Canterbury-Bankstown, despite appearing more like a self-imploding science experiment for much of the last 18 months, pulled off a stunning upset to begin Round 21 of the NRL competition.
It wasn’t as though the Broncos arrived at ANZ Stadium on Thursday with little for which to play. With a chance to temporarily jump into the top four and add pressure to the Roosters and Dragons, the northerners should have been champing at the bit, frothing at the mouth and ready to deliver a comprehensive beating to a team still struggling to avoid the wooden spoon.
Instead the Broncos were meek, and the resurgent Bulldogs look to have finally turned what appeared a distant corner, stringing together consecutive wins. Don’t be fooled by the scoreline; Brisbane were flattered by two late tries erasing much of the 24-point lead the blue and whites had accumulated by the 66-minute mark.
Those late four-pointers mirrored the double scored by Korbin Sims in the final ten minutes of the first half. When the match was really up for grabs it was the Bulldogs who bared their teeth and took the initiative.
Lachlan Lewis is beginning to look like a future star. His poise on the ball and astute kicking was fundamental in the victory. Without the suspended David Klemmer, in addition to the array of departures this season, the youth have been well and truly empowered by coach Dean Pay.
After midseason pain, the play of Rhyse Martin, Reimis Smith, Kerrod Holland and Lewis himself is reigniting the kennel faithful. The 2019 season is looking a whole lot brighter, with a hungry squad and new acquisitions on the way.
Sadly for the Bulldogs the Morris brothers will be missed. The defensive masterclass they put on before the eyes of a dangerous Broncos backline was something to behold. It might be a tough week on the track for the Broncos as Wayne Bennett laments two points he probably thought were in the bag.
(Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
ANZ Stadium hosted its second of three Round 21 matches when the table-topping Storm and Rabbitohs met on a warm winter’s night in Sydney.
Both will finish in the top four this year, yet the match loomed as a potential psychological advantage for the victor. If anyone feared it might fail to live up to expectations, they were well off the mark.
The Storm had the better of the first period, yet each and every time they threatened to surge clear on the scoreboard the Bunnies found something and came back just as strongly.
The early try to Dale Finucane was matched by a Hymel Hunt four-pointer, and subsequent tries to Josh Addo-Carr and Curtis Scott were negated by the late effort from Sam Burgess.
After a compelling first half that went end to end the Storm took a 16-12 lead into the break.
The second half began as cagey as any period of play in the NRL this season as the Souths muscled up in defence. The pressure led to an Adam Doueihi – whose name commentators continue to mispronounce – try and the conversion from Adam Reynolds saw the Bunnies take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.
Ten minutes later Damien Cook scythed his way through the Melbourne defence and put South Sydney eight clear, a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest.
Up against the best hooker of the modern era, Cook reigned supreme. Origin showed everyone just how talented he is and how effective he can be. With the chance to take Smith on head to head, he ended any speculation as to who is the best nine in the league right now.
The final 20 minutes saw the Rabbitohs hammer the Storm defensively, and Alex Johnston increased the lead with seven minutes remaining. The conversion set up a 30-16 score line and a comprehensive victory.
A late try to Addo-Carr brought the Storm four closer in the final minutes, yet Souths finished 30-20 winners and took the competition lead to boot.
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Earlier in the night, Wests Tigers kept their faint semi-final hopes alive against Newcastle at McDonald Jones Stadium. The black and golds were the better side for much of a match that failed to hit any great heights. Two first-half Tiger tries built a 16-4 lead at the break for the visitors.
Newcastle managed something of a resurgence in the second half, with Kalyn Ponga leading the charge. A barnstorming run from Aidan Guerra and a four-pointer from Ponga himself had the Knights within six before a Luke Brooks field goal and a late penalty saw the Tigers survive 25-16.
The Tigers cling onto finals hopes and the Knights rue another missed opportunity in a season of inconsistency and frustration.
