NRL 2021: Canterbury Bulldogs v New Zealand Warriors result, news
Canterbury Bulldog Sione Katoa should buy a Powerball ticket after he was somehow allowed to stay on the field.
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There were fears the Warriors would crumble the moment Roger Tuivasa-Sheck went back to New Zealand, but they are now firmly in the finals race after recording three-straight wins for the first time since 2018.
The 24-10 victory over Canterbury has them just one win outside the top eight, with a game next week against the lowly Broncos, followed by the Raiders and Titans who are just above them on 20 competition points.
It would be one of the more remarkable stories of the year, and would attract interest from Netflix for the next series of Stranger Things.
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Other clubs have already given up on 2021, but the Warriors – who were meant to play this game in New Zealand before Covid intervened – have all the momentum and are playing some of their best footy of the season.
Their team looks nothing like the one that started the year, but one thing that has stayed the same has been their attitude, something summed up perfectly in a three-minute burst in the second half.
It started with some good defence on their own line to force a Bulldogs error. In the next set, the markers chased hard on the last tackle to force an errant pass that was pounced on by Josh Curran. Three plays later, Chanel Harris-Tavita chipped early in the count for Reece Walsh to score.
HIGH CONCERN
It wasn’t quite in the same league as the Ryan Matterson and Corey Harawira-Naera send offs, but Sione Katoa should buy a Powerball ticket after he was somehow allowed to stay on the field for making high and direct contact to the head with his shoulder.
The incident was originally missed by the on-field officials, with Falakiko Manu going over to score out wide. But the Bunker didn’t miss it, alerting referee Peter Gough to the act of foul play.
It was a clear sin bin offence, but Katoa was only placed on report for the ugly tackle. The interchange player was then put on report minutes later for a high tackle on Euan Aitken.
DOG DAYS AREN’T OVER
Anything that could go wrong did go wrong for a team that will claim the wooden spoon.
They lost Corey Allan to illness before kick-off, conceded the opening try for the 14th game in a row, they kicked off out on the full, looked clueless in attack and at one point sent a midfield bomb sailing backwards.
They completed well but attacked with the sharpness of a butter knife. Fittingly, one of their two tries came from an intercept.
The two loan players were okay without being great, and the Bulldogs could be without Ryan James after he was placed on report for a late tackle on Harris-Tavita after he put up a kick.
UNSUNG HERO
He went viral for stacking it on the Gold Coast last week, but Josh Curran showed the Bulldogs just how dangerous he can be when he stays on his feet.
The young forward made three breaks in the first half, including two in the opening minutes, and was rewarded with the first try of the afternoon when he ran the perfect line to hit a hole on the edge.
He later played the role of wingman when he popped a brilliant offload to set up fellow forward Jazz Tevaga for his first try of the season to get off the dreaded nudie run.
He ran for 135 metres, made 35 tackles and was strong on the edge and in the middle as he played the role of Tohu Harris to perfection.
HOW BRONCOS REJECT BECAME A STAR AT BELMORE
— James Phelps
Bailey Biondi-Odo started running as soon as his father picked up the rake.
“You get back here boy,” his father screamed.
The backyard game suddenly stopped, brothers, cousins and uncles pausing to place bets.
“Five bucks he doesn’t catch him,” said Bailey’s brother.
The boy with the dirty and half flat Steeden took the bet.
“Yeah,” the boy said as Dad took off.
“The old boy still got it.”
Bailey’s brother smiled. He knew his money was safe.
“The little bugger was fast,” recalled Bailey’s father David Odo.
“Not sure what he had done, probably just being cheeky like always, but he ran and I chased. He was only six so I had him covered.”
Or he thought he did. But turns out young Bailey was as tough as he was fast.
“He saw that I didn’t have shoes on,” David said.
“We never did. He didn’t have shoes on either but he was prepared to take the pain. I stopped when he started running on the gravel. Rock and shit everywhere, I wasn’t going to stuff my feet.”
But Bailey did not care. Feet all cut and bloody, he gave Dad a wave before he disappeared.
It was the same combination of speed and toughness that attracted the attention of Phil Gould.
Watching his first game as the new Bulldogs head of football, Gould saw the speed, which was obvious. Running for 51m in his 26-minute stint from the bench, Bailey left the Rabbitohs forwards clutching at air when he scored a blitzing 65th-minute try.
