Stats the spirit: Running the Round 21 numbers 📊📉
Downbeat data after a beatdown from the Bulldogs.
Dogs build rivalry streak
Completions and run metres tell the tale
Dal rolls up the sleeves again
Does Adam Gee hate us?
Reasserting dominance over Titans
The Warriors’ bid to build some late-season momentum hit a major hurdle courtesy of an 18-6 loss to Canterbury at Accor Stadium.
The Bulldogs produced a dominant opening 15 minutes to race to a 12-0 lead. Despite gradually finding their feet in the contest, the Warriors never really recovered and only got on the scoreboard with 10 minutes left.
The Warriors’ defeat was their equal-second-biggest of 2026, while they were held to their lowest tally of points and endured a scoreless half for the first time this year.
The Bulldogs had a slight edge in possession and won the run metres (1,778 to 1,658), post-contact metres (605 to 533) and average set distance (43.37 metres to 39.48) counts.
Tackle-breaks finished near enough to even, but the Bulldogs made six line-breaks to one.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the game as a whole was the Bulldogs’ relentless offloading. The fulltime count was only 19-17 in the Bulldogs’ favour, but the hosts had racked up 13 by halftime — remarkable given no team in the NRL averages more than 12.8 across 80 minutes.
After 14 straight weeks in second spot, the Warriors dropped to third with the Roosters leapfrogging them.
Listen: Will Evans joins Daniel McHardy - Is it time to hit the panic button?
Thanks to Daniel McHardy for getting TWL’s Will Evans on Sport Nation to talk about Saturday’s loss to the Bulldogs — what went wrong, will/should there be any changes, and where does the Warriors’ s…
Dog gone
The Warriors have eradicated most of their bogeys and hoodoos in recent times — but this streak against the Bulldogs has developed into an irritating one.
The Bulldogs have now won the teams’ last four encounters, restricting the Warriors to an average of 12.5 points during that run.
Penrith (three games) and Cronulla (two games) are the only other current clubs the Warriors have lost more than their most recent fixture against.
Complete unknown
It’s no secret the Warriors’ success is built around high completions and forward dominance. Both were well below par against the Bulldogs and the result followed suit.
The Warriors’ 82 percent completion rate is the equal-highest in the NRL (with Cronulla), but on Saturday they completed just 71 percent of their sets (30/42) — their second-lowest of the season after the 70 percent on a wet night at Kogarah in Round 12.
The Bulldogs, who were around the lower end of the scale heading into the weekend and are still ninth with an average of 78 percent, completed at 87 percent (36/41).
Meanwhile, the Warriors are now 0-6 when they finish with less run metres than the opposition. They are 12-0 when landing on the positive side of that key statistical match-up.
