The Wests Tigers have moved back into the top eight with a gritty 14-10 win over a disjointed Bulldogs outfit in front of over 18,000 fans at ANZ Stadium.
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Final score
Wests Tigers 14
Canterbury Bulldogs 10
Aaron Woods and Josh Reynolds face their former clubs as Tigers look to keep in touch with Top Eight spot. Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting at 4:10pm AEST.
Sunday afternoon’s clash with the Bulldogs shapes as a vital one for Ivan Cleary’s men as they attempt to arrest a worrying form slump.
After a promising start to 2018, in which they won five of their first six games, the Tigers are now in danger of slipping out of the Top Eight after losing four of their past five matches.
Much has been made of the Tigers’ lack of strike in attack and the fact that they have failed to score over four points in two of their past three games is of serious concern.
The return of former Bulldog Josh Reynolds from injury, however, may be the spark that they need to topple a Canterbury side who has had their own inability to score points.
Dean Pay’s side have only scored more than 20 points on one occasion this year – their 27-10 win over the struggling Cowboys.
Withstanding that effort, the Bulldogs have looked toothless within the opposition twenty and currently hold the second-worst attack in the competition.
To make matters worse, their top try-scorer Josh Morris (six tries) is sidelined for two months with John Olive taking his place in the starting side.
Tip
Points will be at a premium on Sunday afternoon so the side with the superior defence should claim victory.
The Tigers have the third-best defence in the competition and it should be enough to see them return to the winner’s circle.
Tigers by 8
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting at 4:10pm AEST.
Robert F
Guest
Agree TB. Worst loss of the year. Klemmer, Jackson, Martin have been great while the Morris boys have been solid and I thought Olive was solid yesterday and I'm excited to see what he has to offer in the next several weeks while J-Moz is out. Defensively I believe JMK has been great in the middle of the park but yesterday he didn't test the line that much with his runs from dummy half. Nor did Holland for that matter. Hate to say it but I'm over Montoya on the wing... He is so bad in defensive reads and Hopa needs to stop with the bloody arm grab tackling style. I honestly believe the play style of Des has still got this team shackled which has also contributed to Woods looking worse than what he really is although I will admit he has not panned out as good as I hoped he would have considering playing along side Klemmer. At the Tigers there was plenty of support play and second phase plays. Woods still has not excepted that it doesn't happen at the dogs so instead of running hard into the line like Klemmer he still tries to offload only to realise no one is there..... This is going to hurt for a while. Might have to stick to AFL and the Swans for a while as NRL has me kicking plenty of Dogs as you said TB. Frawley is not the answer in the halves.
Wolly
Roar Guru
Maybe they should just bite the bullet play their reserve grade side. Didn’t they beat the current ladder leaders who were at full strength or something? I think I remember you mentioning it once or twice ?
Sean
Guest
I'm a tigers fan. They still need a good hooker and fullback to be a top 8 side.
i miss the force
Guest
obvious by his haircut
Forty Twenty
Guest
Some simple wrap arounds done with pace , the odd chip kick on the second tackle anything to create a bit of fun and try to get the defence guessing would be worthwhile I reckon. I didn't expect to ever see the Dogs in such a dismal state but a few stars can emerge quickly and you're on the bus again.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
I said four years to recover in my piece, Chris Anderson told me in person that it would take three. Either way, we have been screwed by the fools who were in charge previously.
Stuart Thomas
Expert
Take a deep breath Barry and reflect on the pieces I wrote over the last twelve months. As much as I hate it, this was predictable. I write a Bulldogs match report that I post on my website each week and I will be providing links to those articles in the latest edition. Not to gloat, but to give some perspective to those expecting anything more than what we are currently getting. Any issues....see Dib, Hasler and co.
steveng
Roar Rookie
I agree TB, poor you and don't kick the dog, its not his fault just cry and swear lol Don't worry about Mbye, hes going to the Tigers anyway and it could even be this year. The Dogs were pretty ordinary in the second half but, the Tigers have given me 8 out of 8 for the roar tipping, first time ever!
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
Agree TB - John Olive was very strong but other than that the Dogs really struggled to create anything. A change is needed so they can plan for next year. Tough losing the punch of RFM though.
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
MATCH REPORT: The Wests Tigers have moved back into the Top Eight with a gritty 14-10 win over a disjointed Bulldogs outfit in front of over 18,000 fans at ANZ Stadium. A sloppy first half saw Ivan Cleary’s men trail 10-4 at the break, yet the Bulldogs were unable to go on with the job in the second half with their inept attack proving their downfall in the four-point loss. The Bulldogs opened the scoring in the 8th minute when Brett Morris sliced over off a well-executed left side raid. The next try, however, came twenty minutes later but it was well worth the wait. A spectacular cut-out pass from Benji Marshall caught out Canterbury winger Marcelo Montoya and saw Corey Thompson cross over out wide. Both sides were locked up at one try apiece at the break yet goal-kicking was the difference with Moses Mbye’s boot giving the Bulldogs a 10-4 lead. A 53% completion rate in the first half had proved the Tigers’ undoing and while their 76% in the second half was a significant improvement, it was the Bulldogs’ own poor ball-handling that invited Wests back into the contest. After a strong first half built on the back of an 88% completion rate, Dean Pay’s men went on to complete just 62% of their sets in the second forty and their attack suffered as a result. The first try of the second half went to David Nofoaluma after the winger flew over in the corner in the 53rd minute. The next try was one of sheer determination and bravery when Chris Lawrence put his body on the line to ground a Tui Lolohea grubber. Despite handing the Bulldogs several chances, the Tigers held on for an uninspiring 14-10 win and will need to improve astronomically if they are to overcome the Roosters next weekend. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs enjoy the week off.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I’d like it for his sake if he was but I think he’s going to get caught up as part of Freddie’s changing of the guard. I think it’s horribly unfair if it goes down that way but that’s my read...
Chris.P.Bacon
Guest
Exactly ML. That was just horrible.
Magic Lyrebird
Guest
Poor old Foran's a sad shadow of the player he used to be.
Magic Lyrebird
Guest
Yes that's the worst loss for the Dogs that I've seen this year. The Tigers weren't great, the refs gave the Dogs an even go with the penalties for once, the game was there to be won. But they came out in the second half and showed absolutely nothing. Just about the worst set of fifth tackle options I can remember seeing in an NRL game. Still pretty good effort defensively, but they badly need a half who can read a football game and get the ball to where the defence is weak. Oh and one who can kick.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Give them heaps Scotty.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Josh Jackson should be selected tonight Baz so that’s an up.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Oops :P
The Barry
Roar Guru
There’s been losses this year that I’ve copped on the chin because the effort has been there even if the execution has been off but that was pretty insipid. This halves combination can’t continue. They’re creating absolutely nothing. They must give Cleeland or Lewis a crack. Mbye had three good games at the start of the year and despite looking sharp occasionally hasn’t really delivered any additional attacking impetus. Today looked ok until they got to 10 points and the seemed to go in their shells like they were trying to protect a lead. 10 blinking points. If it wasn’t for the efforts of Jackson, Klemmer and Martin they’d be getting whipped. Have I mentioned it’s going to be a long year...? ? If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry...or swear...or kick the dog...
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
No worries, cheers Scotty! Please don't give Penrith too much of a wrap, I don't want any expectations on us.
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
FULL TIME - TIGERS 14 BULLDOGS 10 It wasn't pretty, but the Tigers have bounced back, claiming a tight four-point win over a disappointing Dogs side. What did you make of the game Roarers? Have the Tigers shown enough to prove they will make the Top Eight this year?