The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are a professional rugby league club in the National Rugby League (NRL), the premier rugby league football competition in Australasia.

Based in Belmore, a suburb of Sydney, in 1935 the Bulldogs were admitted to the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition, a predecessor of the current NRL competition.

The Bulldogs won their first premiership in just their fourth season (1938). At the time it made them the quickest club (barring the founding clubs) to win a premiership after admission to the competition, a record which was only recently beaten in 1999 by the Melbourne Storm. They won a second premiership in 1942 but then had to wait another 38 years before breaking through for a third title in 1980. During the 80s, the Bulldogs were a dominant force in the competition appearing in five grand finals, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1988, winning four of them, in 1980 (18-4 against Eastern Suburbs), 1984 (6-4 against Parramatta Eels), 1985 (7-6 against St. George Dragons) and 1988 (24-12 against Balmain Tigers), only to lose in 1986 (4-2 against Parramatta Eels). In the 90s they featured in the 1994, 1995 and 1998 grand finals, winning in 1995 (17-4 against Manly Sea Eagles), but losing in 1994 (36-12 against Canberra Raiders) and in 1998 (38-12 against Brisbane Broncos). Their most recent success was in 2004, when they beat the Sydney Roosters 16-13. The tryscorers were Hazem El Masri and Matt Utai, and the Clive Churchill Medal winner was Willie Mason.

Club records

Biggest wins vs current NRL clubs Margin Score Opposition Venue Date62 66–4 North Queensland Cowboys Belmore Sports Ground 27 August 199550 62–12 South Sydney Rabbitohs Sydney Football Stadium 3 August 200348 52–4 Canberra Raiders Telstra Stadium 12 August 200746 50–4 Melbourne Storm Sydney Showground 10 August 200346 52–6 Newcastle Knights Telstra Stadium 27 August 200446 60–14 Sydney Roosters ANZ Stadium 28 March 201044 54–10 New Zealand Warriors Ericsson Stadium 5 September 200438 42–4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks ANZ Stadium 17 March 201438 42–4 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Allianz Stadium 27 July 202538 38–0 St. George Illawarra Dragons UOW Jubilee Oval 26 August 201838 38–0 Wests Tigers Moreton Daily Stadium 5 September 202136 42–6 Parramatta Eels Belmore Sports Ground 12 April 199336 40–4 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium 11 July 200332 56–24 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Brookvale Oval 17 August 200332 32–0 Gold Coast Titans Belmore Sports Ground 23 March 202426 40–1440–1446–20 Penrith Panthers Penrith StadiumSydney ShowgroundTelstra Stadium 13 April 19808 July 200130 July 2004

Biggest losses vs current NRL clubs Margin Score Opposition Venue Date80 7–87 Eastern Suburbs Sydney Sports Ground 18 May 193566 0–66 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles Bankwest Stadium 3 July 202166 0–66 Newcastle Knights Accor Stadium 2 July 202352 4–56 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium 12 August 200552 2–544–56 Wests Tigers Telstra StadiumANZ Stadium 19 August 20053 August 200846 0–46 Melbourne Storm Olympic Park 31 May 200842 10–52 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Sydney Football Stadium 16 September 200142 0–42 Penrith Panthers ANZ Stadium 26 September 202040 18–58 Canberra Raiders ANZ Stadium 21 June 200838 0–38 South Sydney Rabbitohs Stadium Australia 2 April 202136 12–480–36 North Queensland Cowboys Carrara Stadium1300SMILES Stadium 27 May 200521 July 201636 4–40 St. George Illawarra Dragons Netstrata Jubilee Stadium 14 April 201934 6–40 New Zealand Warriors Mt. Smart Stadium 16 March 201931 10–41 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium 8 August 201428 6–34 Gold Coast Titans Suncorp Stadium 2 August 2021

Biggest wins vs former clubs Margin Score Opposition Venue Date52 52–0 Western Suburbs Magpies Lidcombe Oval 2 June 198546 56–10 Gold Coast Chargers Belmore Sports Ground 19 April 199844 50–6 North Sydney Bears North Sydney Oval 18 May 197542 42–0 Western Reds Parramatta Stadium 9 April 199541 41–0 University Belmore Sports Ground 1 August 193639 52–13 Balmain Tigers Leichhardt Oval 20 April 198132 38–6 Newtown Jets Belmore Sports Ground 12 August 197926 26–0 St. George Dragons Belmore Sports Ground 5 August 198826 30–4 Adelaide Rams Belmore Sports Ground 3 May 199825 25–0 Illawarra Steelers Belmore Sports Ground 1 June 198620 38–1842–22 Northern Eagles Sydney ShowgroundSydney Showground 10 March 20016 July 200212 48–36 Hunter Mariners Belmore Sports Ground 12 May 19977 25–18 South Queensland Crushers Suncorp Stadium 20 August 1995

Biggest losses vs former clubs Margin Score Opposition Venue Date85 6–91 St. George Earl Park 11 May 193554 11–65 Western Suburbs Pratten Park 31 August 193543 2–45 North Sydney Belmore Sports Ground 17 April 195440 9–49 Newtown Marrickville Oval 27 July 193540 4–44 Illawarra Steelers Wollongong Showground 31 March 199139 5–44 Balmain Leichhardt Oval 4 May 193528 6–34 Perth Reds Perth Oval 23 March 19978 22–30 Northern Eagles Brookvale Oval 2 July 20002 20–22 Adelaide Rams Adelaide Oval 27 March 1998– – Gold Coast Chargers – –– – Hunter Mariners – –– – South Queensland Crushers – –– – University – –

Biggest comeback Recovered from a 20-point deficit. Trailed Northern Eagles 20-0 after 23 minutes to win 32-30 at NorthPower Stadium on 24 June 2001. Trailed Canberra Raiders 20-0 after 44 minutes to win 32-20 at Canberra Stadium on 10 May 2025.

