Bulldogs go from zero to heroes with win over depleted Rabbitohs
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Just a week after a 66-point whipping, the Bulldogs proved it’s never too late for redemption.
Against an Origin-depleted South Sydney, Canterbury winger Blake Wilson bagged a hat-trick to hand Canterbury their biggest scoreline this year, with a 36-32 victory on Saturday night.
Blake Wilson scores a try during the round 19 NRL match against South Sydney.Credit:
Coach Cameron Ciraldo was reserved after the game, but impressed by his team’s effort.
“Happy with the result. There are obviously some things in there that we’re going to need to do better moving forward, but I really liked a lot of parts of our play,” Ciraldo said.
“I liked how there was a lot more resilience to what we did, a lot more effort and intent in what we were doing.”
The win wasn’t without its worries. With just five minutes left and a 14-point lead, the Rabbitohs scored back-to-back tries to put them within four points of the Bulldogs.
But in a game that was eerily similar to their loss to the Dragons, it was too little too late for South Sydney, and Canterbury skipper Matt Burton led his team to just their sixth victory of the year.
It was an ominous start for the Bulldogs, with Ryan Sutton taken from the field on a stretcher after a shoulder charge from Taane Milne.
Ryan Sutton receives medical attention after being injured in a tackle.Credit:
Milne was put on report for the incident and sent to the sin bin, while Sutton was taken to hospital for precautionary scans after complaining about pain in his neck.
The incident was costly for the Rabbitohs, with the visitors scoring 12 points while South Sydney had 12 on the field.
Rabbitohs coach Jason Demetriou was scathing of the decision after the game.
“Anyone who watches that can clearly see that the injury doesn’t come from Taane Milne. I’ve got my contacts in, so I’m pretty sure I can see,” Demetriou said.
“It’s an accidental contact as he ducks his head, and you can clearly see that – it’s a neck injury. But for some reason we get a bloke in the sin bin because a guy stayed down injured. It’s unfortunate he’s injured, and I hope he’s OK.”
Overlooked for Origin, Tevita Pangai jnr took Sutton’s place and chased down a Lachlan Illias kick within minutes of taking to the field.
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The ball rebounded off Pangai jnr, who safely collected it to start the Bulldogs set just 30 metres out from the South Sydney line.
From there, the Bulldogs shifted the ball out to Blake Wilson on the wing, who bagged a double inside the first 12 minutes.
But it wasn’t a reassuring start for Bulldogs fans who were holding their breath after fill-in Rabbitohs skipper Tom Burgess scored in the game’s opening minutes.
A dropped ball from Dean Hawkins handed the Bulldogs a scrum feed just 25 metres out from Souths’ goal line, and they pounced on their first opportunity to get some points of their own.
Burton complained of a laser being shone in his eyes while trying to convert the try, and subsequently, five teenagers were marched from the venue after one was identified as the culprit while taking a photo with Rabbitohs mascot Reggie the Rabbit.
Fresh-faced halfback Toby Sexton proved a good buy for the struggling club, putting in a solid 80 minutes for Canterbury after just two sessions with his new teammates.
Although his first end-of-set kick went haywire, his fast footwork and slippery attack kept a depleted South Sydney side on their toes all night.
The visitors went to the break 12 points up, keeping the Rabbitohs at bay with a scrambling goal-line defence that had been missing for most of the season.
It was a war of attrition to start the second half, and both teams went scoreless for the first 15 minutes before Ethan Quai-Ward went over in the corner to extend the Bulldogs’ lead.
Blake Taaffe split the Bulldogs’ defence and ran 40 metres to score and quickly landed a second try to keep Souths in the game.
But despite a courageous effort from Souths in the final five minutes, Canterbury’s desire to redeem themselves outshone the Rabbitohs’ comeback abilities.
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