Canterbury have delivered the Warriors a stark wake-up call two weeks out from the NRL finals, springing a 27-26 upset at ANZ Stadium.
Young five-eighth Lachlan Lewis was the hero for the Bulldogs, slotting a 79th minute field goal to hold off a Warriors fightback.
The Warriors blew a golden chance to move into a share of fourth spot on the ladder with St George Illawarra, Penrith and Cronulla on 30 points.
They are still a mathematical chance of missing out on the finals should they lose their last two against Penrith and Canberra and should Wests Tigers collect four points in the final two rounds.
But despite looking all but assured of breaking their six-year finals absence, the result presented worrying signs for coach Stephen Kearney.
They had 58 per cent of possession, won the penalty count 9-5, made nearly 400 more metres and had 43 tackles inside the Bulldogs’ 20 metres zone compared to Canterbury’s 15 and still couldn’t get the job done.
“We knew it was going to be a hard job for us today. We were a little bit off in certain areas which is pretty disappointing given what was potentially at stake,” Kearney said.
“Over the last three weeks it’s shown you’ve got to make sure you’re not taking shortcuts. It’s a tough competition.”
Warriors playmaker Blake Green came off in the dying minutes with a corked calf while Gerard Beale could miss game time with a hamstring injury.
Canterbury led 20-12 at halftime after Lewis crossed under the posts on the back of a Kerrod Holland break.
The Warriors appeared to be on the march when David Fusitu’a crossed for two tries in nine minutes – to take his season tally to 18 and put him second on the competition’s try-scorers list.
And when Adam Blair offloaded in traffic and Peta Hiku dived over, the scores were tied with three-and-a-half remaining.
However Lewis stepped up to the plate and iced the game from 30 metres out.
After winning three of their past four to put some respectability back in their season, coach Dean Pay said Lewis was representative of the youthful enthusiasm which is coursing through the side at the moment.
“We’ve had our challenges this year and we’re a developing team,” Pay said.
“Over the last month we’ve played some decent footy and they’re learning each and every week and they’re getting better to compete the way we did today.
“(Lewis) is learning each and every week. Him and a number of our young guys have added a lot of energy into our group and they want to learn and get better”
