Cameron Ciraldo must wonder what to say to his players at times like this.
Against the best teams in the league, Canterbury have performed superbly but, largely lost: away at Parramatta, Cronulla and now Melbourne, who picked up a 16-14 win at AAMI Park that could very well have gone the other way.
From the 20th minute until the 70th, the Bulldogs were the better side, recording seven consecutive line breaks, making mincemeat of one of the best defences in the comp and turning a 12-0 deficit into a 14-12 lead.
Josh Addo-Carr scored a hat trick, Bronson Xerri was purring in the centres and Matt Burton pulling the strings with hand and boot. Melbourne had no answer – until, of course, they did.
“I thought we were really good, did a lot of things really well, probably missed a few moments that hurt us on the scoreboard,” said the Bulldogs coach.
“Everyone can see how the boys are playing, how committed they are and they did a lot of good things and they’re pretty devastated in there because there was so much effort and we put ourselves in a position to win.
“But it is what it is and we’ve got to deal with that.”
Having scored early through Ryan Papenhuyzen – who went on report for a hip-drop- and added to it through Reimis Smith. with a huge thank you to another Xavier Coates miracle.
The Storm then seemingly put the cue in the rack. Craig Bellamy fumed in the box but seemed incapable of turning the tide against a Doggies team that attacked with abandon.
“I knew they were a good side, the way they play their footy really suits the players they’ve got and I think they do that really well,” said Bellamy.
“They just wouldn’t go away, kept turning up and we were a bit the same.
“It would have been easy for us to give it up when they came back and went ahead of us but we kept hanging in there so it was a tight old tussle.”
It was remarkably like their smash-and-grab win on the same turf last year. Addo-Carr returned to haunt his former employers with three exceptional tries, including a trademark effort from distance and two when the game was 12-a-side due to bins for Sam Hughes and Papenhuyzen.
The fullback was sent for a professional foul, the Dogs forward for a head slam that might draw the ire of the judiciary as it is his second citation in two weeks.
In the end, it took a late Shawn Blore score to settle it. The Storm won, because they always do, but Bellamy will not be happy for a second.
Ciraldo, again, will be happy with almost everything – except that, of course, his side lost.
It says a lot about the Bulldogs at the moment that they look more likely to score from their own 20 than the opposition’s.
Plenty of criticism has been aimed at Drew Hutchison for his perceived lack of suitability in the halfback role, and it was noticeable that Bailey Hayward, who was on NRL debut but has played all his lower grades in the halves, appeared in the first half.
Normally you’d expect a half on the bench to come on late to add some spark late on, but Hayward was thrown in early and given plenty to do.
That in itself might be an admission that Ciraldo knows where his side are lacking. They need an extra playmaker.
There’s an argument that they do have one, Toby Sexton, who is playing reserve grade, and the logic behind Hutchison’s selection does get less understandable as the weeks go by.
That said, the Dogs are getting so good at going from deep that it doesn’t matter.
They even brought back the crossfield kick from Burton to Addo-Carr – a trademark of the Mick Potter era – and combined that with a lethal left edge that has been brewing all year.
It’s taken four years and four rounds for Xerri to come back to first grade but this was his reminder to the league of what he is capable of, with multiple strong carries and some smart hands when required.
His return to the side allows the Dogs to shift Crichton to the right, which in turn evens up a clear imbalance in the attack, which had skewed a lot to the left previously.
Tonight, it got the best trio they had against the weakest part of the Storm’s defence, where Will Warbrick was continually shredded.
It’ll be interesting to see what Ciraldo does next week. He had his hand forced by injury, but appears to have found a balance that works.
Melbourne were seriously rattled by the Dogs after the break, with clear questions about their right edge defence that plenty of other teams will have noticed.
Canterbury are good going that way, with the Foxx, Burton and Viliame Kikau, but they didn’t have to be superb to make hay.
It is sometimes unfair to single out one player for the issues, but there was a noticeable difference in what Xavier Coates was able to do on the left with what Warbrick was attempting to do on the right.
The former rugby union man had little idea of when he was meant to come and when he was meant to go, leading to him being stuck under the ball on some occasions and simply bypassed on others by a razor sharp Bulldogs.
Warbrick brings a lot in attack, particularly in set starts, but there have to be questions about how he defends.
Beyond that, the Storm have got plenty to offer. Once again, this was a game that they managed to turn around late, in which they didn’t play enormously well but won anyway.
Their attack is still coming but when you have weapons like Coates to pass towards, Papenhuyzen coming out of the back and guys like Harry Grant, Cam Munster and Jahrome Hughes in the middle, it’s hard to believe that it won’t eventually get there.
