Canterbury Bulldogs Stephen Crichton injury proves costly in loss to Penrith Panthers

Another one bites the dust. And another gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust.

First the Warriors and Roosters. Then Canberra. Now Canterbury after a 46-26 elimination at the hands of four-time champions Penrith at Accor Stadium on Sunday. That just leaves four.

The Bulldogs’ heavy defeat, which torpedoed their finals campaign in straight sets, came as no great surprise. There were already unmissable signs that they were on the endangered species list, having lost four of their previous five games.

The early competition leaders haven’t looked settled since the mid-season arrival of Lachlan Galvin from Wests Tigers, and the omission and subsequent recall of both Reed Mahoney and Toby Sexton only added to the uncertainty.

But the killer for Canterbury was the untimely an