Try time…Dean Young celebrates scoring for the Dragons against the Bulldogs. Picture: Mark Evans Source: The Daily Telegraph
- Dragons 26 Bulldogs 6
THE Bulldogs supposedly had a score to settle last night. They were supposedly pumped to right the wrongs of their previous clash against St George Illawarra, which ended in high drama after video referee Steve Clark wrongly denied them a last-minute match-winner.
But from the opening minutes of last night’s return bout it was clear there would be no painful repeat.
The Bulldogs started like they were tethered to a telegraph pole, spent the rest of the evening chasing their tail, and made no headway on the scoreboard.
A 16-0 lead in as many minutes ensured the Dragons would remain unbeaten – and the Bulldogs winless.
Two of their opening strikes went to speedster Brett Morris, who sent bookmakers into the foetal position after notching his hat-trick with two minutes remaining, but the real heroes for the hosts were their hands.
In a replica of last week’s near-immaculate completion rate, the Dragons again controlled possession superbly and had forced the ball over the opposition’s try-line three times before they finally fumbled in the 21st minute.
Appearing to lack the hunger that inspired last year’s fairytale ride from cellar to Cinderella, the Bulldogs never recovered.
To make matters worse, Belmore now has a bona-fide bookends crisis to contend with after Michael Hodgson and Mickey Paea both suffered medial knee tears, while Ben Hannant has to contend with homesickness.
Contemplating his first back-to-back losses since taking over last year, Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore praised his team’s effort but felt their poor start – and a 9-3 penalty count in favour of the hosts – cruelled any chance of a contest.
“We got off to a poor start and they got off to a flyer,” he surmised. “Getting to 16-0 after 17 minutes … that hurt. In the last 65 minutes we created a lot of opportunities but our execution is a bit off. You have to be at your best, particularly against one of the best teams in the competition.”
And perhaps the smartest. While Dragons coach Wayne Bennett refused to confirm it, the Dragons looked to Morris at every opportunity. His pace regularly made a mess of Bulldogs opposites Jamal Idris and Steve Turner, whom Moore admitted were exposed.
“Our right-hand-side defence got found out a couple of times – they were just poor reads,” Moore said.
“They were poor reads for certainly Brett’s first try, his last try … probably his middle try as well.”
It was the second that really emphasised Canterbury’s woes, with Dragons prop Matt Prior skirting former NSW Origin winger Turner from a scrum deep in St George Illawarra territory.
He duly found Morris, who dashed between Bryson Goodwin and Luke Patten to dash the Bulldogs hopes.
As they did six nights earlier, Canterbury fought to the end but Brett Kimmorley’s kicking game lacked the variety to penetrate such well-drilled defence.
Kimmorley constantly kicked for the towering Idris, but the veteran’s aim was locked a few valuable metres short and Canterbury did not trouble the scorer until livewire utility Ben Barba jinked over with 26 minutes remaining.
Barba’s try made the score 18-6, and Moore thought his side might have been a chance if not for some appalling decisions from the referees.
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 26 (B Morris 3 N Emmett D Young tries J Soward 3 goals) bt BULLDOGS 6 (B Barba try B Goodwin goal) at WIN Stadium. Referee: Tony Archer, Matt Cecchin. Crowd: 16,177.
Tags:Bulldogs, Dragons