Bulldogs 41
Raiders 34
The Canterbury Bulldogs have won the highest scoring game of the season so far against the Canberra Raiders by 7 points in the nation’s capital this afternoon.
If you like attacking rugby league then this was the game to watch. Neither team or coach however, will be happy with their performance as the game swung back and forth multiple times with try scoring far to easy.
The Bulldogs raced out of the gates early in the game and should never have been in a position to lose, leading 26 to nil after the first quarter of the game. During that period, the Bulldogs had a real team effort and the Raiders defence was just soft as Lichaa, Rona and Reynolds who scored a double all crashed over.
The moment that let the Raiders back into the game, was a penalty where the Bulldogs elected to take a shot at goal. It seemed to say the Bulldogs were happy with their lead.
Following the penalty goal the Raiders worked their way back into the game and were able to score 3 tries before half time to bring the lead back to within 10 points. The three tries came in a 9 minute period as Sisa Waqa, Shaun Fensom and then Josh Papalii scored right on the siren.
Following the half time break the intensity of both teams seemed to lift and the defences were more solid for a period of time before Blake Austin broke through and scored bring the Raiders right back to within striking distance.
The sides then went tick for tack as in the next 6 minutes the Bulldogs scored a pair of tries to Pritchard and Thompson which was split up with a try to Mitch Cornish. Neither team was defending well and the Raiders goal line defence was almost non existent.
When Sisa Waqa crashed over in the 74th minute the Bulldogs were looking out of gas and ideas apart from running it hard and kicking it over the sideline, which arguably kept them in the game. Josh Reynolds the chief implementer of that kicking game.
The Raiders looked the team more likely to land a field goal, however Josh Hodgson miss counted the tackle count and ruined an opportunity for the Raider to kick a field goal by kicking over the sideline for a percentage play. From there the Bulldogs worked it to within 30 meters of the tryline but were near the sideline. Josh Reynolds then proceeded to pull of an incredible field goal.
With 40 seconds to go the Raiders tried a short kick off but it lead to another Bulldogs try which put the icing on the cake for the Bulldogs.
Josh Reynolds and Moses Mbye were exceptional backed up by the likes of Frank Pritchard and Tony Williams, whilst Michael Lichaa was also good in dummy half. For the Raiders Blake Austin, Mitch Cornish and Sisa Qaqa were there best on ground.
In the end though, the Bulldogs win a very entertaining game of football that neither team will be happy with.
Two teams looking to come back from a loss last week in the Canberra Raiders and the Canterbury Bulldogs do battle at Canberra Stadium. Join The Roar for our live coverage from 3:45pm (AEST).
Despite last weekend’s loss against the St George Illawarra Dragons, the Raiders were coming off a three-match winning streak and have been playing some excellent football.
They currently sit in sixth position but such is the logjam of the table, with plenty of teams having the bye this round a loss could see them fall as far as 12th.
The Bulldogs have had a less-than-impressive start to their season, winning only one of their last six encounters since that controversial Good Friday clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Last week they suffered a 14-point loss to the Sydney Roosters and currently sit 14th on the ladder, desperate for victory.
In team news the Raiders are unchanged from last week.
The Bulldogs meanwhile lose Josh Morris, Trent Hodkinson, David Klemmer and Josh Jackson to Origin. This brings Chase Stanley and Tim Lafai, who is returning from injury, back into the side, with Moses Mbye shifting into the halves. Tony Williams comes into the second row with Lloyd Perrett, Antonio Kaufusi, Danny Fualalo and Herman Ese’ese on an extended bench.
If the Bulldogs are going to win this game they will need their fill-in players to have massive games against a Raiders outfit that is both in-form and unaffected by Origin.
The key battle looks to be Blake Austin versus Josh Reynolds. Both five-eighths had a strong case but were snubbed for Origin, and will be keen to prove the selectors wrong.
Austin’s rhythm will not be affected by any players out for Origin, and he will want to shine after an ordinary showing against the Dragons last weekend.
Josh Reynolds meanwhile, has not been in great form, however had a decent game last weekend against the Roosters. Losing Hodkinson this week will mean he really needs to stand up and get his kicking game right, along with picking the right options in attack.
Prediction
Canberra have been playing fantastic football of late, and with the Dogs’ Origin toll, the Raiders should have enough to come over the top of them.
Raiders by 10.
Join The Roar from 3:45pm (AEST) for our live coverage, and don’t forget to leave your comments!
