2009 Bulldogs RLFC season
The 2009 Bulldogs RLFC season was the 75th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 2nd (out of 16), a vast improvement on the previous season, when they came last. The Bulldogs came within one match of the grand final but were knocked out by the Parramatta Eels.
Season summary
After an extremely disappointing 2008 season, in which the club finished with the wooden spoon, 2009 will be a season of rebuilding for the Bulldogs. A number of high-profile new recruits, including Brett Kimmorley, Josh Morris, Michael Ennis, David Stagg and Ben Hannant along with mid-season signing of Greg Eastwood will join the club.
Fixtures
During the regular season, the Bulldogs will play most home games at ANZ Stadium in Homebush. ANZ Stadium is also the home ground of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and one of the home grounds of the Parramatta Eels, so Bulldogs away matches against these two teams will also be played at this venue. Two Bulldogs home games will be played away from Homebush: the Round 11 match against Melbourne will be played at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford, and the Round 19 match against the Gold Coast will be played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Trial Matches
Trial 1 21 February 2009 7:00pm Local |
St. George Illawarra Dragons  |
24 - 12 |  Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Cooper, Nightingale, Thorby, Clarke Goals: Soward 4/4 |
Tries: Utai, Barba Goals: El Masri 1/1, Ennis 1/1 |
Trial 2 28 February 2009 8:00pm Local |
| Bulldogs |
24 - 16 |  Canberra Raiders |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Goodwin, Ennis, Patten, Armit Goals: Ennis 3/3, El Masri 1/1 |
Tries: Monaghan 2, Purtell Goals: Campese 2/3 |
Meakin Park, Brisbane |
Regular Season
Round 1 14 March 2009 7:30pm Local |
| Bulldogs |
34 - 12 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Goodwin 2, Idris 2, Morris Goals: El Masri 7/7 |
Tries: Ballin, Lyon Goals: Orford 2/2 |
Round 2 21 March 2009 7:30pm Local |
Penrith Panthers  |
26 - 28 | Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Waterhouse 2, Aiton, Tighe Goals: Gordon 5/5 |
Tries: Eastwood, Idris, Kimmorley, Roberts, Stagg Goals: El Masri 4/5 |
Round 3 27 March 2009 7:35pm Local |
Gold Coast Titans  |
20 - 12 | Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Campbell, O'Dwyer, Rogers, Tonga Goals: Rogers 2/5 |
Tries: Goodwin, Ryan Goals: El Masri 2/3 |
Round 4 5 April 2009 2:00pm Local |
| Bulldogs |
24 - 12 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: El Masri, Goodwin, Morris, Ryan Goals: El Masri 4/4 |
Tries: Gallen, Tupou Goals: Covell 2/2 |
Round 5 13 April 2009 7:00pm Local |
| Bulldogs |
14 - 12 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Morris, Ryan Goals: El Masri 2/2, Ennis 1/1 |
Tries: Champion, Pettybourne Goals: Luke 1/1, Sandow 1/1 |
Round 6 19 April 2009 3:00pm Local |
Parramatta Eels  |
18 - 48 | Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Hauraki 2, Hayne Goals: Burt 3/3 |
Tries: Morris 2, Patten 2, El Masri, Goodwin, Hodgson, Kimmorley, Warburton Goals: El Masri 6/9 |
Round 7 26 April 2009 2:00pm Local |
| Canberra Raiders |
20 - 30 | Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Monaghan, Purtell, Thompson, Tongue Goals: Dugan 2/4 |
Tries: El Masri, Ennis, Goodwin, Hannant, Millard Goals: El Masri 5/5 |
Round 8 3 May 2009 3:00pm Local |
| Bulldogs |
22 - 20 |  Wests Tigers |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: El Masri 2, Ennis, Goodwin Goals: El Masri 3/4 |
Tries: Moltzen, Payten, Ryan 2 Goals: Gallant 2/5 |
Round 9 9–11 May 2009 |
| . | Bye | . |
|---|---|---|
Round 10 16 May 2009 7:30pm Local |
| St. George Illawarra Dragons |
20 - 18 | Bulldogs |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Creagh, Poore, Weyman Goals: Soward 4/4 |
Tries: Hannant, Idris, Kimmorley Goals: El Masri 3/3 |
Round 13 5–8 June 2009 |
| . | Bye | . |
|---|---|---|
Finals Series
Ladder
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George Illawarra |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 548 | 329 | +219 | 38 |
| 2 | Bulldogs |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 575 | 428 | +147 | 38* |
| 3 | Gold Coast |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 514 | 467 | +47 | 36 |
| 4 |  Melbourne |
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 505 | 348 | +157 | 33 |
| 5 | Manly-Warringah |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 549 | 439 | +90 | 32 |
| 6 |  Brisbane |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 511 | 566 | −55 | 32 |
| 7 |  Newcastle |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 508 | 491 | +17 | 30 |
| 8 | Parramatta |
24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 476 | 473 | +3 | 29 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 558 | 483 | +75 | 28 |
| 10 | South Sydney |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 566 | 549 | +17 | 27 |
| 11 |  Penrith |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 515 | 589 | −74 | 27 |
| 12 |  North Queensland |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 474 | +84 | 26 |
| 13 | Canberra |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 489 | 510 | −31 | 22 |
| 14 |  New Zealand |
24 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 377 | 545 | −188 | 20 |
| 15 | Cronulla-Sutherland |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 359 | 568 | −209 | 14 |
| 16 |  Sydney Roosters |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 382 | 681 | −299 | 14 |
* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2
