The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs will be embracing their spiritual heartland during the 2022 NRL season.

The draw for the 2022 premiership campaign was released on Tuesday morning and it was confirmed the Bulldogs will take on the St George-Illawarra Dragons at Belmore Sports Ground on Sunday, 29 May next year. The Round 12 match will be a 2pm kickoff.

The announcement by the NRL earlier this week comes after two attempts for the Bulldogs to host fixtures for competition points at the historic venue during the COVID-affected 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Back to Belmore Patron Luke Brailey welcomed the news of the Bulldogs returning to their traditional home ground.

“With the winding down of COVID restrictions, everything is looking pretty good. I think we're in for a real barn burner,” Mr Brailey said.

“NRL premiership games are of huge economic benefit to the Canterbury-Bankstown district generating a lot of money in local spending per game and Back to Belmore has worked hard to foster a strong partnership with the Bulldogs over the past few years and we look forward to working closely with the club to ensure the match in 2022 is a stunning success.”

Ticketing details for the May fixture will be announced in the new year. The Bulldogs-Dragons match will be the tenth NRL game played at Belmore Sports Ground since 2015.