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Why the Bulldogs can respond in semi-final clash
Nicholas Quinlan • September 13th, 2025 5:00 pm
Scott Sattler and Adrian Proszenko both think that the Bulldogs have what it takes to respond in their semi-final clash despite having lost their qualifying final against the Melbourne Storm.
The Storm have progressed to their 10th preliminary final in the space of 11 years with a 26-18 win over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at AAMI Park on Friday night.
This was despite having no Ryan Papenhuyzen, Jahrome Hughes or Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the line-up.
It was a mostly even match between the two sides. But it would be the tackle difference that split them, with the Bulldogs missing 61 tackles compared to Melbourne’s 31.
That loss now marks the Dogs' fourth finals loss in a row, with their last finals win being against the Dragons in an elimination final back in 2015.
And to add to the bad news for the Dogs faithful, captain Stephen Crichton will be out for the remainder of the season with an ankle injury.
But despite the Bulldogs missing so many tackles, the 2003 Premiership player thinks that the Bulldogs showed plenty of promise, having been able to stay in the game until the last five minutes of the match.
“They missed 61 tackles,” Sattler explained on SEN’s Saturday League Kick-Off.
“But it took an intercept to beat them. They were still in the game to the dying moments after missing 61 tackles.
“Now I know a lot of those, it was some stats on NRL stats (that) if you run the ball up and I bounce out of the tackle, a lot of clubs won’t count that as a missed tackle. They say it’s an ineffective tackle, not a miss.
“But 61 tackles either way in finals footy should never happen.
“And to miss 61 tackles and not be that far away from winning the game against Melbourne in Melbourne means that the Bulldogs are actually not that far away.”
Proszenko agreed with Sattler, believing that the Bulldogs’ game plan is suited for finals.
“That statistic isn’t as relevant as it used to be,” Proszenko noted.
“The Bulldogs, the last couple of seasons, have been one of the best defensive sides, but they miss a lot of tackles.
“But their first point of contact is usually quite strong, and they scramble really well.
“We saw that so many times. (It's) just those little efforts. Like Josh Curran and that little push he put on just as Pezet was kicking, and he’s kicked it out on the full.
“It’s just those little one per cent things. That’s why I think the Bulldogs still have a lot of hope in this competition.
“Their style of play is ready-made for finals footy. High completions, kick-chase, rushing up in defence; all those little areas, those are the things they do well.”
The Bulldogs will be watching the clash between the Warriors and the Panthers on Saturday with great interest as they will face the winner next week at Accor Stadium.
