2009 Bulldogs RLFC season

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}

{{Use Australian English|date=May 2011}}

{{Infobox rugby league team season

| year = 2009

| prev_season = 2008

| next_season = 2010

}}

The 2009 Bulldogs RLFC season was the 75th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 2nd (out of 16), a vast improvement on the previous season, when they came last. The Bulldogs came within one match of the grand final but were knocked out by the Parramatta Eels.

Season summary

After an extremely disappointing 2008 season, in which the club finished with the wooden spoon, 2009 will be a season of rebuilding for the Bulldogs. A number of high-profile new recruits, including Brett Kimmorley, Josh Morris, Michael Ennis, David Stagg and Ben Hannant along with mid-season signing of Greg Eastwood will join the club.

Fixtures

During the regular season, the Bulldogs will play most home games at ANZ Stadium in Homebush Bay. ANZ Stadium is also the home ground of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and one of the home grounds of the Parramatta Eels, so Bulldogs away matches against these two teams will also be played at this venue. Two Bulldogs home games will be played away from Homebush Bay: the Round 11 match against Melbourne will be played at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford, and the Round 19 match against the Gold Coast will be played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.

= Trial Matches =

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Trial 1
21 February 2009
7:00pm Local |

team1 = St. George Illawarra Dragons 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 24–12 | Loss

report = [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/news/dragons-fire-again-against-bulldogs/2009/02/21/1234633138244.html ] |

points1 = Tries: Cooper, Nightingale, Thorby, Clarke
Goals: Soward 4/4 |

points2 = Tries: Utai, Barba
Goals: El Masri 1/1, Ennis 1/1 |

stadium = WIN Stadium, Wollongong |

attendance = 7,628 |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Trial 2
28 February 2009
8:00pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Canberra Raiders |

score = 24–16 | Win

report = [http://www.bulldogs.com.au/main.php?page=article&id=2061 ] |

points1 = Tries: Goodwin, Ennis, Patten, Armit
Goals: Ennis 3/3, El Masri 1/1 |

points2 = Tries: Monaghan 2, Purtell
Goals: Campese 2/3 |

stadium = Meakin Park, Brisbane |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

= Regular season =

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 1
14 March 2009
7:30pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |

score = 34–12 | Win

report = [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/bulldogs-record-breaker/2009/03/14/1236919634816.html ] |

points1 = Tries: Goodwin 2, Idris 2, Morris
Goals: El Masri 7/7 |

points2 = Tries: Ballin, Lyon
Goals: Orford 2/2 |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = 19,791 |

referee= Cummins, Suttor |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 2
21 March 2009
7:30pm Local |

team1 = Penrith Panthers 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 26–28 | Win

report = [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/bulldogs-could-lose-points/2009/03/21/1237526397403.html?page=fullpage] |

points1 = Tries: Waterhouse 2, Aiton, Tighe
Goals: Gordon 5/5 |

points2 = Tries: Eastwood, Idris, Kimmorley, Roberts, Stagg
Goals: El Masri 4/5 |

stadium = CUA Stadium, Penrith |

attendance = 16,846 |

referee= Cecchin, James |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 3
27 March 2009
7:35pm Local |

team1 = Gold Coast Titans 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 20–12 | Loss

report = [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/a-dog-of-a-week/2009/03/27/1237657153130.html?page=fullpage] |

points1 = Tries: Campbell, O'Dwyer, Rogers, Tonga
Goals: Rogers 2/5 |

points2 = Tries: Goodwin, Ryan
Goals: El Masri 2/3 |

stadium = Skilled Park, Gold Coast |

attendance = 19,854 |

referee= Maxwell, Shortall |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 4
5 April 2009
2:00pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |

score = 24–12 | Win

report = [http://www.rugbyleaguelive.com/Articles/4488/2009/04/05/Struggling_Sharks_sink_to_another_defeat.aspx] |

points1 = Tries: El Masri, Goodwin, Morris, Ryan
Goals: El Masri 4/4 |

points2 = Tries: Gallen, Tupou
Goals: Covell 2/2 |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = 15,520 |

referee = Robinson, Sutton |

manofmatch = }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 5
13 April 2009
7:00pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px South Sydney Rabbitohs |

score = 14–12 | Win

report = [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/dogs-ruin-bunnies-easter/2009/04/13/1239474815126.html] |

points1 = Tries: Morris, Ryan
Goals: El Masri 2/2, Ennis 1/1 |

points2 = Tries: Champion, Pettybourne
Goals: Luke 1/1, Sandow 1/1 |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = 22,775 |

referee = Klein, Suttor |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 6
19 April 2009
3:00pm Local |

team1 = Parramatta Eels 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 18–48 | Win

report = [http://www.anzstadium.com.au/News/LatestNews/NewsArticles.aspx?NewsContentId=2d25a8cc-46c0-4f43-89b9-a900f54d658cl] |

points1 = Tries: Hauraki 2, Hayne
Goals: Burt 3/3 |

points2 = Tries: Morris 2, Patten 2, El Masri, Goodwin, Hodgson, Kimmorley, Warburton
Goals: El Masri 6/9 |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = 18,223 |

referee= Badger, De Las Heras |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 7
26 April 2009
2:00pm Local |

team1 = Canberra Raiders 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 20–30 | Win

report = [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/bone-of-contention-for-ennis/2009/04/26/1240684327621.html] |

