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Last night the Bulldogs put in their gutsiest effort of the 2017 season so far.
In pelting rain at ANZ Stadium, Canterbury-Bankstown ploughed through the peripheries of a cyclone to lay the Broncos to waste 10-7.
For the first half of the game, the Dogs put in a pretty ordinary performance, with the score seeming destined to go Brisbane’s way.
Time and again, Josh Reynolds crashed towards – or over – the line. Time and again, he was knocked back.
It was only after an error from Jordan Kahu that the Bulldogs managed to get their act together fifteen minutes into the second half.
Finally managing to put down a legitimate four-pointer, Reynolds rallied the team’s spirits at the 55-minute mark.
With Brad Abbey failing to convert, the score was locked on 7-6 Brisbane’s way, thanks in part to a classy field goal from Kahu right on the halftime siren.
Minutes after Reynolds scored the first Canterbury try in 140 minutes of football, Brad Abbey crossed over, putting down his first four points for the Dogs with dramatic panache.
With the score 10-7 Canterbury’s way, the stage was set for one of the most pummelling, punishing second stanzas this season.
As the rain hammered down, it was clear that the Bulldogs were desperate to erase the memory of last week’s 36-0 loss to the Sea Eagles.
As set after set surged, it also felt as if they were fighting to regain Des Hasler’s reputation – or fighting against every journalist who has mentioned them in the same breath as the Tigers this week.
Reynolds, in particular, showed his stuff, never letting up on either attack or defence as the game drew towards its conclusion.
However, the classiest move came from James Graham.
Lunging at Corey Oates’ legs a mere couple of metres out from the Canterbury line, he saved the try that would have won Brisbane the game.
Even during the last few minutes, it felt almost inevitable that the Broncos would come back to regain their form.
That they didn’t was a testament to the grit and determination of the Dogs after last week’s humiliating defeat.
No team in the NRL has as much of an inferiority complex as the Bulldogs.
When they’re winning, it seems like a miracle; when they’re losing, it always seems like their destiny.
That can be a blessing and a curse, but last night it was a blessing.
Desperate not to prove their critics right, Canterbury-Bankstown put everything they had on the line and succeeded.
The biggest challenge for the Dogs now is not to get too complacent as they head into their clash with the Knights at Hunter Stadium in Round 6.
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