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SuperCoach NRL: Bulldogs show they’re in the finals race, 10 SuperCoach Winners and Losers

Canterbury flexed its finals credentials in style while the Dragons are left to lament two key injuries moving forward. See the SuperCoach Winner and Losers from Bulldogs vs Dragons.

Sean TeumaSean Teuma
@seanteuma
6 min read
May 23, 2024 - 10:20PM
NRL SuperCoach podcast: Round 12 preview

Canterbury showed it could well be in the finals picture while the Dragons will be left to lament a horror injury night.

The opening game of Indigenous Round left St George Illawarra with Jack Bird and Hame Sele out for the night as the Bulldogs turned it on with an incredible seven-try second half.

Here are the SuperCoach Winners and Losers from Thursday Night Footy.

SUPERCOACH WINNERS

1. Jacob Kiraz (137 pts) – A workhorse on the wing who added two tries and a try assist to his tally to produce what could be the best score of the weekend.

2. Jaeman Salmon (80 pts) – Was a SuperCoach favourite at the start of the season and rewarded those who held him with a great output tonight.

3. Jacob Liddle (86 pts) – The bright spot of the Dragons from a SC perspective with his first half try helping him to a strong score.

4. Matt Burton (83 pts) – Did his State of Origin case no harm with another great showing and produced another solid score for owners.

5. Moses Suli (70 pts) – Scored a great first try and looked good in the first half, scoring an incredible 55 points in the opening 40 minutes.

Jaeman Salmon had a terrific game, scoring a double. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Jaeman Salmon had a terrific game, scoring a double. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

SUPERCOACH LOSERS

1. Jake Turpin (5 pts) – Saw 13 minutes of action and his long-term prospects aren’t enticing in the world of SuperCoach.

2. Fa’amanu Brown (8 pts) – Played 22 minutes but the Bulldogs were all over the Dragons at that point in the game. Not much he could do.

3. Tyrell Sloan (15 pts) – Safe to say that will be the lowest score we see from the livewire Dragons fullback this season.

4. Hame Sele (12 pts) – Went off with a shoulder injury inside the opening 20 minutes and could face a stint on the sidelines.

5. Jack Bird (17 pts) – Went down with a sickening injury to end the first half and looks set to miss at least four weeks from early reports.

It was Canterbury’s night. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
It was Canterbury’s night. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

MATCH BLOG

FULL-TIME - Bulldogs 44-12

Stephen Crichton added his name to the long list of Bulldogs scorers as they closed out an incredible second half in style.

To put the icing on the cake, Bailey Hayward throws a lovely pass to Jacob Kiraz who finishes with class.

They scored seven tries to none in the second stanza completely outclass the Dragons in the end.

Although St George Illawarra was reduced to 15 men at halftime and there were a few questionable decisions that led to Canterbury tries, the way their defence imploded should be very worrying for fans.

Here are the top SuperCoach scores from the match:

Canterbury vs St George Illawarra - top SuperCoach scores
Canterbury vs St George Illawarra - top SuperCoach scores

70th minute - Bulldogs 34-12

The party continues for the Bulldogs.

Toby Sexton takes it to the line and a nice pass inside from Bronson Xerri to Matt Burton gets the NSW Blues prospect over the line.

Everything is going Canterbury’s way.

65th minute - Bulldogs 30-12

This is turning into a rout.

Canterbury goes to the right again and comes up dividends, with Jacob Preston getting straight through Tom Eisenhuth to score their fourth try of the half.

And now they have been further reduced to 12 with Zac Lomax sent to the sin bin for illegally holding Bronson Xerri off the ball.

50 is well and truly on the cards.

60th minute - Bulldogs 24-12

Tom Eisenhuth is not handling the Bulldogs at all.

Another poor miss from the second rower allows Jacob Kiraz to cut inside and set up a try for Jaeman Salmon, who has his second of the half.

Canterbury has its first lead of the game and with the Dragons down to 15, you would expect them to go right on with it from here.

The left side of the Dragons is being torn to shreds.

Kiraz scores one of his own after the Bunker decided to overlook Eisenhuth being wiped out in the defensive line by Jacob Preston.

50th minute - 12-all

It felt like the air was sucked out of Accor Stadium to end the first half with Jack Bird’s ankle injury.

He’s had a shocking run with injuries throughout his career, but in good news it appears his injury is a severe sprain as opposed to a break.

Moses Suli has moved to the right side.

It’s Canterbury that strikes first in the second half with Jaeman Salmon getting through some flimsy defence, including a clean miss from Tom Eisenhuth, to tie things up.

HALFTIME - Dragons 12-6

Jacob Liddle saw his moment and took it to perfection.

Kyle Flanagan was able to secure a quick play the ball and the Dragons hooker took full advantage with no markers and crashes over from dummy half.

