In a game which turned into a defensive
dogfight, it was right the Canterbury Bulldogs took home a vital win
from their trip to Melbourne on Saturday, July 12.
After
taking the lead in the early minutes of the second half, the Bulldogs
held the advantage for the rest of the match to beat the Storm 6-4 and
keep touch with the sides battling for the minor premiership.
The
Storm had plenty of chances to score the winning try but were caught
short by their own decision making or brilliant tackling from the
Bulldogs.
A penalty on Bulldogs
centre Tim Lafai for pushing Marika Koroibete out of bounds with three
minutes remaining gave Storm captain Cameron Smith the chance to tie the
scores with a kick from the left touchline but he pushed his shot wide
and the Bulldogs recovered it.
Smith
created the first serious scoring chance with his side close to the line
putting in a grubber kick which he attempted to chase but appeared to
be tripped by Bulldogs lock Greg Eastwood. With no whistle from the
referee the ball went back to the Bulldogs.
Eastwood
almost set up his side's first try with a surprise chip kick looking
set to bounce into the path of his teammates before it bounced out of
bounds.
A well-worked Storm attack in the
12th minute put Mahe Fonua in place to score but two Bulldogs defenders
held him up on the goal-line.
Storm
halfback Cooper Cronk showed just what the side had missed while he was
out injured when his perfectly timed pass hit Kevin Proctor on the chest
on 16 minutes and the big Kiwi did the rest powering past the last
defender and in for a try making it 4-0. Proctor’s girlfriend gave birth
to the couple’s first child during the week so the try added to the
forward’s special occasion.
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For
all the Storm’s attacking chances, they couldn’t add the scores then
coughed up the ball 30 metres from their own goal line but the Bulldogs’
sloppy passing killed off their opportunity.
Three
more times the Storm put dangerous kicks towards the Bulldogs’ goal
line but each time the visitors managed to take the ball away at the
last possible moment.
For all their scoring
opportunities the Storm had nothing to show from almost 20 minutes of
dominance heading into half-time with the home side up 4-0.
The
Bulldogs started the second half with precision attacks repeatedly
peppering the Storm’s defensive line before an offload from James Graham
found its way to man mountain Sam Kasiano who bull-dozed his way to the
line, reaching out to score.
Graham had
copped jeers throughout the night as Storm fans still remember his
notorious bite on Billy Slater in the 2012 grand final. Trent
Hodkinson’s kick from in front made it 6-4 to the Bulldogs after 46
minutes.
Hodkinson’s boot continued to
trouble the Storm forcing two repeat goal-line drop outs. But Smith
tried a short kick on the second occasion and it miraculously paid off
rolling just over the minimum distance where the Storm took possession
and ran the ball back into the Bulldogs half.
After
all the Bulldogs’ possession, the Storm finally made their first
meaningful attack of the second half in the 65th minute with Ben
Roberts' grubber kick looking certain to be touched down by Koroibete
only for Bulldogs fullback Mitch Brown to drive in and knock it into
touch.
The Storm managed to reach the try
line twice in the last 10 minutes but each time desperate Bulldogs
defence kept them from making the final pass or final thrust and score
the go-ahead try.
The Storm host Canberra
Raiders at AAMI Park next Saturday night while the Bulldogs play Wests
Tigers at ANZ Stadium next Sunday. Source: bordermail
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