{"id":723607,"date":"2026-06-08T19:17:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/723607\/"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:17:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:17:42","slug":"nrl-2026-late-drama-as-stephen-crichton-penalty-goal-keeps-canterbury-bulldogs-season-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/723607\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL 2026: Late drama as Stephen Crichton penalty goal keeps Canterbury Bulldogs\u2019 season alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Clarke<\/p>\n

June 8, 2026 \u2014 6:44pm<\/p>\n

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Stephen Crichton has kicked a late penalty goal to help Canterbury slow their worrying decline in form with a mistake-riddled 14-12 win over Parramatta.<\/p>\n

Crichton struck from the tee in the 76th minute at Accor Stadium on Monday after Eels hooker Tallyn Da Silva was penalised for a questionable high shot on Matt Burton.<\/p>\n

Burton laid down seeking treatment after Da Silva\u2019s contact and failed to finish the match as he was sent for a head injury assessment.<\/p>\n

Crichton\u2019s penalty got the Dogs home after the first scoreless opening half in the NRL in five years.<\/p>\n

Cameron Ciraldo\u2019s Bulldogs (5-8) climbed to 13th on the NRL ladder, and kept their finals hopes alive, but the first half was a snapshot of Canterbury\u2019s season when they dominated possession and territory and ran for 230 metres more than the Eels.<\/p>\n

Despite having playing the ball 17 times in the Eels\u2019 20m zone in the opening 40 minutes, the Bulldogs\u2019 attack was blunt and directionless.<\/p>\n

\"SitiliSitili Tupouniua celebrates after scoring a try in Canterbury\u2019s win over the Eeels.Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Eels thought Joash Papalii had scored a try on the stroke of half-time, only for his effort to be called back for a knock-on, resulting in the first scoreless opening half since the 2021 meeting between the Eels and Raiders.<\/p>\n

Sitili Tupouniua was held up early in the second half before finally crashing over for the game\u2019s opening try off a Lachlan Galvin short ball in the 49th minute.<\/p>\n

Three minutes after Canterbury finally got on the board, captain Stephen Crichton helped his side double their lead. Crichton climbed above Eels fullback Isaiah Iongi to claim a Galvin bomb to touch down.<\/p>\n

But just when the Bulldogs thought they were beginning to pull away, the Eels hit back with tries in back-to-back sets to set up a thrilling finish.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Stephen<\/a><\/p>\n

Winger Josh Addo-Carr made a burst down the left and grubbered in-field for Da Silva to slide in, and the hooker was quickly followed over by Papalii after a midfield bust from Eels debutant Teancum Brown.<\/p>\n

The Eels were hunting a third after Ronald Volkman forced a goal-line dropout, but Da Silva brought the halfback\u2019s work undone when he was penalised for an escort on Tupouniua \u2013 and then handed the Bulldogs the win.<\/p>\n

Da Silva was placed on report by referee Todd Smith for a debatable high shot on Bulldogs five-eighth Burton and Crichton stepped up to slot the winning penalty from 40m out.<\/p>\n

AAP<\/p>\n

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