8 Sep 2012

Bulldogs win first NRL playoff

1:19 pm on 8 September 2012

The Canterbury Bulldogs beat the Manly Sea Eagles 16-10 in the National Rugby League's first playoff game in Sydney on Friday night.

With his side clinging to a 12-10 lead, Bulldogs player Ben Barba capped a big week in which he won the Dally M medal with the match-clinching try.

The Bulldogs will take a rest next weekend and prepare for a preliminary final after laying down a marker to the rest of the competition that they're very much the team to beat.

Manly, who won the premiership under Bulldogs coach Des Hasler last year, must now pick themselves up and get ready to take on either Brisbane or North Queensland in Sydney next week.