Heartbreaking loss to Canberra gives Canterbury belief they can match it with the best

IT was the most crushing, heartbreaking and devastating loss of the season, but Canterbury believe they can learn from the positives following their nightmarish loss to Canberra.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — JULY 07: Brett Morris of the Bulldogs shows his dejection after defeat during the round 17 NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the Canberra Raiders at Belmore Sports Ground on July 7, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images)

AS the full-time siren sounded at Belmore Oval last Saturday night, Canterbury players slumped to ground.

Collectively, they were in disbelief. For 75 minutes they were the better side. Not only had they outplayed Canberra but the scoreboard was well and truly in their favour.

But rugby league is a cruel game and swings in momentum can be vicious.

The Raiders finished in an incredibly flurry, scoring three tries in five minutes to snatch a 32-28 victory from the jaws of defeat.

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Bulldogs backrower Rhyse Martin, who scored 24 of his side’s 28 points that night, told The Saturday Telegraph that while the result left his teammates devastated, it has instilled them with confidence going into this afternoon’s clash against South Sydney.

So much confidence they believe they have what it takes to spring what would be one of the upsets of the season against the team leading the competition at ANZ Stadium.

“It’s made us a bit more accountable and a bit more honest this week with each other,” he said. “We know that we can compete and we can get a win against anyone.

“So coming up against Souths, who are sitting at No. 1 at the moment, we think we can take them on and get a win. It gives us confidence going into this week the way we performed even though we didn’t get the win.”

Martin played the best game of his young career. Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images.

Halfback Jeremy Marshall-King conceded his side was guilty of complacency last week, thinking the result was in the bag, but said they would not be making the same mistake.

“We’ve looked through the video, we were in the game for 75 minutes there. We slacked off in that last 15 and were up by 14 and they scored three tries in five minutes,” he said.

“That’s the most disappointing part about that whole thing. We just have to stay in the game in it for the whole 80.”

The Bulldogs’ attack has come under some criticism this season, with the likes of Marshall-King bearing the brunt of it.

But the young No. 7 has discovered a renewed sense of confidence over the last few rounds and it has translated into a spike in his form.

He says he is finally “finding his feet” as the team’s primary playmaker.

“I’ve been trying to work on that for the last couple of weeks and I think I’ve been doing that really well,” he said.

The Bulldogs were left dumbstruck by the defeat. Photo by Brett Hemmings/Getty Images.

“Like the coaching staff have said to me, just take on the line a bit more and play a bit of footy and I think I am doing that.

“I have got to keep doing that for the rest of the season and keep playing good footy.

“It is hard to chop and change different positions but I’m feeling really good now. I’m improving week in, week out. I’m finding my feet now, I’m really loving it.”

Marshall-King says playing alongside his latest halves partner, Lachlan Lewis, has helped to bring out the best in his game.

“We’ve only had two games together now but it’s going well. It could have been two wins too,” he said.

“He takes a lot of pressure off me in the game. He’s got a good kicking game. We’ve got a lot of things to work on still but I am liking us a combination.”

Originally published as Heartbreaking loss to Canberra gives Canterbury belief they can match it with the best