Dogs loss Gould's favourite game this year, but coach calls it a 'ball-ache' (2025)

The Brisbane Broncos are winners again, while the Canterbury Bulldogs have tasted defeat for the first time this season.

Brisbane were terrific, especially in the first half, to triumph over the Bulldogs 42-18.

Adam Reynolds produced a masterclass of halfback play, but needed to come off the field late with a shoulder injury.

The weekend's footy has got off to an electric start, and three more days of action will come.

We hope you join us tomorrow as ABC Sport continues to provide live digital coverage of the NRL season.

Brisbane captain Adam Reynolds says he intends to play next week, despite coming off late in tonight's match at Lang Park.

Reynolds injured his right shoulder in the first half, but pushed through in Brisbane's 42-18 win over the Bulldogs.

Favouring that same shoulder, Reynolds was forced off the field with five minutes left in the game.

During the post-match press conference, Reynolds said his arm "went dead on me".

"It's alright now ... feels OK at the moment," he says.

"It went dead with pins and needles, and was burning."

Canterbury coachCameron Ciraldo says his team did not have bad energy tonight, they just made too many mistakes in the first 40 minutes.

The Bulldogs trailed at half-time 34-0, effectively ending any hope of victory.

He tells the media that he wants to focus on the response from his team in the second half.

"I'm really proud of the second half, filthy about the first half," he says.

Kurt Mann has joined ABC Sport following the Bulldogs' 42-18 loss to the Brisbane Broncos.

The Bulldogs had three players sent to the sin bin, and several more on report.

Mann says he felt some of the decisions were tough on his men.

"I guess it's the way the game is going," Mann told ABC Sport.

"A lot of people don't agree with it.

"Some of them were pretty unavoidable."

Brisbane's second half was a comedown from the first 40 minutes, but it would have been hard to maintain that level of excellence.

The Bulldogs were much improved in the second half.

The tries Brisbane conceded were all from errors, which is understandable in the wet.

— reporting by AAP

In one of his best-ever games, Adam Reynolds was the perfect puppeteer behind a Payne Haas-inspired Brisbane forward pack that dismantled competition leaders Canterbury in a stunning 42-18 win.

Reynolds left the field in the 75th minute, clutching his right shoulder, which he injured when scoring a try in the first half.

In pouring rain, the Broncos did a Bulldogs on the Bulldogs at Lang Park on Thursday night, pulverising them in the middle in a riotous first half but also dazzling them out wide to inflict the first loss of the season on the visitors.

It was hardly believable that a Bulldogs side that had not conceded a point in the previous two matches trailed 34-0 at halftime.

At that stage, Brisbane had missed just three tackles to their opponents' 24.

The visitors were ill-disciplined and had forward Josh Curran and Sitili Tupouniua sin-binned, for hits on Payne Haas and Brendan Piakura, respectively.

Tupouniua was put on report for a second time for lifting his knees into Piakura's head while in possession in the second half, a minute before winger Marcelo Montoya was binned for another high hit on Piakura.

By half-time, Reynolds had scored a try and laid on three, two with pinpoint chip kicks for Deine Mariner to score. He put rampaging second-rower Xavier Willison in after two minutes and never looked back.

Reynolds also conjured a 40/20, another of his box of tricks. In the next set his halves partner Ben Hunt fired a cutout pass and winger Jesse Arthars had his 10th try of the season.

The performance of Haas was on another planet. He set Reynolds up for his try with a pass after rampaging into a hole.

Haas's first 33-minute stint yielded 140m from 15 runs.

Fullback Selwyn Cobbo, switching from wing to replace injured Reece Walsh, was accomplished at the back in just his third starting appearance in the role and played tough after injuring a shoulder. His left-side raid and silky pass put centre Gehamat Shibasaki over in the corner.

Montoya, who was put on report twice in the match, got the Bulldogs on the board courtesy of a neat Viliame Kikau pass.

Bulldogs second-rower Jacob Preston crossed after a Toby Sexton bomb, and Bronson Xerri was the recipient of another Kikau pass. Mariner was binned for hitting Kikau high to become the fourth sin-binning of the match.

