This is the damning statistic that could torpedo the Bulldogs’ premiership dreams.

Forget Lachlan Galvin and the team’s stuttering attack; exclusive statistics reveal it’s the Bulldogs’ once-famed defence that has caused their late-season collapse.

The ‘Dogs of War’ have missed an alarming 193 tackles in their last five matches. They head into today’s sudden-death final against the Panthers after a defensive horror show against the Storm, where they missed a staggering 61 tackles.

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Once regarded as the best defensive unit in the competition, the Bulldogs last week missed almost double the number of tackles as the Panthers, who recorded just 31 in their do-or-die encounter against the Warriors in New Zealand.

The numbers don’t lie. Over the last five games, the Bulldogs have missed 43 more tackles than the Panthers. This gap would have been even wider if Canterbury hadn’t faced a severely understrength Penrith side in their Round 26 triumph, which featured only a handful of regular NRL players.

While the spotlight has been firmly fixed on the Bulldogs’ attack after Lachlan Galvin’s mid-season transfer sparked a spine overhaul, the statistics suggest the gamble that pushed Toby Sexton and Reed Mahoney to the outer has turned the club’s brick wall defence into a sandcastle.

Bailey Hayward – the player who replaced Mahoney at No. 9 – missed a jaw-dropping 15 tackles last week alone.

“The players around Galvin are having to work a little harder because teams are sending traffic his way,” said former Bulldog Brad Morrin. “They are having to offer him some protection. It is causing fatigue and has a real snowball effect.”

Morrin suggested that the absence of Mahoney was the key to their defensive frailties.

“I think you really notice what someone does as soon as they are not around,” Morrin said. “He is a very good defensive player and does all the little things well. He probably gets up and down the field 100 times in a match and helps cover up all those little things.”

Mahoney returns to the Bulldogs’ line-up today but has been controversially named on the bench behind Hayward – the man who missed 15 tackles last week. The return of Bronson Xerri is also expected to add some much-needed defensive starch to the edge.

TALE OF THE TAPE: THE LEAKY ‘DOGS

Bulldogs Missed Tackles (Last 5 Rounds):

— vs Storm: 61

— Sharks: 35

— Panthers: 31

— Storm: 29

—Roosters: 37

Total: 193 missed tackles

Panthers Missed Tackles (Last 5 Rounds)

— Warriors: 31

— Dragons: 21

— Dogs: 44—s Storm: 22

— Knights: 32

Total: 150

Originally published as ‘Snowball effect’: Brutal Galvin truth Bulldogs won’t admit