Saturday’s NRL festivities end with the Bulldogs taking on the embattled Wests Tigers at the Sydney Olympic park.
In Auckland, the second-placed New Zealand Warriors squeaked to a nervy 20-12 victory over wooden-spoon favourite St George Illawarra, who saw a try chalked off may well feel aggrieved by the awarding of two controversial late penalties.
Earlier, the Raiders hung on to beat the South Sydney Rabbitohs 34-24 at Canberra stadium, but lost Hudson Young to a suspected ruptured Achilles, ruling him out of the rest of the season and the World Cup.
The Raiders and Blues forward Young was carried from the field after going down with a non-contact, left lower leg injury, confirmed by the Raiders as being a suspected Achilles rupture. That came after Melbourne revealed that winger Will Warbrick ruptured his Achilles tendon on Friday night and will undergo surgery early next week, ending his season and his Storm career.
In the NRLW, the Roosters beat the Raiders, the Warriors crushed the Cowboys and the Bulldogs take on the Sharks.
Follow the live blog below, keep up to date with all the latest stats in our ScoreCentre, and tune in to our live radio coverage.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 7:35pm
Live updates: Bulldogs vs Wests Tigers
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 9:04pm
62′ Wests Tigers knock on
The Wests Tigers give that a red hot crack, coming within an inch or so of scoring in the corner after a Heamasi Makasini
run.
The Bulldogs then have to bat a grubber behind.
But then the Wests Tigers knock the ball on.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 9:02pm
He’s not having a good game
Maybe the ref has been blinded by a laser. There’s a lot of that going on tonight.
– KB
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 9:01pm
60′ Bulldogs knock on!
Kiraz tries to offload and there are three Wests Tigers players around him and he loses it forward into one of those players.
The Wests Tigers have a chance from the scrum 30 metres out from the Bulldogs line.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:57pm
56′ Adam Doueihi on report
Goodness, Adam Doueihi is on report and the TV director has found the offending tackle.
It’s a horror effort, no arms, shoulder to the head.
Makes you wonder what the referee is looking at if he didn’t see that in real time, because that could very easily have been a sin binning.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:51pm
50′ 40:20 O’Sullivan!
How about that from the Bulldogs halfback!
Sean O’Sullivan sees the fullback out of position and he kicks it from inside the 40 into the 20.
A brilliant kick and a superb pressure reliever after a great start to the second half from the Wests Tigers.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:50pm
49′ Wests Tigers blow the last play
The Wests Tigers have made a right Bulldogs breakfast out of that last play.
Luai slipped, just about dished off the pass to Samuela Fainu, who tries to kick the ball, just about gets its boot to it, the ball hits Max King and pin balls around.
Fainu gathers it again and is tackled.
Luai wants to challenge that.
He does challenge it but it’s not played at and the Bulldogs will take the ball out of their own 10.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:46pm
48′ Bulldogs error!
The Bulldogs get their angles all wrong and drop the ball.
Jarome Luai screams in delight – hoping to manufacture something out of this boost in fortune.
The Tigers have a scrum on the Bulldogs 40.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:44pm
45′ Wests Tigers spreading the ball nicely
This has been a much better start for the Wests Tigers.
For the first time in the game it looks like they’re willing to pass the ball and move it with straight running.
The Tigers are passing it well, quickly down the line and have one chance down the left, and then another down the right that results in a knock on by the Bulldogs in the tackle.
A bit more inventive from the Wests Tigers.
From the scrum the Tigers earn their first tackle inside the Bulldogs 20.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:40pm
41′ We’re back underway
The Wests Tigers get acquainted with the ball first after the Bulldogs kick off.
You’d hope they do something with it to start the half.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:39pm
That looks sore…
Heamasi Makasini has copped one in the eye in that first half.
I have to admit, I didn’t see it at the time, but the camera doesn’t lie…
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:37pm
I don’t think you’re the only Tiger-adjacent who is upset
I tipped Tigers hoping for an upset – now I’m upset….
– Mike
It’s been terrible from the Wests Tigers.
They are not moving the ball well, and giving their supporters very little to be happy about.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:24pm
HT: Bulldogs dominate Wests Tigers
It has been one way traffic in the first half.
The Bulldogs are absolutely monstering the Wests Tigers at the moment, three tries to nil and it could have been four or even more, to be honest.
The Tigers have not had a sniff of the ball really, just 40 per cent possession and have run for just 548 metres.
The Bulldogs have run for 1,166 metres, with 405 post-contact metres.
The stats are alarming and the Wests Tigers need to do something to stop the rot.
Jarome Luai, although it’s unfair to pin all the blame on him, has done nothing, running just twice for nine metres and has only kicked twice too, with just one bomb.
He needs to do more.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:23pm
37′ Connor Tracey taken out in the air
That was dangerous from Jeral Skelton.
He has leaped up and made contact with Connor Tracey as he leaped to get a high ball.
Tracey had his eyes on the ball and made a really good catch – Skelton just grabbed Tracey instead.
It’s not given as a penalty.
This referee has missed a fair bit in this game – and I can only see that starting to cause issues as the players get more frustrated with it.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:19pm
34′ Forward pass against Luai
Hmmmm, I think the referee needs to get his angles recalibrated.
Jarome Luai is incredulous and incensed at that call, and he has every right to be.
It’s come just after another forward pass called on Terrell May.
That was marginal – or indeed, wrong – too.
The Wests Tigers can’t catch a trick.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:17pm
33′ Penalty Wests Tigers
Matt Burton gets to the landing zone of another well-placed high kick a little bit too early and takes out Jahreem Bula.
The Bulldogs are trying to work over Bula with the high ball but he did well there to win the penalty.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:10pm
27′ On comes Viliame Kikau
And he gets a great reception from the Bulldogs fans at Homebush.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:08pm
24′ Bulldogs have another!
O’Sullivan is playing a very nice game.
He straightens up the line so well and leaves Galvin the chance to play the ball, delivering it to Jacob Preston like a waiter, serving it under arm.
Preston crashes into the Tigers’ line, he then passes out to Enari Tuala, who dives over in the corner.
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Lovely football.
It’s Tuala’s 50th NRL try.
The kick is good and it’s 18-0.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:05pm
22′ Koroisau misses the 40:20
That was a great effort from Api Koroisau.
He kicks from inside his own 40 but put the ball out just the wrong side of the 20 deep in the Bulldogs territory.
Was a good attempt, but puts the ball back in the Bulldogs’ hands.
Sat 18 Jul 2026 at 8:02pm
19′ Luai is being booed
He hasn’t touched the ball in the opening 20 minutes or so.
But Jarome Luai had the ball then and it was very clear that there were people in the crowd booing him.
Bulldogs fans?
Wests Tigers fans?
At this point, who knows.
dan