Monday Bunker: Dragons fire, Tigers stumble, referees have another shocker

MONDAY BUNKER: Will Origin be the Red V’s downfall? A controversial refereeing decision burns the Bulldogs and have the wheels fallen off the Tigers bus?

THE Dragons are the new NRL benchmark according to Storm coach Craig Bellamy.

Bellamy made the bold declaration after Paul McGregor’s men crushed Melbourne on Sunday afternoon to prove many doubters wrong with a dominant performance.

But are they the real deal? And can they survive the looming State of Origin period?

The Tigers have fallen to their third-straight loss after bursting into 2018. Can coach Ivan Cleary get the bus back on track?

SUBSCRIBER EXCLUSIVE: Read our Monday Bunker column

The referees were a hot talking point again on the weekend after a series of bizarre and controversial calls.

The Bulldogs were burned by a decision to award a late penalty, which cost them a vital two competition points against the Broncos.

We discuss the fallout from that decision and Canterbury coach Dean Pay’s fate after his post-match comments.

We’ll also cross live to Queensland for the latest from north of the border, including an update on the Cowboys’ off-field drama.

Tell us what you though of round nine’s footy action by using the #BunkedOff hashtag on Twitter and Facebook. You can also leave us a comment below. We’ll get to you comments and questions live during the show.

Originally published as Monday Bunker: Dragons fire, Tigers stumble, referees have another shocker