Canterbury can dare to dream of a fairytale top-four berth after a 28-10 defeat of a St George Illawarra side that lost Hame Sele in an ambulance mid-game.
Adding to the Dragons' woes as they look to break a five-year finals drought, a knee issue forced centre Moses Suli out of Saturday night's game in the final 10 minutes.
Prop forward Sele was taken to hospital after reporting an irregular heartbeat during the first half of the clash between this NRL season's two big improvers.
He complained of chest pains to a Dragons trainer during his opening stint but appeared in good spirits being taken from Jubilee Oval.
An 18,416-strong crowd of divided loyalty made the round-23 clash the highest-attended in Kogarah since before the coronavirus pandemic.
But it was the fans in blue and white that would have felt on top all night, with a first-half double from Bronson Xerri helping the Bulldogs keep their rivals at bay for the majority of proceedings.
A shoulder injury to Reed Mahoney was the only blight for the Bulldogs, though the hooker managed to ride an exercise bike while on the bench - a sign he was prepared to return.
It was replacement Kurt Mann who sealed victory only minutes after Mahoney came from the field, spinning out of Blake Lawrie's tackle to extend the advantage to three tries midway through the second half.
The Bulldogs' win continues a season of transformation under Cameron Ciraldo, who has the long-time strugglers a win outside the top four ahead of the competition's final month.
The loss leaves the Dragons likely requiring three wins from their final four games to guarantee a top-eight berth, though they could qualify with fewer, pending other results.
Dragons halfback Ben Hunt had a tough night fighting to keep his side in the top eight for another weekend.
He set the Dragons' first try up with a kick to favourite partner-in-crime Zac Lomax but was at the centre of more than one spillage as the Saints battled to apply pressure to Canterbury's elite defence.
Rival halfback Toby Sexton was instrumental to the Bulldogs' 20-10 halftime lead, sending a grubber into the in-goal for Xerri then helping the centre bag his second with a beautiful flat ball.
Xerri's double came after Matt Burton picked off a pass from Hunt and dashed 80 metres to open the scoring inside four minutes.