The 2009 Bulldogs RLFC season was the 75th in the club's history. They competed in the NRL's 2009 Telstra Premiership, finishing the regular season 2nd (out of 16), a vast improvement on the previous season, when they came last. The Bulldogs came within one match of the grand final but were knocked out by the Parramatta Eels.
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After an extremely disappointing 2008 season, in which the club finished with the wooden spoon, 2009 will be a season of rebuilding for the Bulldogs. A number of high-profile new recruits, including Brett Kimmorley, Josh Morris, Michael Ennis, David Stagg and Ben Hannant along with mid-season signing of Greg Eastwood will join the club.
During the regular season, the Bulldogs will play most home games at ANZ Stadium in Homebush. ANZ Stadium is also the home ground of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and one of the home grounds of the Parramatta Eels, so Bulldogs away matches against these two teams will also be played at this venue. Two Bulldogs home games will be played away from Homebush: the Round 11 match against Melbourne will be played at Bluetongue Stadium in Gosford, and the Round 19 match against the Gold Coast will be played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
| Trial 1 21 February 2009 7:00pm Local |
St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 - 12 | Bulldogs | WIN Stadium, Wollongong Attendance: 7,628 |
| Tries: Cooper, Nightingale, Thorby, Clarke Goals: Soward 4/4 |
Tries: Utai, Barba Goals: El Masri 1/1, Ennis 1/1 |
| Trial 2 28 February 2009 8:00pm Local |
Bulldogs | 24 - 16 | Canberra Raiders | Meakin Park, Brisbane |
| Tries: Goodwin, Ennis, Patten, Armit Goals: Ennis 3/3, El Masri 1/1 |
Tries: Monaghan 2, Purtell Goals: Campese 2/3 |
| Round 1 14 March 2009 7:30pm Local |
Bulldogs | 34 - 12 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | ANZ Stadium, Homebush Attendance: 19,791 Referee/s: Cummins, Suttor |
| Tries: Goodwin 2, Idris 2, Morris Goals: El Masri 7/7 |
Tries: Ballin, Lyon Goals: Orford 2/2 |
| Round 2 21 March 2009 7:30pm Local |
Penrith Panthers | 26 - 28 | Bulldogs | CUA Stadium, Penrith Attendance: 16,846 Referee/s: Cecchin, James |
| Tries: Waterhouse 2, Aiton, Tighe Goals: Gordon 5/5 |
Tries: Eastwood, Idris, Kimmorley, Roberts, Stagg Goals: El Masri 4/5 |
| Round 3 27 March 2009 7:35pm Local |
Gold Coast Titans | 20 - 12 | Bulldogs | Skilled Park, Gold Coast Attendance: 19,854 Referee/s: Maxwell, Shortall |
| Tries: Campbell, O'Dwyer, Rogers, Tonga Goals: Rogers 2/5 |
Tries: Goodwin, Ryan Goals: El Masri 2/3 |
| Round 4 5 April 2009 2:00pm Local |
Bulldogs | 24 - 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | ANZ Stadium, Homebush Attendance: 15,520 Referee/s: Robinson, Sutton |
| Tries: El Masri, Goodwin, Morris, Ryan Goals: El Masri 4/4 |
Tries: Gallen, Tupou Goals: Covell 2/2 |
| Round 5 13 April 2009 7:00pm Local |
Bulldogs | 14 - 12 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium, Homebush Attendance: 22,775 Referee/s: Klein, Suttor |
| Tries: Morris, Ryan Goals: El Masri 2/2, Ennis 1/1 |
Tries: Champion, Pettybourne Goals: Luke 1/1, Sandow 1/1 |
| Round 6 19 April 2009 3:00pm Local |
Parramatta Eels | 18 - 48 | Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium, Homebush Attendance: 18,223 Referee/s: Badger, De Las Heras |
| Tries: Hauraki 2, Hayne Goals: Burt 3/3 |
Tries: Morris 2, Patten 2, El Masri, Goodwin, Hodgson, Kimmorley, Warburton Goals: El Masri 6/9 |
| Round 7 26 April 2009 2:00pm Local |
Canberra Raiders | 20 - 30 | Bulldogs | Canberra Stadium, Canberra Attendance: 10,241 Referee/s: James, Klein |
| Tries: Monaghan, Purtell, Thompson, Tongue Goals: Dugan 2/4 |
Tries: El Masri, Ennis, Goodwin, Hannant, Millard Goals: El Masri 5/5 |
| Round 8 3 May 2009 3:00pm Local |
Bulldogs | 22 - 20 | Wests Tigers | ANZ Stadium, Homebush Attendance: 25,622 Referee/s: Hayne, De Las Heras |
| Tries: El Masri 2, Ennis, Goodwin Goals: El Masri 3/4 |
