There were few bigger smiles at ANZ Stadium on Friday than the one worn by James Graham after the English prop finally broke his NRL try-scoring duck for Canterbury.
It's taken 37 games for the 27-year-old to cross the line and although he was helped by some lamentable defending by a hapless Parramatta side from two metres out, it was still a moment to savour for the front-rower.
"It's not why I play the game, but it is nice to finally get over," Graham told AAP.
"I used to get one or two or year for St Helens, but I was never prolific so it's good to get the monkey off my back over here."
Last year's minor premiers have put a poor start to the year behind them and are hitting form at the business end of the season.
The 40-12 win over the Eels came on the back of a 40-0 win over under-strength Melbourne and are just one point behind fourth-placed Manly who play on Monday.
The Bulldogs' run home in the final six rounds of the season is also favourable with games coming up against St George Illawarra, Gold Coast and Canberra before facing leaders South Sydney.
They round off their campaign at home to Penrith before heading to Suncorp Stadium to face a Brisbane side who could be out of finals contention by then.
Graham insists the side are not at the level they were this time last year when they on their way to lifting the JJ Giltinan Shield but there was an air of satisfaction around the club and the manner in which they had turned their season around.
"We've had two good wins on the bounce now and recovered well from a difficult start to the year when we were one and six," he said.
"But we are still a bit behind Souths, the Roosters and Melbourne I think, but this end of the season is all about momentum and if we carry on winning we will be in good shape for the finals."
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