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Canterbury Bulldogs 20
Melbourne Storm 4
The Bulldogs have successfully returned to Belmore in a massive win over the Melbourne Storm in front of a huge crowd, but really the win was set up inside the first 13 minutes, with the Bulldogs racing to a 16-0 lead.
The crowd at Belmore was almost 17,000 and the atmosphere they created, particularly in the opening 20 minutes of the game was incredibly.
the Bulldogs were inspired by a Trent Hodkinson performance, that was better than any of his this season as he played a part in three of the four Bulldogs tries. He was backed up by an awesome effort from the Bulldogs forwards, particularly Shaun Lane who was man of the match and David Klemmer who despite not directly setting up any tries, his runs inside his own half set up the Bulldogs to get onto the attack.
Whilst their wasn’t much to like about the Storm Ben Hampton and Cameron Munster linked up very well in the back end of the first half, Tohu Harris was good early and Marika Koroibete was close to the best on ground in the second half out of both teams.
The scoring in the game started early on in the fourth minute as Brett Morris crossed after Curtis Rona was put into space by Trent Hodkinson and then grubbered back inside for Morris to cross.
That was only the start of the early horrors for the Storm as they gave a penalty away and then the Bulldogs raced down the right hand side to score through Shaun Lane after Trent Hodkinson took on the line and through a great pass.
After a period of six minutes, where the Bulldogs dominated but couldn’t find the line they came down the right hand side once again and it was Sam Perrett to cross in the corner, again set up by Trent Hodkinson with Shaun Lane this time passing it on. The try was sent upstairs and the grounding didn’t look to be clear cut, but the try was still awarded.
Whilst there was no more scoring in the first half, the momentum of the game slowly seemed to switch around to the Storm. However their attack was lacking and the Bulldogs defended brilliantly which didn’t make life any easier for the Storm.
At halftime it was 16-0 to the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs came out after half time defending like their lives depended on it, with two sets in a row where the Storm barely got out of their own 20. The Bulldogs then used their possession and an incredible Sam Kasiano pass to send Josh Morris over in the corner.
With a 20 point lead it looked to be a long way back for the Storm but it didn’t stop them trying, with Blake Green trying numerous chip kicks over the top. The Bulldogs defence stayed strong and the Storm’s attack didn’t improve enough to crack them.
The Bulldogs decided to grind it out until Josh Reynolds came on and he gave quite the impact.
The Storm got a consolation try in the last minute to Marika Koroibete and there couldn’t have been a more deserving Storm player after the second half he played.
In the end though the Bulldogs way to good for the Storm.
The historic Belmore Sports Ground hosts its first NRL game since 1998 when the Canterbury Bulldogs play the understrength Melbourne Storm. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 6:45pm (AEST)
The Bulldogs are coming off a very good win against the Penrith Panthers last week, however with the Origin period taking full effect on the NRL it has been hard to assess exactly what sort of form they are in.
With their full side they recorded a very good win against the St George Illawarra Dragons a couple of weeks ago, however lost to the Gold Coast Titans in between.
The Dogs currently sit eighth on the ladder, with seven wins and seven losses.
They have made a number of changes this week, with Brett Morris and Trent Hodkinson returning to the starting side. This pushes Sam Perrett to the wing with Corey Thompson dropping out and Josh Reynolds shifting back to the bench. Josh Jackson is out suspended, meaning Shaun Lane comes into the starting side, while David Klemmer and Sam Kasiano switch between the bench and front row.
The Storm they have been brilliant this season, however the Origin period has again been problematic for them, with injuries to Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater. Against the Broncos last week they only managed to score two tries and went down by two points, despite having more than 60 per cent of possession.
The Storm go into this game unchanged, sweating on Cronk’s return in the next couple of weeks.
Cameron Smith will need to play a massive game if the Storm are to win, but they also need the likes of Cameron Munster, Kurt Mann, Ben Hampton and Blake Green to stand up. Green in particular needs to take over a majority of the kicking duties and guide his team around the park.
However he is up against one of the league’s most exciting players in Moses Mbye, and a player out to prove a number of people wrong in Hodkinson. Combine that with the fact a fresh Reynolds will come off the bench sometime in the second half and you begin to get a feel of how important a job Green has.
The home-crowd factor will also be massive, with a full house expected. As such, the Bulldogs will be out to make the first of their two ‘Back to Belmore’ games this season count.
Prediction
The Storm just don’t look threatening enough without Slater and Cronk. The Bulldogs meanwhile have three halves all trying to prove themselves and are in good form.
Bulldogs by 16.
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