Canterbury Bulldogs score stunning round 23 NRL win over brave Brisbane Broncos

FREAKISH fullback Ben Barba produced two incredible plays in the dying moments to seal a thrilling win over the brave Broncos.

AS Ben Barba stood in the dressing room after yesterday's thrilling comeback victory over Brisbane, the little magician lifted the lid on the Bulldogs' secret pact.

Asked if Des Hasler had warned his players not to talk about the minor premiership, Barba admitted: "Yeah mate, I think that goes with not saying that F-word."

Josh Reynolds confirmed Barba's story, though he reckons Hasler didn't exactly say it was taboo.

"We are actually not lying when we say we never, ever talk about it," Reynolds said. "It is not one of our main focuses. He (Hasler) has never actually said it to us.

Match centre: Game details and stats, plus vote for man of the match

"He has never said, 'Look boys, if anyone asks you to talk about the minor premiership ... '. I think it is just not to break something that is going good. We are going good and we haven't spoken about the minor premiership before so why start talking about it now?"

Well, how about we talk about 11 straight wins instead and the way they did it yesterday? From 14-0 down after 13 minutes, they ran away with a comprehensive 22-14 victory that now puts the Broncos in danger of falling out of the top eight.

Best action snaps from the game

How about we talk about Barba's brilliance or Reynolds' win-at-all-costs attitude? What about the Bulldogs forwards - playing without Sam Kasiano and James Graham - and how Aiden Tolman took it to a pack chock-full of Queensland Origin forwards and finished with 144m from 20 charges and threw in 42 tackles for good measure?

It would take a mug not to back the Bulldogs for the minor premierships as they prepare for Friday night's showdown with the Wests Tigers. With Tigers, Raiders and Roosters to go, can they go all the way into the playoffs without losing another game?

On form, you couldn't bet against them - but don't dare talk about the minor premiership.

Right now, Barba could walk on water if he had a football in his hands. Yesterday, he added two more tries to his season tally of 17 and saved two more in the process.

He got steamrolled by Ben Te'o for the Broncos' first try but dusted himself off and pulled off two rippers - one on Peter Wallace, the other on Ben Hannant, who had warned Barba of what to expect during Origin camp. "I think I can remember that," Barba said. "He said if he got the chance he would run over the top of me."

Yesterday, the little bloke again had everything to smile about. The first of his tries came off a Reynolds kick. Brisbane's Corey Norman looked to have it covered when it bounced awkwardly and straight to Barba.

After blowing a chance that could have seen him run the length of the field, Barba replied with a four-pointer sure to make the highlights reel at season's end. From a standing start, he stepped past Wallace and beat four more Broncos on his 20-metre dash to the line.

When asked how he did it, he smiled, shrugged and gave credit to his teammates.

"All I was trying to do was get it to Krisnan (Inu) - he's the big powerful runner," Barba said.

"Lucky enough, I've got these little skinny legs that I can jump out of tackles. I'm just doing my job."

Does he dare dream about the Dally M Medal?

"Oh mate, it is always there in the back of your mind but there is some great players in this game that will put their hands up in the next couple of weeks and come home real strong," Barba said.

BULLDOGS 22 (B Barba 2 J Jackson M Taupau tries K Inu 3 goals) bt BRISBANE 14 (C Norman B Te'o tries P Wallace 3 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Tony Archer, Gavin Badger. Crowd: 19,870.