points1 = Tries: Monaghan, Purtell, Thompson, Tongue
Goals: Dugan 2/4 |

points2 = Tries: El Masri, Ennis, Goodwin, Hannant, Millard
Goals: El Masri 5/5 |

stadium = Canberra Stadium, Canberra |

attendance = 10,241 |

referee= James, Klein |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 8
3 May 2009
3:00pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Wests Tigers |

score = 22–20 | Win

report = [https://web.archive.org/web/20090508123334/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/03/2559423.htm] |

points1 = Tries: El Masri 2, Ennis, Goodwin
Goals: El Masri 3/4 |

points2 = Tries: Moltzen, Payten, Ryan 2
Goals: Gallant 2/5 |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = 25,622 |

referee= Hayne, De Las Heras |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 9
9–11 May 2009 |

team1 = {{fontcolor|white|.}} |

team2 = {{fontcolor|white|.}} |

score = Bye | Draw

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 10
16 May 2009
7:30pm Local |

team1 = St. George Illawarra Dragons 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 20–18 | Loss

report = [http://www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqnews/dogs-denied-matchwinner/2009/05/15/1242335883457.html?page=fullpage] |

points1 = Tries: Creagh, Poore, Weyman
Goals: Soward 4/4 |

points2 = Tries: Hannant, Idris, Kimmorley
Goals: El Masri 3/3 |

stadium = Jubilee Oval, Kogarah |

attendance = 18,415 |

referee = Archer, Klein |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 11
22–25 May 2009
7:30pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Melbourne Storm |

score = 26–10 | Win

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 12
29 May - 1 June 2009
3:00pm Local|

team1 = Newcastle Knights 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 22–14| Loss

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 13
5–8 June 2009 |

team1 = {{fontcolor|white|.}} |

team2 = {{fontcolor|white|.}} |

score = Bye | Draw

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 14
12–15 June 2009
7:35pm Local |

team1 = Brisbane Broncos 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 22–44 | Win

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= Ben Roberts (BUL)}}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 15
19–22 June 2009
7:35pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Penrith Panthers |

score = 19–12 | Win

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 16
26–29 June 2009
7:35pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px North Queensland Cowboys |

score = 30–18 | Win

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 17
3–6 July 2009
7:35pm Local |

team1 = Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 19–12|

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = Brookvale Oval, Brookvale |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 18
10–13 July 2009
2:00pm Local |

team1 = New Zealand Warriors 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 14–18|

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 19
17–20 July 2009
8:30pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Gold Coast Titans |

score = 23–16 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 20
24–27 July 2009
5:30pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Parramatta Eels |

score = 8–27 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

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{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 21
31 July - 3 August 2009
3:00pm Local |

team1 = South Sydney Rabbitohs 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 18–26|

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

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{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 22
7–10 August 2009
7:30pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Canberra Raiders |

score = 23–20|

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

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{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 23
14–17 August 2009
7:35pm Local |

team1 = North Queensland Cowboys 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 12–22 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

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{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 24
21–24 August 2009
7:00pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px Sydney Roosters |

score = 28–4 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

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{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 25
28–31 August 2009
3:00pm Local |

team1 = Bulldogs 16px |

team2 = 16px New Zealand Warriors |

score = 40–20 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = 41,835 (record crowd) |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Round 26
4–6 September 2009
7:35pm Local |

team1 = Wests Tigers 16px |

team2 = 16px Bulldogs |

score = 34–12 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

= Finals Series =

{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Qualifying Final
12 September 2009
8:35pm Local |

team1 = 16px Bulldogs |

team2 = Newcastle Knights 16px |

score = 26–12 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

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{{Rugbyleaguebox |

bg = #eeeeee |

date = Preliminary Final
25 September 2009
7:45pm Local |

team1 = 16px Bulldogs |

team2 = Parramatta Eels 16px |

score = 12–22 |

report = |

points1 = |

points2 = |

stadium = ANZ Stadium, Homebush Bay |

attendance = |

referee= |

manofmatch= }}

----

Ladder

{{Nrl2009ladder}}

2009 squad

{{Rugby league squad start}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Scotland|pos=PR|name=Chris Armit}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=FE|name=Ben Barba}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=FB|name=Brent Crisp}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=NZ|pos=SR|name=Greg Eastwood}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Lebanon|pos=WG|name=Hazem El Masri}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=HK|name=Michael Ennis}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=WG|name=Bryson Goodwin}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=SR|name=Yileen Gordon}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Ben Hannant}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Jarrad Hickey}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Michael Hodgson}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=FE|name=Daniel Holdsworth}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=AUS|pos=CE|name=Jamal Idris}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=HB|name=Brett Kimmorley}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Tonga|pos=PR|name=John Kite}}

{{Rugby league squad mid}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=American Samoa|pos=PR|name=Charles Leaneo}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Fiji|pos=CE|name=Daryl Millard}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=SR|name=Brad Morrin}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=CE|name=Josh Morris}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=WG|name=Heka Nanai}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=FB|name=Luke Patten}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=NZ|pos=FE|name=Ben Roberts}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=SR|name=Andrew Ryan|other=c}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=AUS|pos=LK|name=David Stagg}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=HK|name=Michael Sullivan}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=New Zealand|pos=SR|name=Lee Te Maari}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Samoa|pos=WG|name=Matt Utai}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=SR|name=Gary Warburton}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=Australia|pos=PR|name=Danny Williams}}

{{Rugby league squad player|no=|nat=New Zealand|pos=CE|name=Tim Winitana}}

{{Rugby league squad end}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}