Canterbury five-eighth Lachlan Lewis shows the toughness and composure that has Bulldogs fans smiling

COMPOSURE and poise have been sadly missing around Belmore this season — but that’s exactly what five-eighth Lachlan Lewis had when he ignored a double injury to score a matchwinning field goal against the Warriors.

You’ve got to enjoy these moments when they come. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)

IT’S the matchwinning field goal that lead to Canterbury’s Lachlan Lewis being anointed the ‘Prince of Belmore’.

But there’s more to the story than a young playmaker displaying impressive composure and poise to step up on the big stage when it counted.

Not only did Lewis slot the field goal with the foot that he’d been carrying a niggling ankle injury, The Daily Telegraph can reveal he required pain killers in the same foot after he picked up a fresh injury only 48 hours before Sunday’s game.

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Lewis gives the Bulldogs a moment of joy. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

The five-eighth injured the big toe on his left foot during a training session and needed to have it needled and numbed to play.

Lewis has been a bright spot in an otherwise dire season for the Bulldogs and teammate Adam Elliot says he has emerged as a silver lining in the club’s salary cap crisis.

Lewis’s emergence has been a rare reason for optimism. (AAP Image/Craig Golding)

“It probably looked like he wasn’t going to get a game in first grade for a while there,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for a few of those mid-year transfers he might not have been in the top 30.

“So that’s been a blessing in disguise for us for him to be able to slip into that 30 and play.”

The backrower was also full of praise for the maturity and calmness he possess for such an inexperienced player.

“I think you see a lot of kids who have been doing well in NSW Cup and they step up and it takes them a while to work their way into the NRL,” he said.

“But Lewy [Lewis] just hasn’t had any trouble, he’s come straight in.

“I think it’s part of his nature off the field as well. Nothing much really gets to him and he doesn't second guess too many things. He’s just gone out there and gone for it. He’s a really competitive kid.”

You’ve got to enjoy these moments when they come. (Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Despite the adversity the club has had to endure in recent times, the effort from players on the field has never wavered. The Bulldogs have lost nine games this year by fewer than eight points and five of those losses have been by 4 points or less.

Veteran forward Aiden Tolman says finally winning a tight match, by beating the Warriors 27-26 last weekend, was a well earned reward for the effort his side has been putting in this season.

“To beat them and play some really good footy was really positive. The Warriors came home strong but to kick the filed goal on the bell and it was nice to get one of those wins this year. We’ve been in front in a lot of games this year and haven’t been able to get the job done,” he said.

Playmaker Matt Frawley says upsetting Brisbane and then the Warriors in a matter of weeks has injected a much needed dose of confidence into the team.

He says it has given them the belief they can do the same again this Sunday against St George Illawarra at Kogarah Oval.

“We’ve improved over the last five weeks in terms of our footy and we’re at a point where we feel like we can match it with the best teams. I think we play our best footy when we are playing teams in the top eight,” he said.

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Originally published as Canterbury five-eighth Lachlan Lewis shows the toughness and composure that has Bulldogs fans smiling