Worst collapse Surrendered a 20-point lead. Led Parramatta Eels 20–0 after 45 minutes to lose 28-20 at ANZ Stadium on 15 March 2008.

Scoring records Most points in a match 66 points, Canterbury beat North Queensland 66–4 (27 August 1995)+

Most points in a match (Lose) 36 points, Wests Tigers beat Canterbury 37–36 (27 March 2005)

Highest score conceded 91 points, St George beat Canterbury 91–6 (11 May 1935)^

Most points in a season 342 (16 tries, 139 goals), Hazem El Masri in 2004

Most tries in a match 5, Edgar Newham against Balmain (15 August 1942), Canterbury won 26–20 - NRL 5, Nigel Vagana against Souths (19 April 2002), Canterbury won 32–6 - NRL

Most goals in a match 11, Hazem El Masri against Souths (3 August 2003), Canterbury won 62–12

^ denotes premiership record

+ denotes club record for biggest win and most points in a match

Streak records Longest winning streak 17 matches, 31 March – 3 August 2002

Longest losing streak 11 matches, 25 June 1955 – 14 April 1956 11 matches, 6 July 1965 – 17 April 1966

Player records

Current to Round 15, 2025

Most first grade games 317, Hazem El Masri (1996–2009) 273, Steve Mortimer (1976–1988) 262, Terry Lamb (1984–1996) 245, Steve Folkes (1978–1989, 1991) 241, Josh Jackson (2012–2022) 232, Chris Anderson (1971–1984) 225, Luke Patten (2001–2010) 222, Steve Price (1994–2004) 222, Aiden Tolman (2011–2020) 218, Andrew Ryan (2003–2011) 217, Josh Morris (2009–2018)

Most tries for club 159, Hazem El Masri (1996–2009) 123, Terry Lamb (1984–1996) 103, Josh Morris (2009–2018) 94, Chris Anderson (1971–1984) 82, Luke Patten (2001–2010) 79, Steve Mortimer (1976–1988) 78, Peter Mortimer (1977–1987) 72, Ben Barba (2008–2013) 71, Matt Utai (2002–2009) 63, Steve Gearin (1976–1982, 1985)

Most goals for club 891, Hazem El Masri (1996–2009) 630, Daryl Halligan (1994–2000) 405, Steve Gearin (1976–1982, 1985) 375, Terry Lamb (1984–1996) 233, Les Johns (1963–1971)

Most field goals for club 37, Terry Lamb (1984–1996) 19, Les Johns (1963–1971) 11, Trent Hodkinson (2011–2015) 10, Ron Raper (1966–1972) 10, Braith Anasta (2000–2005)

Most points for club 2,418 (159 tries, 891 goals), Hazem El Masri (1996–2009) 1,490 (57 tries, 630 goals, 2 field goals), Daryl Halligan (1994–2000) 1,279 (123 tries, 375 goals, 37 field goals), Terry Lamb (1984–1996) 1,006 (63 tries, 405 goals), Steve Gearin (1976–1982, 1985) 545 (14 tries, 233 goals, 19 field goals), Les Johns (1963–1971) 484 (21 tries, 197 goals, 6 field goals), Matt Burton (2020–) 417 (12 tries, 179 goals, 11 field goals), Trent Hodkinson (2011–2015)

Rothmans Medal winners Greg Brentnall (1982) Terry Lamb (1984) Ewan McGrady (1991)

Dally M Medal winners Ben Barba (2012)

Player of the Year (Dr George Peponis Medal) Year Player2013 James Graham2014 James GrahamSam Perrett2015 Brett MorrisAiden Tolman2016 David Klemmer2017 Josh Jackson2018 David Klemmer2019 Will Hopoate2020 Kieran Foran2021 Josh Jackson2022 Jeremy Marshall-King2023 Jacob Preston2024Viliame Kikau2025Stephen Crichton

References

Footnotes Woods B (2007). El Magic - The Life of Hazem El Masri. Harper Collins Publishing. Andrews M (2006). The ABC of Rugby League. ABC Publishing. Whiticker A & Hudson G (2005). Canterbury Bulldogs - The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Bas Publishing. Whittaker A & Collis I (2004). The History of Rugby League Clubs. Lane D (1996). A Family Betrayal - One Man's Super League War - Jarred McCracken. Ironbark Publishing. Chesterton R (1996). Good as Gould - Phil Gould's Stormy Life in Football. Ironbark Publishing. Lester G (1991). The Bulldog Story. Publishing. Whiticker A (1992). The Terry Lamb Story. Gary Allen Publishing. Tasker N (1988). Top-Dog - The Steve Mortimer Story. Century Hutchinson Publishing. Lester G (1985). Berries to Bulldogs. Lester - Townsend Publishing. NRL Official Information Handbook (2001–2007). Season Guide. Middleton D (1987–2006). The Official NSWRL, ARL, NRL Yearbook / Annual. Christensen EE (1946–1977). NSWRL Yearbook. Rugby League Review (2003–2007) Big League (1974–2007) Rugby League Week (1970–2007) The Rugby League News

External links Official Bulldogs website Rugby league tables - Bulldogs Back to Belmore - official campaign website