The Warriors shrugged off the late withdrawal of Kieran Foran to beat the Bulldogs, but the victory came at the cost of another key player after Issac Luke suffered a dislocated shoulder on Friday night.
Luke left the field 33 minutes into the match after falling awkwardly in a tackle but the Warriors responded well to grind down Des Hasler's side and record back-to-back victories for just the second time this season. It was also their third win in the last four games to bring them up to 16 competition points, with only points difference keeping them out of the top eight.
Foran withdrew on the eve of the match after failing to recover from a quad injury sustained in the previous win over the Titans. But while the star five-eighth is hoping to return for next week's clash against Manly in Perth, Luke is set for an extended period on the sidelines.
While Luke's injury took some of the gloss off the result, it was an impressive display from the home team. In the absence of two of their key players, Shaun Johnson controlled play well with a superb kicking game which was set up by a strong display in the middle.
After missing the Titans game due to a hamstring injury, James Gavet continued his brilliant season running for over 100m off the bench and standing up to the big Bulldogs pack.
The Warriors led 8-2 at the break and it should have been more only for some poor decision-making and desperate defence by the Bulldogs.
The one try they did score, though, was one for the highlight reels and one Ken Maumalo won't forget in a hurry.
The big winger showed he has plenty of pace to go with his power, beating four defenders on the way to a 70m try.
While Johnson and Luke kept the Bulldogs pinned in their own half, the halfback let himself down with two sloppy passes when attacking the red zone.
Luke's injury saw Nathaniel Roache enter the fray. The bench utility has had little game time this year but he quickly made an impact, splitting the defence through the middle to put Johnson away in the shadow of halftime.Â
While Johnson was dragged down before the line, Josh Jackson was sent to the sin bin for holding on too long, giving the Warriors a huge boost to start the second half.
It took them just two minutes to make the Bulldogs pay as Blake Ayshford pounced on a perfectly weighted grubber from Johnson.
Up until this point the Bulldogs had shown little in attack. However, back-to-back errors from the home team in their own territory gave them a chance to hit back, which they did when former Warrior Raymond Faitala-Mariner wrestled over.
That sparked them into action, with Greg Eastwood having a try ruled out by the bunker but the momentum was cleary with the visitors heading into the final quarter.
That looked to have been halted when Maumalo jumped on another well placed Johnson kick only for his try to be ruled out with David Fusitu'a offside.
But with 11 minutes to go, Johnson made the smart decision to land his first field goal of the season for a seven-point buffer.
Roache then sealed result when he snuck over from close range and while Kerrod Holland crossed in the corner for the Bulldogs, it was too little too late.