The half ends on a sour note for St George Illawarra with Jack Bird screaming in pain after coming out of an attempted tackle with an injury.

The medicab takes him from the field after his ankle gets trapped awkwardly. That was a nasty watch.

With the last play of the half, Josh Addo-Carr puts a foot on the sideline to deny the Bulldogs a stunning try.

The Dragons will now be without Hame Sele and Bird for the remainder of the contest.

See the top SuperCoach scores at halftime:

Canterbury vs St George Illawarra - top SuperCoach halftime scores
Canterbury vs St George Illawarra - top SuperCoach halftime scores

30th minute - 6-all

Hame Sele has been ruled out for the night with a shoulder injury.

Bailey Hayward was seen limping but appears to be okay now. The lock is enjoying a good rookie season.

You get the feeling this game could go either way and could well be a case of whoever scores last, wins.

There’s a lot to like about Toby Sexton in the halfback jersey. He seems to be linking well with Matt Burton.

20th minute - 6-all

Moses Suli appears to be in a mood tonight.

He’s looking dangerous with every touch and a possession from close range sees him get past Stephen Crichton to get the scoring underway.

Zac Lomax converts from near the sideline to give the Dragons a positive start as the Bulldogs try to get into their rhythm.

Hame Sele has come off with a shoulder/pec injury (to be confirmed) and Blake Lawrie is on.

The Bulldogs hit back in the 20th minute with Matt Burton touching down a Toby Sexton grubber barely inside the dead-ball line, but enough to get them on the board and tie the scores.

10th minute - 0-all

There’s no points just yet but plenty of physicality early doors at Homebush.

Both sides have looked good at times without being able to crack the line.

Hame Sele has an early injury complaint and appears to grimace in pain with every involvement, but continues to play on.

7.50PM: We are underway at Accor Stadium.

Who are you taking - Canterbury or St George Illawarra?

The two sides both need to win this game as Indigenous Round commences.

Stephen Crichton warming up before the game. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
Stephen Crichton warming up before the game. Photo: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

7.20PM: It’s the move some Bulldogs fans have been calling for a while, and now Cameron Ciraldo has pulled the trigger.

Toby Sexton gets a shot after making the transition to the club halfway through last season.

He’ll certainly add some pace in the halves, but how will he gel with Burton in a game that both sides will have pencilled in as a must win.

St George Illawarra Dragons - top SuperCoach players
St George Illawarra Dragons - top SuperCoach players

6.50PM: The Bulldogs have been forced into a reshuffle in their forward pack and will have a new halfback for the first time this season.

Kurt Mann is a late withdrawal, with Bailey Hayward (HFB $284,200) taking his place at lock.

Jake Turpin (HOK $293,400) comes onto the bench in his place.

Popular cheapie Jaeman Salmon (2RF/CTW $384,000) returns after missing last week’s loss to Canberra.

Drew Hutchison is out from halfback with Toby Sexton (HFB $596,000) to get his shot at steering the team around.

The Dragons will receive a big boost with Luciano Leilua (2RF $544,400) back in the side after missing the win over South Sydney prior to the bye.

Canterbury Bulldogs - top SuperCoach players
Canterbury Bulldogs - top SuperCoach players

EARLIER

The NRL’s Indigenous Round kicks off tonight when the Bulldogs host the Dragons at Accor Stadium.

The Bulldogs made an early change to the team they originally announced on Tuesday with Kurt Mann coming out, Josh Curran promoted to the starting side at lock and Jake Turpin added to the bench.

The Bulldogs have no recognised props on their bench which suggests that starting bookends Max King and Sam Hughes will get plenty of minutes.

King has a big motor for a big man. He played 63 minutes in round 11 and scored 64 SuperCoach points (60 of them in base stats). In 2023 King played 60+ minutes seven times averaging 62 points.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 29: Max King of the Bulldogs makes a break during the round four NRL match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs at Accor Stadium, on March 29, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 29: Max King of the Bulldogs makes a break during the round four NRL match between South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs at Accor Stadium, on March 29, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Plenty of eyes will be on the Bulldogs backs too with Jacob Kiraz coming into the game in red hot form with a three-round averaged (3RA) of 80PPG and Matt Burton riding a six game streak of 70+ scores.

At the Dragons it is all about Zac Lomax who is the only Dragons player (other than NSW Cup specialist Viliami Fifita) to be in double figure ownership. Lomax has an excellent average of 78.3 but has hit a bit of a cold patch of late with tough games against the roosters (Rd 8) and Sharks (Rd 9) bringing his 3RA down to 65PPG.

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Originally published as SuperCoach NRL: Bulldogs show they’re in the finals race, 10 SuperCoach Winners and Losers

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