Geoff from Bruce Stadium
Guest
I feared this would happen. The Raiders are such a hard team to support. They just can't seem to win the games they are expected to win. With half the Bulldogs team out injured or on origin duty they still couldn't get the job done. Surely they knew Reynolds would be fired up along with the rest of the Bulldogs after the way they have been playing for the past 5 weeks. But they went missing for the first 20 minutes. 26 nil - fair dinkum. The Raiders really missed the composure of Sam Williams at half back and the defence of Jack Wighton today. And what's happened to FPN? He's gone from the beast with two man of the match performances to a passenger with two absolute bludgers. Good to see Shillington showing some form up front. And Boyd and Vaughan continue to chew up metres. Ricky will have to go back to the drawing board. The Raiders are obviously capable of scoring big points quickly but their defence out wide is simply not good enough at this level.
Bronco Juggernaut
Guest
He was offside by at least a metre.
Doc79
Roar Rookie
That decision was touch and go but made by the video ref. The strip was clear cut and obvious.
sham
Guest
The Raiders made Reynolds look like a world beater. Croker is a good player but sliding in defence while backing off is a recipe to concede tries.
AJohnnyball
Guest
Absolutely entertaining!
Jay C
Roar Guru
You're just being an alarmist. They get way more decisions correct today than any time in history. The technology is there, it isn't going away. What they need to do is work out a way to have it feel more organic. Rather than stop starting. For instance by the time the on field ref has sent a decision upstairs, the video refs should have seen the try 2 or 3 times. Once in real life and once or twice more before the whistle is blown. Then by the time the TV audience joins in the are already on the way to a decision. There is no way back now. We can see too much. And we are better off for it.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Based on the injury to Lafai I'd be far from surprised if he's back in the centres next outing. Plus looking fantastic against the Raiders doesn't indicate much. Think the dead spot came when Kasiano and Eastwood went off in fairly close proximity, Pritchard might also have gone off.
The eye
Guest
Agree,Austin was far more involved and dangerous when the Raiders started to get ball..that try where he literally ran over Perrett was a tough mans try..
steveng
Roar Rookie
Well, you are a very hard person to please for an exciting game that is (I would have thought) a great game always. Especially when the scoreboard was ticking over so rapidly and with so much excitement. But the refereeing, I still think was rubbish 'no matter what you say' it was very ordinary and the referees in RL are going from bad to worst. They can't even make a decision when its staring them right in the face. RL will end up worst than the NFL with stop start, have a look at the 'big screen' with slow motion, reverse and god knows what else they will look at every play. Oh god, how I wish that we could bring back the old refs like Col Pearce who was always on the spot and made the hard decisions whenever they counted.
Danno1
Guest
Hi Alex, The point is between the flashy bits he was a good solid competitor. He didn't clock off, he tackled well and tried to wrangle a disintegrating tired team down the field with some sound kicking. I thought he showed real composure in that game as well as his more infamous "edge"
Scott Pryde
Expert
Yep, Mbye was fantastic and cant be kept on the bench any longer.
MJB
Guest
I wouldn't say brilliant, their defence was atrocious. If they hadn't leaked so many soft tries it could have been quite a thumping.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
I'm getting at what the Dogs are going to do moving forward. Perhaps Mbye is their long term solution. But that deadspot after the first 20min is very concerning.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Well I'd be interested to hear his explanation for offside, frankly.
Doc79
Roar Rookie
Tony archer, i'll be looking forward to your explanation of what constitutes a strip this week. Fix the seven tackle restart from an unsuccessful drop goal while you're at it!! While the raiders defence may not be up to scratch, they only need to score more points than the opposition to win. I'd much prefer to watch them than these other dour frontrunners getting around.
Wolly
Roar Guru
To be fair the Raiders did get given a try even though the try scorer was offside.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
It doesn't require much explaining.. half the team decided they didn't want to tackle.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks Up in the North, Didn't I give enough thoughts for you :P No but seriously I am at a loss to explain it. The Raiders are like that though, incredibly unpredictable and the Bulldogs haven't been great this season. As I said in my post match thoughts though - that penalty goal curled the Bulldogs and was a poor decision. "It was like they said, 26 points will be enough and we don't need to worry anymore" They would have scored again there and had a 30 point lead, plus more momentum. But the Bulldogs still shouldn't have let the Raiders back in like they did. They just fell asleep.
up in the north
Roar Rookie
Cheers Scott, Could you put a bit of thought into explaining how the Dogs could take a 20min lead and squandering it the way they did? Just for one of those days when you have nothing else to do. Ta.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Reynolds had 20 good minutes at the start and 5 good minutes at the end, people need to calm down a bit.