Canterbury Bulldogs bring down spirited Dragons

Canterbury survived some Josh Dugan magic to maintain their charge towards the NRL finals with a 39-20 come from behind win over St George Illawarra on Monday night.

Trailing by 12 points with half an hour remaining, the Bulldogs scored five unanswered tries - including a double to man mountain Sam Kasiano - to solidify fifth spot on the ladder.

For much of the night it looked like being the Josh Dugan show after the recently re-signed Dragons fullback scored a first half double and set-up another for Jason Nightingale during a withering burst by the home side.

Four straight tries gave the Dragons a 48th minute 20-8 lead, but when they botched a kick-off for the second time in the game, the momentum shifted violently in the Bulldogs' favour.

Bulldogs beat Dragons 39 - 20 . Getty Images

The much-maligned Tony Williams did what 'Dogs fans have been asking him to do all year when he rumbled over off a short Trent Hodkinson pass to start the rot, the halfback again the orchestrator when Kasiano locked it up just after the hour mark.

Two minutes later the Bulldogs were in the lead when Tim Lafai sliced through to set up Josh Morris before Kasiano and Williams secured their doubles to complete the ambush.

It looked like being a comfortable night at the office when the Bulldogs scored two tries in the opening 12 minutes, before the Dragons turned to Dugan - who on Friday agreed to terms for another four years in the 'red v'.

With little else working for the home side, Dugan scored two brilliant individual tries, the first with two big right foot steps before a chip and chase on the stroke of halftime to give his side an unlikely lead.

He played the crucial role in Nightingale's try just after the restart and when Sam Perrett's missed intercept attempt gifted Daniel Vidot a four-pointer, the home side appeared in control.

AAP