How the Bulldogs and Tigers came to a handshake agreement

Bulldogs back-rower Jaeman Salmon said he shook hands with Wests Tigers lock Alex Twal after full-time following a heated exchange that spiced up the final minutes of their Saturday night match at Accor Stadium. 

The Bulldogs won 32-0 with the Wests Tigers not able to land a blow, figuratively speaking, before Twal’s emotions boiled over. 

He slapped Salmon in the face with referee Tyson Brough sending him to the sin bin for striking. 

It came six minutes after teammate Latu Fainu was sent to the bin for a dangerous tackle on Leo Thompson, meaning the Wests Tigers were down to 11 men for four minutes. 

“It was just a bit of push-and-shove and I might have got under his skin a bit,” Salmon said post-match in the winning sheds.

“I never really thought about throwing a punch… I’m not much of a fighter. 

“It was probably frustrating looking up at the scoreboard, tensions were high. 

“It didn’t hurt that much... there’s a bit of theatrics in it but what happens on the field stays on the field. ‘Twalie’ is a good fella. 

“It was just a spur of the moment thing – I did shake hands in the end.” 

That had to be with his left hand because Salmon had surgery on his right hand five days ago to try to fix a tendon in one of his fingers, which he had tightly strapped together. 

He has been needling the finger with local anaesthetic for the past two matches just to play. 

It’s the type of toughness the Bulldogs players need to find again across the board if they are to stay in the hunt for a top-eight spot. 

Salmon said the 32-0 result – Canterbury’s first whitewash since the exact same scoreline against South Sydney in April last year – was just the springboard the club needed to take on the Warriors in Round 21.

The Bulldogs are 10th, one win outside the eight, while the Warriors are sitting pretty in second spot. 

“Next week will be the gauge for us because the Warriors are red-hot and playing really good footy,” he said. 

“We need to put our best foot forward if we want to beat them. 

“We have wanted to get back to our identity and I think we did that tonight. 

“If we can put a few more performances like that together we’ll give the finals a good shot. But we have to get back to our 2025 selves and that was a really good step.

“We’ve won five from our last seven and I know some haven’t been pretty but it’s do-or-die for us now if we want to have a shot at finals.”