Adz Sportz
Roar Guru
Cook is in great form and has easily earned the Australian #9 jumper, but come on... he's a long way off being worthy of lacing Cam Smith's boots.
stevesyd
Roar Rookie
Cooky would have been 'the man' last year as well if not for his mismanagement by Michael Maguire. Anthony Seibold fixed that before a ball was kicked in 2018.
3_Hats SSTID 2014
Roar Rookie
Gift Souths Field position? I think you need to learn how to read a game. Souths had great field position because the Rabbitohs moved up quickly and smashed the storm into submission. Souths kick pressure was also very good. Another thing, you mention 2 points in 25 minutes but the game goes for 80 minutes. So 30 points in 80 minutes we were red hot. The Storm scored some excellent trys
The duad
Guest
As a Souths follower from 1968 never underestimate Souths ability to snatch their own defeat from the jaws of an easy victory.
dave
Guest
The bunnies forwards such as the burgess brothers,.sutton and that ace hooker cook were fabulous while the backs such as reynolds,.cambell graham.johnson also impressed With GI and Jennings to come back into the team the bunnies can win the premiership. I'm looking forward to a Roosters/ Bunnies final with both teams each boasting some outstanding players .
steveng
Roar Rookie
Well said and spot on 3_Hats 'Go the Bunnies'!!!
Nat
Roar Guru
Don't get me wrong, as I said he was the difference last night and had far more impact on the game/result than Smith did - easily. He is in tremendous form but Smith is still the best hooker in the game and his performances all season have been consistently better than Cook. Cook's errors weren't just one to Sam, there were at least 3 to my count that lead to knock ons. That was my only qualm of his otherwise outstanding performance. Campbell Graham - fantastic. I've said previously that the GI will only improve your mob again.
parkhacker
Roar Rookie
Bulldogs 2 wins in a row, well done, finding some form at last.To beat the Broncos never an easy task and to win by so much really terrific.Hope the team keeps winning a few more games and leaves the wooden spoon to the Eels or Cowboys.
3_Hats SSTID 2014
Roar Rookie
WERE YOU ENTERTAINED? Well, what can the fans say about my Rabbitohs now? There just aren't enough superlatives to describe our performance, we absolutely SMASHED the Defending Premiers, the so-called best defensive team in the Comp. We put 30 on them with ease! I do congratulate the Storm though if it was any other team in the Comp we would have put 50 on them. So the Best Attack did outdo the Best Defence! The scary thing about our performance was that our most potent left side attack in the whole Rugby League World we were missing our 2 big gun attackers, Greg Inglis and Robert Jennings who is the leading try scorer so far. Amazing stuff! Hunt and Douiehi then Burns when he came on to replace Adam D, all 3 did a fantastic job. In the First half, the Storm with their Wrestle and holding down tactics really did slow us down quite a bit. When the Storm hit the lead 6 to 16, I could hear Sam quite clearly tell Kline, who hardly ever does my Rabbitohs any favours at all... Sam said to him, come on mate what are you going to do about their Wrestle and reminded Kline about the slowing down tactics they always employ. Did you get the memo mate? In a reference that the NRL sent warning letters to all clubs about the slowing down tactics and second efforts! The Second half, the Refs did do something about the Wrestle and it ended up a being a free-flowing game that OUR Cooky just ripped them apart. Every single Forward of ours ran for over 100m. We were getting a fantastic roll on, so good was it that both our Halves were just toying with the Storms Edge, that is their strength by the way! For me, the most pleasing aspect of our game was how we moved up and completely smashed them with our defence. I lost count on how many times our boys picked them up and dumped them on their backs, it was just like the tackling techniques of the 80s. Campbell Graham, what a player, what a performance, his bomb refusal then a 50m gallop was something special. What about his up and in one on one defence? About 6 times he came in and smashed the Storm attackers. Nobody can say that the Storm was off, the Storm was actually quite good, especially their attack but our Boys were so much better. The Dogs and the Tigers win's, good on them but I didn't see their games so I can't comment.
Col in paradise
Guest
And Jennings who has been hot and the form back for South's.. the score flattered the Storm.