Gould also saw the toughness, the 85kg halfback not missing a tackle despite defending in the middle for the first time.
Gould is reported to have said; “Who is this guy and why haven’t we signed him”.
Gould then picked up the phone to make the call that would make Biondi-Odo his first signing back at the Bulldogs.
“Gus called me after that game,” said Bailey’s agent Sam Ayoub.
“And we had the deal done with in 48 hours. Gus is natural when it comes to identifying talent. His knowledge of the game is unsurpassed and I think is able to see thing that sometimes others don’t.”
“I watched him play a couple of times and you didn’t need to be an expert to see he has real potential,” Gould said.
“To be honest I just handled the negotiation. Trent Barrett and Peter Sharp insisted we re-sign him, so I got the deal done. He can obviously play at 6, 7 and 9, so he is an asset to our roster. I am looking forward to meeting him and watching him develop under Trent Barrett.”
Determined to follow in the footsteps of his famous cousins: Ben Barba, Justin Hodges and Wendell Sailor, Bailey moved to Sydney after being rejected by both the Broncos and the Cowboys.
He made the 2,500km trip from Innisfail, Queensland to Parramatta when he was 14.
“He was always wanted to be a football player,” David said.
“We started getting calls from NRL clubs when he was 11. But as he got older they went off him because they were too small. He was really dedicated. Always worked hard. He used to sit home and watching movies us on the weekends so he could keep out of trouble. All the other boys were drinking and getting up to shit. He got an opportunity to go to Parramatta and he grabbed it with both hands. He moved down and went through the junior system before being picked up by the Bulldogs.”
The youngest of six siblings, Bailey has diverse cultural background.
“I’m an Odo and his mother is a Biondi,” David revealed.
“We weren’t married when he was born so we decided to give him both of our names. My father was half PNG and Torres Strait Islander while my mother was Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and also Malay. Bailey’s Mum is half English/Aboriginal and half Italian, which is why Bailey has an Italian name (Biondi).”
He also has a big future in the NRL. With the Bulldogs still searching for their long-term halfback, Bailey is hoping to win a spot alongside Matt Burton next year.
“He has always been a half,” David said.
“Never played hooker until this year. I know he will give it his best shot and we all reckon he will make the most of it.”
As for the rake?
“Na I was never going to hit him with it,” David said.
“But I was tempted to throw it at him after he took off.”
THE CONTRACT CALL DOG WOULD HAVE REGRETTED FOR LIFE
—Michael Carayannis
The closer Adam Elliott came to playing first grade the harder he thought it would be to crack the 100 game milestone. As a youth Elliott dreamt big and always thought he was destined for a long NRL career.
But when he joined the Bulldogs, played under-20s and starting to train with the first graders he realised how hard that dream would be to fulfil.
Come Sunday he will tick the achievement off when he runs out for his 100th game as a Bulldog.
“As a kid without sounding too full of myself, I would’ve thought I would’ve played 100 games easy,” Elliott said.
“I’m from the bush and was a bright-eyed kid a bit wet behind the ears thinking ‘I’m good at this, I’ll keep doing this for the rest of my life’.”
The ride has not been smooth for Elliott since making his debut in 2016. There have been off-field incidents while injury has stopped him from bringing up the 100 games sooner.
“You have to be extremely resilient to get to the NRL in the first place,” Elliott said. “Unless you have that mental toughness you won’t make it. It’s been a big learning curve. I’ve let the pressure get to me a few times in my career and got carried away. I’ve learnt how hard it is and how diligent you need to stay on top of things especially off the field.
“I’ve learnt a lot and shown a lot of resilience to still be here. (Walking away) would’ve been the hardest thing in the world for me to do. Although you’ve got to keep yourself grounded it’s a dream I’ve had from my earliest memories. No matter how hard things get, for me to pack up and quit would be a lot harder to do.
“At times it could’ve looked like a short-term solution. I know it would be a massive regret down the track.”
He lines up against the Warriors on Sunday but he could have easily brought up the triple figures in a New Zealand jersey. The Warriors tempted him with a big money deal to join them this year only for Elliott to re-sign at Canterbury last season.
“It was the most serious I’ve been about leaving the club,” Elliott said.
“It got pretty serious there with the Warriors and almost signing on the dotted line. If it all lined up and I played my 100th against the Bulldogs, that just doesn’t sound right. That tells me I’ve made the right decision.”
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