Ben Barba’s seemingly relentless march towards the Dally M Medal may only be equalled by Canterbury’s grip on the NRL’s minor premiership – but you’re unlikely to hear any Bulldog talk about either subject.
Despite showing more cracks than in any game since their round 10 loss to Gold Coast back in May, the Bulldogs survived an early Brisbane onslaught to produce a 22-14 come-from-behind victory, their 11th win on the trot.
And in doing so they exhibited a quality they have yet to call on this season – a gritty determination from a team used to leading and looking untroubled during their impressive win streak.
The win moved them four points clear of second-placed Melbourne and third-placed South Sydney with just three games to go, allowing coach Des Hasler to put one hand on the JJ Giltinan Shield.
The Storm found their groove again, beating the Titans on Friday night, while the Rabbitohs dropped two points in their loss to an ever-improving Manly outfit.
But the wily Hasler has imparted a directive on his players to not let their minds wander to finishing first on the ladder.
“We’ve been asked not to talk about any of that stuff, but I’m sure (the minor premiership is) at the back of our minds there somewhere,” Barba said after the match.
“We’ve got to keep winning at the moment. There’s teams that are still there, Melbourne and Souths, we’ve got to keep playing good footy and we’ll go from there.
“I think it goes with not saying that f-word (finals). If we talk about that too much I guess we’ll go the other way.”
Barba was at his mesmerising best again on Sunday, scoring two tries and saving another pair.
The second of his four-pointers, which sealed the match five minutes from fulltime, was a gem.
The whippet-like fullback danced out of the clutches of Brisbane halfback Peter Wallace before zipping away from two more Broncos.
It seems to defy logic that this is the same player who is able to stop a rampaging Ben Hannant with a one-on-one tackle.
“That’s my job if they make it through,” Barba calmly said about his try-savers before turning his attention to the Dally M.
“It’s always there in the back of your mind. But there are some great players in this game that in the next couple of weeks will put their hand up and come home strong.”
Gun centre Krisnan Inu, who is yet to taste defeat since his mid-season move to the Bulldogs, insisted he had no interest in knowing his team’s place on the ladder – or their minor premiership hopes.
“I probably hear more from the outside, my family and friends (about our position on the ladder),” Inu told AAP.
“I can’t worry myself with that sort of stuff. We just focus on winning. If we come away as the minor premiers that is a credit to the staff and our coach.”
Meanwhile, Canberra’s finals hopes have yet to be extinguished after they triumphed 20-10 at Penrith on Sunday.
The same cannot be said for the Warriors who were humiliated by North Queensland on Saturday, while St George Illawarra also face an almost impossible task after their tough loss to Wests Tigers.