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The Canterbury Bulldogs have recorded a three-point win over the St George Illawarra Dragons at Homebush, but they will be less than impressed with what was an error-riddled performance that saw them only just scrape over the line.
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While credit should be given to the Dragons for showing up and playing a much better quality game than what they have produced recently, the Bulldogs will be frustrated that they couldn’t capitalise on their opportunities as much as they should have.
St George Illawarra actually started the game very strongly, but just couldn’t find a way to cross the try line. Despite that, Gareth Widdop and Benji Marshall looked to have a new sense of urgency, trying to get things done with Adam Quinlan popping up well.
Euan Aitken and Taane Milne did plenty in the centres, while their forwards dominated early on the back of some strong performances from Russell Packer, Mike Cooper and Tyson Frizell to hand them plenty of possession.
Despite a mountain of repeat sets though, the Bulldogs, led by James Graham, Greg Eastwood and a firing David Klemmer and a composed effort from Will Hopoate would fight their way back into the game, allowing them to go against the run of play and take a lead.
Josh Reynolds would score the first try of the game in the 24th minute with Aiden Tolman setting things up from inside their own half. He linked with Moses Mbye, who has been fantastic before going to Josh Morris in space and an offload for Greg Eastwood, which found Reynolds to score under the sticks.
Sam Kasiano then came up with a barge over try under the posts off a wonderful short ball just a couple of metres out.
The Dragons continued to go close with nothing to show for it, before Josh Reynolds slotted a field goal as the halftime siren went off.
The second half kicked off in a much more positive way for the Dragons, as they attacked with much more fluency and again has the Bulldogs on the back foot.
Kurt Mann would cross for their first points of the match in the 46th minute off a perfectly executed Gareth Widdop kick that sat up in the in goal and allowed him to score.
Canterbury muscled their way back into the match as a contest, but weren’t looking like scoring any points. Their defence looked strong, but attack was another issue.
Brett Morris, as he was during the first half, seemed to be a shining light for the Bulldogs. He ran the ball expertly, constantly created opportunities from long range and was excellent in defence, putting plenty of pressure on the Dragons outside backs.
St George Illawarra continued to ask questions, with Marshall and Widdop continuing to look good, while Tariq Sims had a monster impact off the bench.
Canterbury had a very sloppy couple of minutes leading up to the Dragons second try in the 60th to Euan Aitken, this time off a Benji Marshall grubber.
Both Josh Reynolds and Joel Thompson could be in trouble with the judiciary as well, for a trip and high tackle respectively.
The Dragons interchange strategy continued to baffle in the final 10 minutes, as Jacob Host sat on the bench, not used for the entire game when a fresh forward could have made all the difference.
They looked dangerous at times in that final period of the game, but in the end, simply couldn’t crack the Bulldogs line with a few early kicks not quite working out.
A win is a win as far as Canterbury are concerned, but they need massive improvement if they are going to be a contender come September. As for the Dragons, it’s time to start planning mad Monday. With a tough run ahead, winning five of their final six games looks near impossible.
The Bulldogs then, with a three-point win at Homebush.
Final Score
Canterbury Bulldogs 13
St George Illawarra Dragons 10
Statistics
Tries: Bulldogs (2), Dragons (2)
Conversions: Bulldogs (2/2), Dragons (1/2)
Field Goals: Bulldogs (1/1), Dragons (nil)
Possession: Bulldogs (47%), Dragons (53%)
Completions: Bulldogs (25/35), Dragons (29/41)
All runs: Bulldogs (188), Dragons (186)
All run metres: Bulldogs (1629), Dragons (1658)
Line breaks: Bulldogs (2), Dragons (2)
Offloads: Bulldogs (10), Dragons (16)
Tackles: Bulldogs (361), Dragons (346)
Missed tackles: Bulldogs (28), Dragons (32)
Penalties: Bulldogs (2), Dragons (5)
Errors: Bulldogs (13), Dragons (10)
The Roar’s NRL MVP
3 – Brett Morris
2 – Tariq Sims
1 – David Klemmer