Kangas
Roar Rookie
I don’t watch a lot of rugby league these days because of the bunker and the changing nature of the game . But I tuned in a few times this year and that Damian Cook is a gem. Cook would have fit in perfectly back in the golden era of the 90s. . Damn smart player
steveng
Roar Rookie
Nat, if Cook isn’t ‘the inform’ and the best running #9 in the comp this year, then who is? The closes and similar #9 I would compare him to is Segeyaro but, the bloke absolutely demolished the Storm and Smith, in every aspect last night! Yes, he threw one wayward pass to Sammy B, which if caught, it would have been a certain try but, speed is what he has and what his main assets are. You can’t compare him to C. Smith, they are two totally different #9’s and play completely different roles. In saying that, the Bunnies were a bit slow off the mark in the first half and allowed a few soft tries, which could be a big problem come the finals. To me, once GI and Jennings return, the Bunnies structure will come back, Campbell Graham had a blinder as did Walker, Reynolds and of course the twins who were absolutely smoking but, it’s a pity about Adam Doueihi, who is a very levelled headed player in whatever position he is put in and we are going to miss that, that injury didn’t look good and he could be out for the season. Hopefully GI and Jennings are back for next week game against the cooks as there will be a few feathers blowing around next week lol Go the Bunnies!!!
kk
Guest
Pleasure to read Stuart, Team Roar consistently delivers quality and colourful commentary on Rugby League. 'appearing more like self exploding science equipment' ain't gold it's pure black opal. Lewis and Martin were a comedy team of yesteryear. Lachlan and Rhyse present (and play) like confident veterans and accompanied by Josh Jackson will be the foundation of the Canterbury Renaissance. The laughing Belmore Bulldog is best in show atop the ladder. Sadly, injuries sustained in Origin deprived the Bulldogs of their services of Brothers Morris during agonising periods of recovery. I wish them well at their new clubs. Souths were magnificent. Cook is something else, the way he charts his way to the tryline. I tipped Broncos and Storm, yet cheered madly for Canterbury and Souths. It's in my DNA. Wests Tigers mesmerised the Knights. Seeing Mitchell Pearce slumped in a chair at the sideline is one of the saddest pictures of the season. Hope you recover soon.
Nat
Roar Guru
The thing that impressed me most with Lewis was his defence. Without seeing the stats, I'm not sure he missed but some of those he made were very good, on bigger men, in what could have been game-turning circumstances. I applaud his football nouse but when a young fella has those defensive capabilities, it will see him go a long way. It will be sad to see the Morris Bros break up next year. While they're both high quality rep standard, they have a better non-verbal understanding then I may have ever seen. Cook was fantastic last night and proved to be the difference I believe as when Melbourne started to tire, he stepped up and ran them ragged. A very good game, but let's not jump the gun in saying he's the best hooker. There were still a few mistakes and his no look passes caused a few issues when the ball doesn't hit the forwards bread basket. Crighton seems to have gone off the boil a bit. Maybe trying to be a touch too fancy where his strengths were just good hole running. Still, even without GI, that was an awesome performance.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Souths were very , very good last night. I have seen the Storm lose games when they have been ‘off’ but I can’t remember one for a long time where they were beaten so comprehensibly while actually playing well. The frustration in their eyes in that second half was a surprising new look. The Souths forwards dominated that game. Their defence was as ferocious as I have seen and while not clinical in attack they showed just the right amount of a calculated risk taking . ‘One swallow does not a summer make’ but Souths just might be the real thing.
Paul
Roar Guru
Stuart, I'm pretty sure Wayne didn't go to ANZ on Thursday night thinking the 2 points was in the bag, but I reckon his players did. Great to see how much enthusiasm the Doggies showed. There were issues for both Souths and the Storm from last nights game. Souths had a lot of ball in great field position in the first half, especially in the first 25 minutes, yet got only 2 points. The Storm however went down the other end twice, scored two tries and took the lead. The issue for the Storm in the second half was getting out of its own end, similar to the first part of the first half. Thy seem to gift Souths great field position, which they'll need to address come finals time.