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Young Dogs give Canterbury new dawn

Lachlan Lewis (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
26th August, 2018
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At the start of the NRL year, Canterbury’s plans were much more Kieran Foran than they were Lachlan Lewis.

Aaron Woods was their chief forwards recruit to partner David Klemmer up front, and Moses Mbye was shifting to fullback to allow Will Hopoate to strike out wide.

Rhyse Martin was an uncapped reserve grader, just a possibility to get a start if things went wrong in the forward pack.

And Reimis Smith? He was a winger who scored two tries on debut in the mix of State of Origin selection chaos two years ago and hadn’t been seen again.

“There were some guys there not even in our top 30,” Bulldogs coach Dean Pay said after the Bulldogs fourth win in five games against St George Illawarra on Sunday.

“You can’t play the if you’re not in your top 30. Obviously through the year things change and they get an opportunity and things happen.

“We’ve got a number of young guys playing well right now and some young guys coming to the club next year.”

Canterbury’s year had been filled with drama. Just two months ago it was viewed as on track for being arguably one of the worst in the club’s history amid salary cap issues.

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But in Lewis, Martin and Smith the Dogs have seen more than just a silver lining. They’ve been given a new dawn.

Martin, having played just 12 games in the second row, will all but certainly end the year as the club’s leading points-scorer if he recovers from a knee injury against Cronulla next week.

The 25-year-old’s crossed for four tries and booted over 33 goals from 34 attempts.

Then there’s 21-year-old Smith, who got his first career hat-trick and scored two tries from his own end in the Bulldogs’ 38-0 flogging of the Dragons – their biggest ever win over the merged club.

In the winger the Dogs have some real pace – the kind they’ve rarely seen since Ben Barba left the club at the end of 2013 – to the point where he’s broken the line 13 times in just 10 games this year.

“He’s a great kid Reimis. He works really hard on his game,” Pay said.

“He got his opportunity and he’s taking it. Can’t be more happy for him.”

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Lewis meanwhile, is the most-hyped of the trio despite being told in the pre-season he could look elsewhere after being left out of the Bulldogs’ top 30.

““If you know the kid, he just takes everything in his stride,” Pay said.

“He never gets flustered by anything.

“He is a footy player and that is what he is. He’s the same as Reimis and Rhyse Martin, he’s got an opportunity and he’s taken it.”

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