In 2008 the Bulldogs suffered a 32-12 grand final defeat at the hands of the Dubbo Kangaroos and 12 months ago they again felt the pain of losing the biggest game of the year, the Gorillas bettering them 44-7.

It was the sort of pain the Bulldogs could not bear to suffer for a third consecutive year and an outstanding defensive performance in the second half against Narromine on Saturday ensured they didn’t have to.

The Gorillas at one stage got within five points of the lead as they looked to add a second consecutive premiership to their 2010 minor premiership, but even with a glut of attacking ball and a large crowd willing them on, they couldn’t crack the Bulldogs’ defence.

“I knew our defence could hold, I knew we had the defensive line to stop them from scoring points, but it’s always nervous when it is that close,” Bulldogs coach Murray Hooper said.

“We knew all along if we could hold them out we could win it, it came down to that last 15-20 minutes. I think the work we did in those hard games over the last couple of weeks really helped, it worked wonders.”

While Narromine dominated possession in the final 10 minutes of the game, the opening 10 minutes it was all the Bulldogs.

The Bathurst side were twice held up over the line in the opening five minutes and it was a Ray Lange penalty following a Narromine obstruction that got them on the board.

Lange had a chance to make it 6-0 after Narromine skipper Dan Maroulis was penalised for illegally pilfering the ball, but the penalty attempt missed and the Gorillas finally began to find their feet.

On just their fourth venture over halfway they came up with a try, Maroulis beginning the attacking movement after the Bulldogs knocked-on from a line-out. Doug Potter applied the finishing touches as he crossed in the right corner, Scott Burgess landing the sideline conversion to put the Gorillas 7-3 ahead after 19 minutes.

Five minutes later the Bulldogs nosed back in front as Izaak Breen took a quick penalty tap five metres out and halfback Phil Tonkin arrived in support to score the first of his two tries for the game.

The momentum continued to swing and just as it looked like Narromine were going to pick up a second try after a brilliant Burgess cut-out pass found a flying Potter, the Gorillas coughed up possession and the Bulldogs countered.

Lange made a 30 metre bust down the left wing and Alex Weal was over soon after as the Bulldogs pushed out to a 13-7 lead, Burgess then cutting that margin by three after Bathurst second rower Jono Cody was penalised for not staying on his feet in the ruck.

However, the scoring for the first half did not end there as a high tackle on Luke James put Bulldogs into an attacking position once more.

Number 8 Hayden Tidswell beat four men with a strong run from the ensuing penalty before a Craig Duff ankle tap brought him down, but the Bathurst side retained possession and James was put over the line off a short Scott Johnson pass.

Mitch Lavelle added the conversion and the Bulldogs went to the break with a 20-10 lead.

With their fans cheering them on Narromine lifted in the second half and showed exactly why they were the first team into this year’s grand final.

It took a try saver from Lange to hold out Burgess as he attacked following a Luke Brown line-out win while Craig Campbell, Ben Strachan and Charlie Tuck were all halted inches from the line by the determined Bulldogs defence.

Narromine strung together phase after phase and finally flyhalf Luke Harding, who directed play superbly, found reward.

Burgess was unsuccessful with the conversion but at 20-15 the Gorillas had a very big sniff.

Somehow the Bulldogs lifted again and Tonkin gave them some breathing space as he stepped two would-be tackles, was brought down just short of the line but still reached out to score under the posts. Lavelle added the extras to make it 27-15 with 24 minutes left and it was there the score ultimately stayed.

With enough time remaining Narromine did everything they could to try and fight back, but the Bulldogs’ defence on their own line was simply too good.

“I thought the final score would be closer than that, but the last few minutes were nerve-wracking enough with that score,” Hooper said.

“We had to take the Narromine crowd out of it and I think we did that in the first half, they went to sleep. Without all that cheering for them we knew Narromine would find it hard.

“I won last year with second grade but this is my first one as head coach and I am proud of it. It feels damn good.”

BATHURST BULLDOGS 27 (Phil Tonkin 2, Alex Weal, Luke James tries; Ray Lange penalty; Mitch Lavelle 2 conversions) defeated NARROMINE GORILLAS 15 (Luke Harding, Doug Potter tries; Scott Burgess penalty; Scott Burgess conversion)