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Newcastle Knights 18
Canterbury Bulldogs 20
>>MATCH REPORT: Hodkinson injured in Dogs win over Knights
The Canterbury Bulldogs have recorded what can only be called a scrappy win on Old Boys day at Hunter Stadium over the Newcastle Knights, taking the win by just two points with some late scares as the Knights surged home in front of a huge crowd.
After a fiery opening to the game, the emotions regularly got the better of the two sides and things spilled over into numerous dust ups. This was divided up with numerous momentum swings in the game, plenty of good football and a fair few errors from both sides.
For the Bulldogs, Trent Hodkinson was injured near the end of the first half and it was a telling factor in their level of play during the second half with Moses Mbye unable to fill the void on his own. It almost cost the Knights at the end of the game, however Akuilla Uate had a 5 minutes from hell and made sure the Bulldogs would hang on.
Other players who stood out for the Bulldogs included Frank Pritchard, Brett Morris, Curtis Rona and Josh Jackson.
The Knights had Jake Mamo as their standout for the evening. He was electric in attack and created plenty of opportunities. Others who played well included Tyrone Roberts and Kurt Gidley along with Korbin and Tariq Sims.
The scoring started with Tariq Sims in the 12th minute. He scored off a Tyrone Roberts kick for the corner was allowed to bounce and Nathan Ross couldn’t get there.
From there though during the first half it was all the Bulldogs. Curtis Rona scored the first with an incredible intercept try. The Knights were right on the attack and as they went to the right, Mamo looked for a pass which landed with Rona who ran 100 metres to score.
Tim Lafai scored in the 26th minute putting the Bulldogs in the lead in one of the simplest and easiest tries you are ever likely to see as a finger didn’t get laid on him as he went to the try line.
Damian Cook then pushed the lead out with a try in the 32nd minute. On half way a quick play the ball allowed him to put the foot down and go straight through the defensive line before standing up Jake Mamo and racing away to score in the corner.
At halftime the Bulldogs had all the momentum leading 14-6.
However, after the break there was a major change. Plenty of end to end footy followed for both sides and points looked likely on multiple occasions.
Nathan Ross was the man to break the scoring drough in the 52nd minute as he scored off a Tyrone Roberts grubber kick in the corner. It was a great effort from Ross and really sparked the Knights for the next period of the game.
it didn’t mean the Knights would score next however as Frank Pritchard turned into a half and scored for the Bulldogs in the 63rd minute. With the ball shuffled along to the left hand side, and Mbye’s kicking game now working Pritchard decided enough was enough, threw a dummy and ran through to score.
Kurt Gidley would then score a similar try going straight through the line for the Knights with just 10 minutes to go.
The last couple of minutes saw the Knights put the pressure on. A drop out was forced before Uate dropped it. On their next run down the field they just ran out of space on the right hand side and we had all sorts of carnage with the referee tripping over an injured Brett Morris.
Given one last possession off a shocking Bulldogs kick, Akuilla Uate made a play at the ball as it was going over the dead ball line and that would be that.
In the end, a much needed two competition points for the Bulldogs in a crazy game at Hunter Stadium
After a fiery win last week, a danger game looms for the Canterbury Bulldogs when they travel up the M1 to take on the Newcastle Knights, who are desperately trying to avoid the wooden spoon. Join The Roar for live coverage from 5:15pm (AEST).
For the Knights, it has been the season from hell. Currently sitting in 14th place, they are only two points away from the bottom of the table and have only won four games since they started the season with four straight wins.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have been teetering dangerously on the edge of the top eight for some time, however a victory and a powerful one at that over the South Sydney Rabbitohs that was their third in a row has cemented their position in the eight.
Sam Mataora misses out for the Knights, with Beau Scott returning from injury into the second row, pushing Chris Houston back to the bench.
The Bulldogs are unchanged from their win over the Rabbitohs.
Tyrone Roberts is the key to the Knights springing an upset, as he was against the Storm. His kicking game has been off all year, however he rediscovered his accuracy and last weekend; this must continue if they are to knock off the Bulldogs.
It also happens to be Old Boys day at Hunter Stadium, and this often brings out a strong performance in the Knights – they grabbed a win in the corresponding fixture last year against the Dragons.
The Bulldogs forward pack were scintillating last week against the Bunnies, with a perfect mix of running hard and passing, as Frank Pritchard and Sam Kasiano, who are nearly impossible to stop, played their best games of the season.
Prediction
Don’t write the Knights off in this one. They have plenty to play for and after how the Bulldogs played last week they could take their foot off the pedal a bit.
But based on their season, the Knights might take an early lead but ultimately end up going down in a close one.
Bulldogs by 2.
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