Canterbury’s forwards have been told for the past two years that they lack the size to compete with other teams’ packs — but they continue to prove critics wrong as another big test looms against Brisbane’s star-studded front row.
The Bulldogs are still unbeaten heading into round eight, with their sole defeat of the 2025 campaign coming in a pre-season clash with the Broncos, where they were comfortably outplayed.
However, pre-season results mean little this far into the NRL season, and the Bulldogs’ pack, led by Max King and Josh Curran, has been dominating — most recently dismantling the Rabbitohs through the middle.
Curran opened the scoring on Good Friday, while King broke an 80-game try-scoring drought to notch Canterbury’s second. The forward unit contributed four of the side’s five tries, with King racking up 223 metres, nearly surpassing the output of South Sydney’s entire starting forward pack. Curran continues to excel in both edge and middle roles.
“Teams say they’re going to run through our pack, and we take that personally — it motivates us,” Curran said.
“Max has been huge for us this season. The way he’s playing, I wouldn’t be shocked if he’s picked for Origin.
He’s leading the pack with incredible form.”
With momentum from their dominant performance against Souths, Canterbury now face a trip north to meet a Brisbane side smarting from a golden-point defeat in New Zealand.
It sets the stage for a heavyweight showdown, with Payne Haas (117kg) and Patrick Carrigan (106kg) boasting a size advantage over King (105kg) and Curran (104kg). The Broncos pair have been outstanding to start the season, with Haas continuing to prove he’s among the elite middle forwards in the game.
Yet Curran welcomes the challenge, reminding critics that the Bulldogs stunned the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium last year with their pace and dynamic ball movement.
“Brisbane have a huge forward pack with some top-tier players, so we’ll have to fine-tune a few areas,” he said.
“Going up against Payne and Patty — both rep players — is always a big test for any pack.”
