3m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 6:04amLive updates: Bulldogs vs Panthers

Just nowSun 21 Sep 2025 at 6:07am

1′ Kick off in the sudden death semifinal

Penrith kicks off and the Bulldogs will use the ball first, Max King off the back fence with the solid contact as the battle is joined.

1m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 6:06am

The players come onto the field

What a reception for the teams.

The Panthers are greeted with a chorus of boos befitting a finals clash away from home as this massive crowd files into the stadium.

The Bulldogs are making the Panthers wait a bit as the stadium announcer lets the atmosphere build.

And out they come from a blue-lit tunnel into a sunbathed Stadium Australia.

6m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 6:01am

Week off to cause more problems than it will solve?

Problem with having a bye week to allow for head knocks is do you limit it to that ? What about a player returning from a different injury who gets to play because they just needed that extra week? Lachie Neale springs to mind . Is it only applicable to someone injured in a preliminary final? Etc. etc..
I think it would cause more problems than it would solve.

– Phillip

8m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:59am

How important is Reed Mahoney?(Getty Images)

Reed Mahoney has been returned to the starting line up today.

Just how important is it for him to play well tonight, bound as he is for the Cowboys?

He’s been on the interchange for the last five games of the season, playing minimal minutes despite many experts saying he’s the best dummy half in the Bulldogs squad.

Of course, he’s been moved on to deal along with Toby Sexton to make room for Lachie Galvin.

His defence has been one of the key things the Bulldogs have missed since his demotion so his inclusion is so important from that perspective.

Is it important enough to get the Bulldogs over the line?

We’ll soon find out…

9m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:58am

Bulldogs wobbling at the worst possible time(Getty Images)

Earlier in the season, the Bulldogs looked in stunning form.

Then, the wheels began to rust up and, if not fall off, start to get a little bit wobbly.

The Bulldogs have won only two of their past seven games.

It’s not hard to point the finger at what changed in the Bulldogs squad that led to this gradual drop off — he’s playing with the number six jersey on in the Bulldogs halves.

But now it’s time for the Bulldogs to try and step up against a team that have beaten them in eight of their last nine meetings.

Cameron Ciraldo has a new spine combo for this must win game, Lachlan Galvin and Toby Sexton partnering each other in the halves for just the third time.

Regular five-eighth Matt Burton has to move to centre.

There was always going to be a risk in disrupting the best spine in the league midseason, but now, no matter how good Galvin ends up being, he is at risk of being associated this with destabilisation of what looked like a superb chance of a Bulldogs premiership.

Puts a lot of pressure on this game.

17m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:50am

The winner heads to Brisbane

Hello Simon, as a Broncos fan thinking of next week, I’m hoping for a Bulldog win today.

– Mike

Hi Mike.

It’s a big crowd this evening in Sydney.

It’s going to be a big crowd next week as well as Brisbane hosts the winner of this clash.

(Getty Images)

Will the Broncos fancy one or the other? Hard to know.

But the Panthers have now won 13-straight matches in the finals.

It’s such an ominous run of form that you get a sense that if they do go out, every team that’s still left will sleep a little easier.

22m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:45am

The big debate: Should there be a week off before the NRL grand final?

It’s a situation that has reared its head in the AFL this week, but what if something similar happened in the NRL?

Luke Lewis has told ABC Sport that he can’t imagine someone missing a grand final if being ruled out with a head knock.

Have a listen and let me know your thoughts.

24m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:43am

Yikes(Getty Images)

You’ll never take their freedom…

29m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:38am

The Bulldogs’ blueprint that Penrith can follow

Resting its entire team against Canterbury in round 17 was Penrith’s first step on its quest to win the premiership from outside the top four.

Ironically, another Bulldogs side could have the blueprint for them to follow.

Here’s the analysis from Nick Campton.

32m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:35am

Cleary the key?

Who are we kidding? Nathan Cleary is almost always the key for the Panthers.

His game management is second to none, but it’s his ability to pull out the killer play at the same time that’s so important.

This is what he was able to do in that war in Western Sydney Stadium earlier this season.

Clutch.

If it’s tight tonight, look to the man with the number seven on his back.

37m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:30am

Last time out

42m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:25am

What happened last night?

The Raiders are going to have a long summer wondering about what might have been, after falling to a 32-12 defeat against the Sharks last night in Canberra.

Read more about this here.

Or, if you’re a Canberra fan, look away now.

47m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:20am

Enormous reception pre-game for Bulldogs(Getty Images)

The Bulldogs fans have been electric all year in the NRL.

(Getty Images)

And they have turned out in numbers at Homebush to make sure the team know they’re behind them.

Look at these scenes.

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Incredible.

50m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:17am

The match that turned the Panthers’ season around

The Panthers are in the hunt to become five-time back-to-back premiers, and the first team to do so from outside the top four.

It didn’t look like that would be the case earlier in the season.

The Panthers were on track to become the first side since the 1953 Western Suburbs Magpies to go from premiers to wooden-spooners in the space of 12 months.

Instead, it was a defeat to the Knights in round 12 that helped to turn their season around.

Read more here

55m agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 5:12amLate switches for both teams(NRL.com)Bulldogs

A very late change for the Bulldogs, with Reed Mahoney starting at hooker and Bailey Hayward going to the bench.

Sitili Tupouniua will also start the game at prop with Josh Curran sliding to the bench.

(Bulldogs)

The Bulldogs are still without Stephen Crichton, a massive blow for the Bulldogs chances.

The former Panther’s premiership winner was officially ruled out after failing a fitness test yesterday.

He left AAMI Park in a moon boot last week after the defeat to Melbourne, but he had been named in the reserves.

Matt Burton will move to centre, with Lachlan Galvin taking over at five-eighth and Toby Sexton at halfback.

Bronson Xerri is back in the centres.

Panthers

A late change for the Panthers too, hooker Mitch Kenny comes into the starting side.

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He is returning from a hamstring injury.

Prop Moses Leota will make his 200th NRL appearance.

1h agoSun 21 Sep 2025 at 4:57am

NRL finals: Bulldogs vs Panthers(Getty Images)

Hello league fans and welcome to the ABC Sport blog of this massive semifinal clash between two giants of Sydney football.

Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs take on the four-time reigning premiers, Penrith Panthers in front of a crowd expected to top 80,000 at the Sydney Olympic stadium at Homebush.

The sun is shining. The crowd is rabid (in a good way).

It’s all set up for a fantastic afternoon’s entertainment.

My name is Simon Smale and I am here to talk you through all the action as it happens and am looking forward to it immensely.