Bulldogs playmaker Matt Burton was also put on report for a high tackle on Billy Walters, who scored late to ice the win for Brisbane.

The Broncos get past the 40-point milestone.

In what will be the final play of the game, interchange dummy halfCory Paix put in a perfect grubber kick for Billy Walters, who scores under the post.

Jake Duke, reporter for Fox Sports, has reported that Brisbane's initial diagnosis is that Adam Reynolds has "a burner" in his right shoulder.

Essentially, it is just a rush of pain to a part of the body that has recently been hit.

Brisbane fans, look away.

Captain Adam Reynolds has just called for the trainer and has been rushed off the field.

He was favouring his right shoulder, the same shoulder he appeared to injure in the first half.

Reynolds continued to play, but with five minutes left, he threw a pass and then went down to one knee.

Reynolds is the key to this Brisbane attack.

Brisbane will play the final seven-and-a-half minutes with 12 players, after right wingerDeine Mariner was sent to the sin bin.

During Canterbury's try just then, second-row forward Viliame Kikau drew in the opposing centre and winger, and threw a lovely pass to Bronson Xerri to score.

But as Kikau threw the pass, he was hit HARD, in the head by Mariner.

The winger must go off, and he has been sent.

That was not a good hit.

Canterbury will not go away tonight.

They have fought hard in this second half.

They were given a fortunate penalty for a lifting tackle, which live did not look to be illegal from Brisbane's Kotoni Staggs.

If anything, Staggs's own legs were the ones that flicked into the air. The tackled player landed safely.

The Bulldogs take full advantage of this opportunity, and a nice shift to the left allows centre Bronson Xerri to score in the corner.

The Bulldogs couldn't, could they?

It is a second try for the Canterbury Bulldogs.

Bulldog winger Jacob Kiraz leaps over his counterpart Jesse Arthurs to catch a high kick from Bulldog half Toby Sexton.

Kiraz is able to get an offload to second-row forward Jacob Preston who touches down.

Brisbane lead 34-12.

Nothing is going right for the Bulldogs.

They get a penalty and Toby Sexton boots the ball LONG.

It's a great kick and he is going to gain close to 50 metres.

But the ball has hit a Brisbane trainer, trying to run off the field.

The Bulldogs are pleading with the ref to allow them to tap the ball near the halfway, but they have to take the penalty again.

Canterbury try scorer Marcelo Montoya is off for 10 minutes.

He commits a high shot onBrendan Piakura. Poor Piakura has been struck so many times in the head tonight.

In all fairness, I can't understand why Montoya is off for that high tackle, butTupouniua stayed on the field for a knee to an opponent's head.

After being sin-binned in the first half,Sitili Tupouniua is on report after lifting his knee, while carrying the ball.

The knee hit the head of Brisbane'sBrendan Piakura.

Tupouniua is lucky not to be sent off.

The Canterbury Bulldogs are on the board tonight.

Left winger Marcelo Montoya has scored untouched after some nice build-up play.

The Bulldogs have started this half well. They have pinned the Broncos in their own end.

A drop from Brisbane'sGehamat Shibasaki from a kick gave the Bulldogs a full-set at the goal line, and the away side made it count.

Canterbury will be out to save face in the second half.

Brisbane will not want to go into their shell.

In all matches this year, they have had periods where their attention and play drops.

Coach Michael Maguire would love to see his side continue to play solid, patient footy.

The Brisbane Broncos are getting a standing ovation from their fans at Lang Park as they head up the tunnel for half-time.

The home side has produced an ambush, scoring six tries to take a 34-0 lead over the undefeated Bulldogs.

Brisbane gets into a huddle on the side of the pitch, and five-eight Ben Hunt speaks to them before they go to the shed.

Every Bronco was listening to Hunt. This team is locked in.

Meanwhile, Canterbury must be hoping for the rain to continue and flood the pitch.

They had no answer, but were severely hindered by two sin bins.