Tries: Moltzen, Payten, Ryan 2 Goals: Gallant 2/5 |
| Round 9 9–11 May 2009 |
. | Bye | . | |
| Round 10 16 May 2009 7:30pm Local |
St. George Illawarra Dragons | 20 - 18 | Bulldogs | Jubilee Oval, Kogarah Attendance: 18,415 Referee/s: Archer, Klein |
| Tries: Creagh, Poore, Weyman Goals: Soward 4/4 |
Tries: Hannant, Idris, Kimmorley Goals: El Masri 3/3 |
| Round 11 22–25 May 2009 7:30pm Local |
Bulldogs | 26 - 10 | Melbourne Storm | Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford |
| Round 12 29 May - 1 June 2009 3:00pm Local |
Newcastle Knights | 22 - 14 | Bulldogs | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle |
| Round 13 5–8 June 2009 |
. | Bye | . | |
| Round 14 12–15 June 2009 7:35pm Local |
Brisbane Broncos | 22 - 44 | Bulldogs | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Man of the Match: Ben Roberts (BUL) |
| Round 15 19–22 June 2009 7:35pm Local |
Bulldogs | 19 - 12 | Penrith Panthers | ANZ Stadium, Homebush |
| Round 16 26–29 June 2009 7:35pm Local |
Bulldogs | 30 - 18 | North Queensland Cowboys | ANZ Stadium, Homebush |
| Round 17 3–6 July 2009 7:35pm Local |
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 19 - 12 | Bulldogs | Brookvale Oval, Brookvale |
| Round 18 10–13 July 2009 2:00pm Local |
New Zealand Warriors | 14 - 18 | Bulldogs | Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland |
| Round 19 17–20 July 2009 8:30pm Local |
Bulldogs | 23 - 16 | Gold Coast Titans | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
| Round 20 24–27 July 2009 5:30pm Local |
Bulldogs | 8 - 27 | Parramatta Eels | ANZ Stadium, Homebush |
| Round 21 31 July - 3 August 2009 3:00pm Local |
South Sydney Rabbitohs | 18 - 26 | Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium, Homebush |
| Round 22 7–10 August 2009 7:30pm Local |
Bulldogs | 23 - 20 | Canberra Raiders | ANZ Stadium, Homebush |
| Round 23 14–17 August 2009 7:35pm Local |
North Queensland Cowboys | 12 - 22 | Bulldogs | Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville |
| Round 24 21–24 August 2009 7:00pm Local |
Bulldogs | 28 - 4 | Sydney Roosters | ANZ Stadium, Homebush |
| Round 25 28–31 August 2009 3:00pm Local |
Bulldogs | 40 - 20 | New Zealand Warriors | ANZ Stadium, Homebush Attendance: 41,835 (record crowd) |
| Round 26 4–6 September 2009 7:35pm Local |
Wests Tigers | 34 - 12 | Bulldogs | Sydney Football Stadium, Moore Park |
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | St. George Illawarra | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 548 | 329 | +219 | 38 |
| 2 | Bulldogs | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 575 | 428 | +147 | 38* |
| 3 | Gold Coast | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 514 | 467 | +47 | 36 |
| 4 | Melbourne | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 505 | 348 | +157 | 33 |
| 5 | Manly-Warringah | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 549 | 439 | +90 | 32 |
| 6 | Brisbane | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 511 | 566 | −55 | 32 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 508 | 491 | +17 | 30 |
| 8 | Parramatta | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 476 | 473 | +3 | 29 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 558 | 483 | +75 | 28 |
| 10 | South Sydney | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 566 | 549 | +17 | 27 |
| 11 | Penrith | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 515 | 589 | −74 | 27 |
| 12 | North Queensland | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 474 | +84 | 26 |
| 13 | Canberra | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 489 | 510 | −31 | 22 |
| 14 | New Zealand | 24 | 7 | 2 | 15 | 2 | 377 | 545 | −188 | 20 |
| 15 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 359 | 568 | −209 | 14 |
| 16 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 382 | 681 | −299 | 14 |
* Bulldogs stripped of 2 competition points after an interchange breach in round 2
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