80 min: Inu bats back a Kris Keating bomb to Reynolds, who scores his second. Inu turns four into six. Dogs run out 32-20 winners.
77 min: The Tigers are nothing if not entertaining as they chance their arm in attack ... but time is quickly running out.
69 min: Inu puts the Dogs back in front, dummying his way over between the posts after quick hands from - you guessed it - Barba. The tryscorer converts. Bulldogs 26-20.
64 min: Just when you thought the Dogs were taking control of the match, Iosefa scores a great solo try, having laid one on for Lawrence only 11 minutes earlier. Marshall converts from the sideline to level the scores. 20-20.
58 min: Barba continues to mesmerise the Tigers, scoring a try of his own to go with his two try assists. Inu is astray with the kick. Bulldogs 20-14.
53 min: The Tigers hit back after a superb try by Chris Lawrence, who shows incredible strength to crash over in the left corner after being put into a gap by Masada Iosefa. Marshall misses the kick. Bulldogs 16-14.
47 min: Josh Morris goes in for his second try after a Sonny Bill Williams-like pass from Barba. Inu converts. The Bulldogs lead for the first time in the match, 16-10.
41 min: The Bulldogs stun the Tigers with a brilliant 70-metre try, initiated by a Barba break and finished off by Josh Reynolds. Inu adds the extras. Des Hasler may have a questionable hairdo but, boy, can he coach. 10-10.
Half-time: Tigers 10-4.
38 min: Tigers back in front, via the boot again, after an amazing Marshall banana kick ends up in Ryan's hands and he scores near the posts. Marshall converts. Tigers 10-4.
31 min: Josh Morris, in the form of his life, muscles his way through four defenders, including makeshift centre Ben Murdoch-Masila, to score out wide, his 13th for the Bulldogs this season. Krisnan Inu's conversion attempt goes wide. 4-4.
30 min: Bulldogs repel another Tigers set on their line. They are doing well to be down only 4-0 given the amount of ball and the territorial advantage the Tigers have had.
22 min: After a succession of knock-ons from both teams, Perrett makes the first of what will be many fine dummy-half bursts to put the Bulldogs on the front foot.
20 min: Great line defence from the Dogs keeps the Tigers out, but Kris Keating undoes much of their good work by kicking out on the full.
17 min: Marshall forces a line dropout from the Bulldogs. The Tigers are looking good.
11 minute: Joel Reddy flies high to come down with a Benji Marshall bomb and open the scoring. Marshall misses a fairly straightforward conversion. Tigers 4-0.
8 min: Tigers winger Lote Tuqiri is taken off the field in a medi-cab with a suspected broken arm after a collision with teammate Adam Blair. Huge blow for the Tigers, who are already missing Robbie Farah, Gareth Ellis and Tim Moltzen.
4 min: More magic from Dogs fullback Ben Barba beating Beau Ryan to a dangerous Benji Marshall kick. You know Queensland are in good shape when this bloke can't make their Origin side.
Bulldogs kick off, running towards the Paddington end of the stadium.
Players running out on to the field now, gee Sam Perrett looks strange in a Bulldogs jersey after 140-odd games for the mighty Roosters.
'Sonny' Phil Mitchell is on deck as the Bulldogs aim to win their sixth game on the trot.
PREVIEW
Allianz Stadium, Friday 7.45pm (AEST)
Last meeting: Round 16 2011 - Bulldogs 16 bt Tigers 6 at Campbelltown Stadium
Head-to-head: Bulldogs 13 Tigers 9
Referees: Jason Robinson/Gavin Morris
TV: Live, Channel 9
TAB Sportsbet: Tigers $2.35 Bulldogs $1.60
FootyTab: Tigers +2.5
Greg Prichard writes: Both teams are coming off the bye, and the Tigers needed the time off the field to work on a few things – defence, in particular – after back-to-back, heavy losses to the Roosters and Knights. The Bulldogs have won five straight to go to second on the table. The Bulldogs are warm favourites, but the potential is there for the Tigers to improve significantly.
AAP writes: The Tigers will be looking to recover from their two-game slump to tighten their loosely-held grip on eighth spot. They’ve received a late blow with the loss of hooker Robbie Farah but will be bolstered with the return of Curtis Sironen and Liam Fulton from injury. But the second-placed Bulldogs have been on fire with five back-to-back wins, including round 16’s 20-4 riot over Melbourne in Mackay. Roosters recruit Sam Perrett will also be making his debut on the wing for the Bulldogs.
Key: Krisnan Inu. The winger/centre has crossed for six tries in just four games and is playing with bags of confidence. The Tigers will need to watch out for Inu’s tremendous vertical leap.
TIGERS: Beau Ryan, Joel Reddy, Blake Ayshford, Chris Lawrence, Lote Tuqiri, Curtis Sironen, Benji Marshall, Aaron Woods, Tom Humble, Keith Galloway, Adam Blair, Liam Fulton, Chris Heighington. Interchange: Ben Murdoch-Masila, Ray Cashmere, Matt Bell, Masada Iosefa.
BULLDOGS: Ben Barba, Sam Perrett, Josh Morris, Krisnan Inu, Jonathan Wright, Josh Reynolds, Kris Keating, Aiden Tolman, Michael Ennis, Sam Kasiano, Frank Pritchard, Dene Halatau, David Stagg. Interchange: James Graham, Dale Finucane, Corey Payne, Josh Jackson.
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