24 win over the Titans.

The Bulldogs started on the front foot early, with four quick tries putting them ahead of the clock - Marcelo Montoya, Jaeman Salmon, Reed Mahoney and Josh Curran pushing the score to 22-0 inside the first 22 minutes

But a knee injury for Matt Burton - who was instrumental in the Mahoney try - turned the tide for the Titans, and with Stephen Crichton moving to five-eighth they targeted the Bulldogs weakened right edge to pick up a double for Alofiana Khan-Pereira and head into halftime only down 22-12.

The Bulldogs made a necessary change at the break - with Crichton moving back to centre and Kurt Mann going to five-eighth - and whether coach Cameron Ciraldo said something at half time or put something in the teams oranges, it worked immediately with Jacob Preston crashing over after Khan-Pereira dropped a Toby Sexton bomb. Just minutes later Mann crossed under the sticks, and the Bulldogs were back to leading 34-10.

But the Titans refused to go away, and a try by Tino Fa'asuamaleaui gave them some hope with 28 minutes left. Then they trimmed the lead back to 10 points with a wonderful counterpunch on a kick return seeing Keano Kini put Jojo Fifita over.

But the Titans couldn't rally any further than that, the Bulldogs restricting them with back to back forced dropouts. Eventually, an error saw Crichton pick up the ball and put Blake Wilson away, the winger finding Connor Tracey backing up on the inside to put the game away for the Blue and Whites.

Despite the win, an undefeated start, and a raucous Belmore crowd, it's not all good news for the Bulldogs - Burton and Viliame Kikau have both suffered suspected MCL injuries. There are fears scans could reveal the pair will miss 4-6 weeks, a devastating blow to begin the season.