The 2016 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs season is the 82nd in the club's history. Coached by Des Hasler and captained by James Graham, they will compete in the National Rugby League's 2016 Telstra Premiership after finishing the 2015 season as semi-finalists.
Fixtures
Regular season
The Bulldogs started the season strongly, comfortably beating the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in round one. The Bulldogs were the outsiders with the bookmakers, with most rugby league experts citing the size of the forward pack as an issue with the 2016 season rule change, which dropped the interchanges allowed from 10 to 8. However, the Bulldogs surprised the rugby league community by unveiling a significantly leaner pack, with players having shed a lot of weight during the off season. Sam Kasiano was an example of this, having lost 13 kg before the season kicked off. Any concerns about the interchange rule affecting the team were put to rest with the side coming away with a convincing 28-6 first round victory, and a week later a last minute win against the Penrith Panthers proving the big men would not falter late in matches as a result of more minutes played. As though the team was further driving the point home, they completed the second round match using only 16 of the 17 named players.
The month that followed was not as impressive, with the club going loss, win, loss, win, for a 4-3 record after 7 rounds.
RoundHomeScoreAwayMatch informationDate and timeVenueCrowd1 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles6-28 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsFri 4 Mar 2016, 8:05pm AEDTBrookvale Oval16,5122 Penrith Panthers16-18 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsThu 10 Mar 2016, 8:05pm AEDTPepper Stadium11,1253 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs6-20 Parramatta EelsFri 18 Mar 2016, 8:05pm AEDTANZ Stadium30,0184 South Sydney Rabbitohs12-42 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsFri 25 Mar 2016, 4:00pm AEDTANZ Stadium38,1925 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs8-22 Canberra RaidersMon 4 Apr 2016, 7:00pm AESTBelmore Sports Ground13,4636 Melbourne Storm12-18 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsMon 11 Apr 2016, 7:00pm AESTAAMI Stadium11,0377 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs20-24 New Zealand WarriorsSat 16 Apr 2016, 7:30pm NZSTWestpac Stadium18,2128 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs21-20 Gold Coast TitansSat 23 Apr 2016, 3:00pm AESTANZ Stadium11,4509 Parramatta Eels20-12 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsFri 29 Apr 2016, 7:50pm AESTANZ Stadium31,81510 Wests Tigers4-36 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsSun 15 May 2016, 4:00pm AESTANZ Stadium20.93611 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs32-20 Sydney RoostersSun 22 May 2016, 4:00pm AESTANZ Stadium17,70412 Canberra Raiders32-20 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsSun 29 May 2016, 4:00pm AESTGIO Stadium13,90713 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs18-20 Cronulla SharksMon 6 Jun 2016, 7:00pm AESTANZ Stadium10,08114 St. George Illawarra Dragons16-34 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsMon 13 Jun 2016, 4:00pm AESTANZ Stadium20,15315BYE16 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs40-14 Brisbane BroncosSat 25 Jun 2016, 7:30pm AESTANZ Stadium10,10617 Sydney Roosters20-24 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsThu 30 Jun 2016, 7:50pm AESTSydney Football Stadium7,74118 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs32-22 Wests TigersSat 9 Jul 2016, 7:30pm AESTANZ Stadium16,21219BYE20 North Queensland Cowboys36-0 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsThu 21 Jul 2016, 7:50pm AEST1300 Smiles Stadium11,62021 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs13-10 St. George Illawarra DragonsFri 29 Jul 2016, 7:50pm AESTANZ Stadium15,00822 Newcastle Knights14-28 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsSat 6 Aug 2016, 3:00pm AESTHunter Stadium13,31823 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs20-16 Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesThu 11 Aug 2016, 7:50pm AESTANZ Stadium10,29024 Brisbane Broncos20-10 Canterbury Bankstown BulldogsThu 18 Aug 2016, 7:50pm AESTSuncorp Stadium27,74625 Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs16-24 North Queensland CowboysThu 25 Aug 2016, 7:50pm AESTBelmore Sports Ground10,14426 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs10-28 South Sydney RabbitohsFri 2 Sep 2016, 7:50pm AESTANZ Stadium14,731Qualif Final Penrith Panthers12-28 Canterbury-Bankstown BulldogsSun 11 Sep 2016, 4:10pm AESTAllianz Stadium22,631 Legend:
Ladder
References
See also List of Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs seasons