The St George Illawarra Dragons have regained top spot on the ladder with a tense 18-16 win over an improved Canterbury Bulldogs side at ANZ Stadium in front of over 20,000 fans.
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Final score
Canterbury Bulldogs 16
St George Illawarra Dragons 18
Will the St George Illawarra Dragons respond after a 26-point last-start defeat or will the Canterbury Bulldogs keep their mathematical finals hopes alive? Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting at 4pm AEST.
Let’s face it. The Bulldogs are no hope of a miraculous finals appearance in 2018. However, it has not been all that bad.
Six of Canterbury’s nine losses this year have been by eight points or less, including last week’s four-point defeat at the hands of the Tigers.
Ultimately, Dean Pay’s men have struggled in attack, scoring the second least amount of points in the competition so far and it has proved their Achilles heel in those tight losses.
Their chances of improving are much tougher, however, with five-eighth Kieran Foran ruled out (toe) and replaced by Jeremy Marshall-King.
Michael Lichaa is recalled at hooker in place of Marshall-King. The Bulldogs have an incredible record against the Dragons having won 11 of their last 12 against the Red V, including last year’s 26-20 defeat that saw Paul McGregor’s men miss the 2017 finals series.
Canterbury may have history on their side, yet the Dragons have the clear advantage in this contest.
The Red V currently rank as the best attacking team in the competition and rate the fifth-best in defence.
All their Origin stars have been named to back up, yet Ben Hunt in particular must be in doubt after the halfback was under an injury cloud for Wednesday night’s game at the MCG.
The Dragons look clear victors for mine but the final team list for St. George Illawarra may influence how close the result is.
Tip
The Bulldogs may have a strong record against the Dragons but that will mean little on Monday afternoon.
The Red V will reclaim top spot on the ladder with an emphatic victory, provided the majority of their Origin combatants play.
Dragons by 18.
Join The Roar for live scores and a blog of the match, starting at 4pm AEST.
DP. Schaefer
Guest
Ken, they may be undefeated, but lately haven't been that impressive (Raiders was close) and I must admit that the comment was partly motivated by their performances last year - ie, when you at the top of the tree you really need to show that position of strength with those at the bottom.
KenW
Guest
Dragons are undefeated this year against any team not in the Top 4.... this particular game wasn't dominant but it's hard to suggest a complacency problem.
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
Glad you enjoyed it!
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
No worries! You must have been feeling nerves very similar to the ones I did on Friday night when we hold on for the win against Canberra!
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
MATCH REPORT: The St. George Illawarra Dragons have regained top spot on the ladder with a tense 18-16 win over an improved Canterbury Bulldogs side at ANZ Stadium in front of over 20,000 fans. The Dragons headed into Monday afternoon’s clash desperate to bounce back after being embarrassed 28-2 by Penrith a fortnight ago and they were quick to respond. Ben Hunt went short to Euan Aitken who burst straight through a gaping hole in the Canterbury defence to open the scoring. Only five minutes later the Dragons had their second of the afternoon. Tariq Sims could have considered himself a tad unlucky to have missed out on State of Origin selection this year. However, the non-selection appeared to have motivated him early as he crashed over in the 9th minute to extend his side’s lead to 8-0. Poor ball handling from the Dragons was all that was keeping the Bulldogs in the clash early and a mistake by Aitken gifted the Bulldogs the chance to hit back – and they did. Aaron Woods offloaded to Matt Frawley who then passed it on to Adam Elliot with seemingly little going on. Yet the Canterbury lock showed great strength to charge through the attempted tackle from Hunt to reduce the deficit to two. However, other than that, the Bulldogs were rudderless in attack with halves pairing Jeremy Marshall-King and Matt Frawley failing to give their side the direction necessary to post further points. A late flying effort by Nene Macdonald gave the Dragons a comfortable 14-6 lead at the break and it appeared as if they would go on with it in the second forty. However, the Bulldogs forward pack stepped up dramatically after the half-time pause and inspired Dean Pay’s men as they surged to an early 16-14 lead. The first try came after Brett Morris sliced through the middle of the Dragons’ defence before linking with Moses Mbye who was pulled up 10 metres short of the line. That break saw the Bulldogs gain an overlap on the right edge which Josh Jackson exploited when he put through a grubber kick which was grounded by Will Hopoate in the 44th minute. Only three minutes later Canterbury had an unlikely lead. Jackson featured again, this time bursting through the middle and providing his side with prime field position. Frawley sent it high on the last and Kurt Mann could not handle it, with Morris planting the ball for his first try of the afternoon. Canterbury had several chances to clinch the victory at the death but back-to-back penalties saw the Dragons regain the lead and hold on to an 18-16 win. The victory sees the Dragons sit atop of the competition ladder while the Bulldogs’ finals hopes appear to have been dashed despite an improved showing.
KenoathCarnt
Guest
Dragons winning once again with penalty goals that luck will only stretch so far.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thanks for the call X!
Scott Pryde
Expert
Yeah look, I sure did. Also had two paragraphs ready to go about Canterbury in the first point.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Straight to the fridge Mr X, thanks for the call.
Mark
Guest
Should have won by more but happy with any result that gives us 2 points against our bogey team.
Renegade
Roar Guru
Haha good job mate!
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
Did you have two different paragraphs ready in case the Dragons dropped it at the end?
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Spot on Rene, Frawley and Marshall - King don’t offer a lot.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Agree. Some of their last tackle stuff was terrible.
Penrith Punter
Roar Guru
FULL TIME: DRAGONS 18 DEFEAT BULLDOGS 16 A much better performance from the Bulldogs big men in the second half but the Dragons hold on for a two-point win. What did you make of that thriller Roarers?
Scott Pryde
Expert
Not really. Statistically, the Dragons shouldn't have won today. We are terrible against the Dogs, terrible on Mondays, terrible after the bye. I'll take it.
Scott Pryde
Expert
Talking points are a go for Round 14. Published one minute after fulltime. How good is that?
DP Schaefer
Guest
Dragons need to be more dominant with the lower placed teams. Complacency??
Renegade
Roar Guru
A decent halves pairing would’ve got the dogs a win today.... they were the better team today apart from the opening 10 mins which cost them the game.
KenoathCarnt
Guest
Dragons quite lucky to scrape away with this one against a poorly performing team. The training wheels certainly seem to be unbuckling.