Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has haunted former club Penrith with an impressive display in Canterbury’s 16-8 upset win on Saturday.
In his first game against the Panthers, Watene-Zelezniak showed some clean hands in setting up the go-ahead try for Nick Meaney in the second half.
The Bulldogs No.1 then came up with a trysaving tackle on Liam Martin before Jack Cogger sealed the victory with a solo effort four minutes later.
It was a gritty performance from Dean Pay’s side, who also had to overcome the first-half sin-binning of veteran Aiden Tolman in his 200th game for the club.
A crowd of 10,062 at Bankwest Stadium – Canterbury’s first at the new venue – were treated to one of the Bulldogs’ grittiest defensive efforts of the season.
The 15th-placed outfit defended a remarkable 47 plays inside their 20-metre zone, compared to just 16 down the opposite end of the field.
The highlight was a trysaver each from Watene-Zelezniak, on Martin, and Lachlan Lewis on opposite number Nathan Cleary, in the second half.
The defeat was not only Penrith’s second in a row, but leaves them in real danger of dropping out of the top eight should Cronulla win later on Saturday night.
With just five games remaining in the regular season, it also all but extinguishes any chance they had of sneaking into the top four.
It was a frustrating night from the Panthers, who could muster just one try despite boasting NSW State of Origin stars James Maloney and Cleary.
Making matters worse, Maloney was placed on report for tripping in the second half.
Panthers fans let Watene-Zelezniak know how they felt about his sudden exit with a chorus of boos every time he touched the ball early in the contest.
But the fullback responded with a number of touches in a fifth minute opening try for winger Reimis Smith.
Penrith got one back through Brent Naden ten minutes later, and the rookie should’ve made it a double but failed to cleanly ground a Maloney grubber.
It was one of the few genuine opportunities the Panthers failed to convert despite holding a 24-7 advantage in plays inside the opposition 20 in the first half.
