Bulldogs pull off surprise upset, embarrassing the Broncos 36-22 at ANZ Stadium
THIS was supposed to be all about Brisbane’s top four chances. Instead, Canterbury buried the wooden spoon and handed the Broncos an humiliating defeat topped with a finals nightmare.
CANTERBURY buried the wooden spoon and finals-bound Brisbane as the Dogs of War proved their was plenty of life left in the strife-torn club.
The Bulldogs started fast and hung tough in a 36-22 victory at ANZ Stadium.
Victory moves the Bulldogs to 14 competition points, four clear of last-placed Parramatta with four games remaining and a far superior for-and-against.
The match wasn’t without controversy, though, with a Canterbury trainer alleged to have approached match officials at halftime and demanded: “Why don’t you ref fairly.”
An NRL spokesman said: “We will look into any comments that were made.”
In the end it didn’t matter as Canterbury jumped out to a 14-0 lead, withstood a Broncos’ first-half fightback and went on with it in the second 40 minutes to give their suffering fans a major boost.
Canterbury’s big win leaves three teams to fight out the wooden spoon — Manly and North Queensland (both 12 points), and Parramatta (10).
There was some razzle dazzle by the Doggies last night which evoked memories of Ted Glossop’s 1980 Entertainers. Steve Mortimer, captain of that famous team, was watching on last night at ANZ Stadium.
Despite the on-field excitement, Canterbury still looked structured and put together some lovely set plays, particularly down the short side.
Canterbury’s first back-to-back victories of the year are a testament to the resolve shown by rookie coach Dean Pay.
Two burn-offs in Sydney meant the game started under a blanket of smoke. It could also have been because Canterbury were on fire.
With a top-four spot and coach Wayne Bennett’s 400th win to play for, Brisbane were flat. Defeat leaves them stranded on 26 competition points, with a top-four finish looking unlikely.
The Broncos simply fell apart last night. They failed to match the Bulldogs’ enthusiasm and despite a two-try first-half effort to Korbin Sims — which could have been three in 10 minutes if not for a video referee overturn — they were a rabble.
It was a loss that will dent their confidence heading towards the finals.
Two late tries to Brisbane couldn’t smother an inept performance.
With Canterbury skipper Josh Jackson displaying striking creativity in attack, the Bulldogs blew Brisbane away.
Jackson crashed over for the opening try, and extended the lead to 14-0 soon after when centre Kerrod Holland, hit with a beautiful pass from Jackson, kicked in field for Will Hopoate to score.
Sims’ heroics got the Broncos back in the game but the Bulldogs started the second half the same way they did the first, scoring after five minutes with a sideline-to-sideline shift that ended with Brett Morris crossing for his seventh try of the season.
The converted try pushed Canterbury out to a 22-12 lead and quick four-pointers to halfback Matt Frawley and centre Josh Morris made it three tries in seven minutes.
Bennett hooked winger Jordan Kahu midway through the second half. That’s how desperate things became.
Frawley was actually an illness replacement for Jeremy Marshall-King, who withdrew before kick-off with suspected tonsillitis.
Canterbury were also without suspended NSW forward David Klemmer.
Full-time CANTERBURY 36 (M Frawley W Hopoate J Jackson B Morris J Morris tries R Martin 8 goals) bt BRISBANE 22 (K Sims 2 J Isaako A Milford tries J Isaako 3 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: Ben Cummins, Peter Gough. Crowd: 6,434.
Originally published as Bulldogs pull off surprise upset, embarrassing the Broncos 36-22 at ANZ Stadium
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