That they’re winning en route should stand them in very good stead.
andyfnq
Roar Rookie
National draft. Until then, inequality will remain entrenched
The Barry
Roar Guru
Can’t keep them all… you guys chose to import Kikau instead of retaining Blore… so much for local juniors :silly:
Panthers
Roar Rookie
Kick a club when they’re down. :unhappy: :laughing:
Panthers
Roar Rookie
Every comment I’ve given since I apologised. Has been light hearted banter. You can make up all the lists you like? You still made the ‘same’ mistake of thinking that I’m being dead serious with each reply. That hat now not fit well with you? Other than that , don’t care . GB is more light hearted than you. :laughing:
Noel
Roar Rookie
Wait... So the apology part that I missed was you telling me my humour was disguised so well you misunderstood it, followed by a :stoked: face. And the light hearted banter you claim you engaged in was in the following terms: "So you don't know anything much about him either". Is that it? Mate, seriously, just step back, relax, and don't take it all so seriously. Footy is great to watch and talk about, argue about and to the winner go the spoils. But, I urge you, in future, lay off the personal attacks, and refer to my bio. As much as I love the game, I'm missing the cows v Parra, because I'm cooking a curry for my kids. There are more important things.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
Not a rule at all. It’s just difficult to tell if you’re joking from your typed comment? Obviously I was talking about the part , where you’re giving chocolates to West’s. Next time I’ll try to be more exact, for you. I couldn’t be bothered reading your bio. Is that a rule? :laughing: However it is currently unfortunate for you that you’re not a Storm supporter . Seems that you get pretty serious, even when an apology is given? Then can’t understand any light hearted banter in return yourself . :thumbup:
Noel
Roar Rookie
Not that it's relevant, but I'm not a Melbourne supporter. :thumbup: . I refer you to my bio.
Noel
Roar Rookie
1. No rules at all, except the rule about adding a smiley face 2. Not based on any fact, except the fact that Blore signed for Melbourne immediately from Wests. 3. A Rabbitohs supporter takes things seriously, I'm not being funny. Look mate, in future, do is both a favour and the next time I comment upon anything that might get somehow traced back to Penrith, just save us both the time and refer to my bio.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
As a Melbourne supporter. Don’t you just read a players name who starts playing for Melbourne’s first grade side & ask ‘ Queenslander , or where are they from ’? :thumbup:
Panthers
Roar Rookie
No rules at all. You forgot your smiley face. As you disguise your amusing comments so well, that they don’t look amusing . So my apologies! :stoked: On the face value of it , your comment wasn’t based on any fact. So I gave a reply , accordingly . I read GB’s comments all the time about Penrith & he’s mostly serious . Just have some banter with him now.
zonecadet
Roar Rookie
The Storm are just not allowing many points, the defense is equal 2nd (with Canberra and Penrith) at 17.2 a game. The league best is Warriors on 14.4 per game but they have played a few teams, Storm included who aren't scoring a lot at present. If the Storm maintain that defensive effort, they will remain hard to beat and if the attack gels better as the season continues the margins will increase. Overall scoring appears to be lower this season, so far, and is 42.0 per game. It was 46.2 in 2021 and 43.3 in 2022. Not sure what it was in 2023.
Noel
Roar Rookie
I would respond with something glib like 'aren't they all Penrith juniors?', but I'd hate to break the rules twice in one day.
Cam
Roar Rookie
I was expecting a lopsided scoreline, but the Dogs gave the Storm their toughest test this year. And to be fair to the Dogs, Melbourne played pretty well, completed at 80% missed 10 less tackles and had 5 fewer errors than the Dogs. Canterbury’s left side attack was just too good with Burton, Kikau, Xerri and the Fox carving up. No denying Warbrick had a poor game last week and was found out in defence again against the Dogs. But the recent issues he has with positioning in defence is a coaching problem that can be fixed by the coaching staff. He had a seriously good season in 2023 (16 tries), is a big body athlete who carries well from the back and is elite in the air both in attack and defence. I’d be incredibly surprised if Bellamy losses faith in his Kiwi winger.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
What's good is the squad is finally starting to click, in both defence and attack. Holding the Storm to less than 20 points, in this era, is pretty good going. At the least, the more fancied sides are on notice your boys won't be an automatic two points, At best, I can see them close to the top 8 for sure, assuming they don't get killed again with injuries. Also nice to see some of the pressure coming off Ciraldo. The bloke deserves a chance to show what he can do and in recent times, he looks like a promising coach.
The Barry
Roar Guru
Tracey gets our sets started on the front foot so much better than Taaffe. Then Kiraz from wing taking hit up two is a great start. Kiraz is more valuable on the wing than centres We lose a bit of ball playing with Tracey With last nights back five plus Wilson and Taaffe there is genuine competition for spots
The Barry
Roar Guru
I agree too, but I’d throw Katoa in the mix as well Wingers tend to get the blame for what happens inside them. A lot of times last night Warbrick was struck in no man’s land and buggered whether he came in or not
The Barry
Roar Guru
Hutcho is slow thinker and slow mover. He’s playing a role, his defence is superb and he makes big efforts to get in position to stop points, I just think he’s getting in the way of us scoring points at times..
The Barry
Roar Guru
Yep. No forced dropouts either And while we’re at it, if he’d kicked a 40 metre field goal we’d have gone to golden point. For 1.5 million a season I expect at least one 40 metre field goal a week
The Barry
Roar Guru
How dare you…? Don’t you know you must face west and genuflect, while giving thanks to the mighty Panthers for all that is good in rugby league every time a Penrith junior is mentioned We all have to do it. The crying and hissy fits if you don’t just isn’t worth it…
The Barry
Roar Guru
I’d be 100% on board with that - just need to redistribute and even up the catchment areas first. Doubt it will happen. Clubs only cry for an even playing field for the things that hurt them, not the things that help…