Melbourne skipper Cameron Smith admits Canterbury had the right game plan to topple his NRL-leading side.

But the Storm’s benchmark defence and the visitors’ poor execution was the difference in the 12-6 result on Saturday night.

With former Manly mentor Des Hasler’s stamp all over the Bulldogs, the visitors dominated possession and territory but, thanks to some poor options as well as the Storm’s fanatical defence, they were unable to break through for a second try that could have tied up the match.

The Bulldogs used big forwards Greg Eastwood, Frank Pritchard and Sam Kasiano to make plenty of inroads through the middle of the park.

It was a game plan that the Warriors successfully used in last year’s finals series to eliminate the minor premiers.

The home side looked frustrated and pushed passes while golden boy Billy Slater was penalised for back-chatting referee Matt Cecchin after the Test fullback made an uncharacteristic error.

“It was the biggest test we’ve had all year,” Smith said.

“They’ve got a big forward pack and they really worked us over through the middle.

“They used the ball really well between their forwards and asked us a lot of questions with our defence.

“That’s why we won the game – look how many times we defended our tryline and had repeat sets there but it was a fantastic job defending our line and that’s why we won.”

Bulldogs skipper Michael Ennis was disappointed not to leave Melbourne with the competition points, with his side 4-3 after seven games.

“I was really proud of the way we stayed in the game but crucial errors let us down,” Ennis said.

“There’s plenty of improvement in us.”