However the Dogs are finally back in their home kennel this weekend when they face Jamberoo this Sunday at the normal time of 2.45PM. 

After dealing with a washed out round and two away games league-starved patrons are expected to flock to Mollymook Oval on Sunday. 

In Under 18s at 10.35am the Dogs will play the Culburra Dolphins, then at 12.05pm the women’s league tag will meet Jamberoo, ahead of reserve grade at 1.15pm.

Last Saturday the Dogs travelled to Croome Park at Albion Park and narrowly went down to the Albion Park Oak Flats Eagles 22-20. 

Milton Ulladulla went in at half time with a 14-4 lead and looked as if they could defend this lead in the second half. 

Despite battling injuries the Dogs were quietly confident going into the game against their old rivals. 

The contest overall was full of fundamental errors with players too anxious to set up play.

The Eagles spilt the ball in the first set which seemed to set the scene for the full 80 minutes.

Soon after the home team committed another error and in the eight minute Milton's young winger Dale Hammond went over for the visitors. 

Minutes later halfback Josh Pender, who was called into the side as a late replacement for Jayde Tooth, stood in a tackle seven metres out and managed to offload to Nick Goodman who dived over the line untouched.

With a conversion by Lachie Moore the lead went on to 10 points. 

That was almost extended a few minutes later when classy back rower Lepani Waqa burst through a wall of defenders and reached out to plant the ball over the line, but the pass to Waqa was ruled forward.

With possession changing from incomplete sets of six the game was developing into a stop-start affair. 

The Park managed to retain possession long enough to mount an attack and it was Dean Gray who scored after the Dogs were not able to cleanly field a kick deep in their half. 

Milton responded quickly with Waqa finally getting on the score sheet as he carried a defender across the line and rolled to get the ball down, giving the visitors a 14-4 lead at half time.

A key to the Bulldogs ascendancy in the first half was the guidance given by captain Adam Stone, who was regularly wrong-footing defenders by quickly switching the point of attack, with good support from five-eight Jason Wells who was in the thick of the action.

The Dogs were also managing to get plenty of second phase play happening, but more handling errors crept into their game in the second half as the Eagles increased their intensity.

The home team fought their way back when Scott Clarke touched down in the 45th minute despite the attention of the desperate Milton defence, but he Dogs were quick to answer through Hammond’s second try, again converted by Moore.

At 20-10 Milton looked to be in a comfortable position but were continuing to miss attacking opportunities due to errors.

Two quick tries to the Eagles left the home side trailing by just two points as both tries went unconverted, leaving the Bulldogs with their noses just in front at 20-18.

Then Eagles fullback Matt Arblaster put in a massive kick return that put the home side in prime attacking position.

What followed was some frantic passing movements close to the line with the hard working Todd Price scoring out wide for the home side. 

To the delight of Milton supporters the conversion attempt was waved away with 10 minutes remaining, and the Bulldogs mounted several promising attacking moves but were just kept out despite appearing to cross the line at one stage.

Injuries late in the game took their toll on the visitors and they were unable to last the distance. 

The Bulldogs went into the game without regular half back Jayde Tooth and ended the game with no bench. 

James Little who was a standout in the first half tore a hamstring, Nick Goodman injured a shoulder and Owen Mitchell sprained an ankle. 

Tooth is expected to be out for several more weeks. 

Leading players Adam Stone and Jason Wells finished the game with minor injuries and should be fit for this week.

Coach Paul Love said after the game it was disappointing that his troops had the game won and a disallowed try led to the loss. 

He said that Jamberoo was a tough side and it would require a herculean  effort on Sunday for the Dogs to get up.

Final Score APOF 22 (E Gardner, K Zimmerman, Dean Gray, S Clarke and T Price tries and B Skelly goal) def Milton Ulladulla 20 (D Hammond 2, N Goodman and L Waqa tries and L Moore 2 goals)

Best for Milton Ulladulla were  Waga, Hamilton and Stone.

Points table - Shellharbour, Gerringong 10 Jamberoo, Kiama APOF 6, Milton Ulladulla, Nowra-Bomaderry 4, Berry and Warilla 2.

In reserve grade Milton Ulladulla showed improvement on their previous performances scoring 24 points and going down to APOF 40-24.

This weekend Jamberoo will be coming off a comfortable 54- 8 defeat of Port Kembla, however the Dogs will have the home town advantage and will be boosted by the return to Mollymook Oval and the support of their loyal fans.

Last Saturday the Dogs were down 30-6 at halftime but the lead was too great after they won the second half 18-10. 

Coach Owen Dredge said after the game he was pleased with his young team’s performance and although they let their opponents get too far into the game it was a good team effort in the second half.

APOF 40 (J Ramsay 2, H Ramsay, B Phillips, D Devulder, J Alves, N Walsh, A Vasquez tries C Daniels 3 D Devulder 1 goals) def Milton Ulladulla 24 (R Smith 2, W Walker, N Cox, T Barkley tries T Alcorn 2 goals).

In Under 18s Milton Ulladulla went down to APOF 46–8. 

On Sunday Culburra will be coming off a 16-10 loss to Port Kembla and the locals will be looking for a win to improve their position on the table. 

APOF 46 (J Keegan 2, P Bell, Z Richardson, J Morgan, C Azzopardi, S Austin, C Thompson B Hunt tries P Bell 4 and S Austin goal) def Milton Ulladulla 8 (M Bettington and H Grundy tries).

The Group 7 premiers womens league tag team remain undefeated after six rounds along with arch rivals and defeated grand finalists Kiama.

Kiama is leading on percentages and the two teams will meet at Bill Andriske Oval on June 14.

This weekend opponents Jamberoo will be coming off an 80-0 win over newcomers Culburra Dolphins.

Milton Ulladulla 30 (J Little 2, E Murray, T Love, E Burke, H Prouten tries E Murray 2, J Little goals) def APOF 6 (A Hayes try, A Dell goal).