NRL State Championship grand final: Bulldogs belt Dolphins 42-18 to claim interstate title
REDCLIFFE coach Adam Mogg made the stunning claim he feared his side were beaten before kick-off after Canterbury’s 42-18 drubbing of the Dolphins in the NRL State Championship.
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REDCLIFFE coach Adam Mogg made the stunning claim he feared his side were beaten before kick-off after Canterbury’s 42-18 drubbing of the Dolphins in the NRL State Championship on Sunday.
A two-try haul to former Ipswich Jets pivot Josh Cleeland powered the Bulldogs to victory to ensure NSW’s second-tier premiers clinched NRL state supremacy for the third consecutive year.
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But the seven-tries-to-three romp at ANZ Stadium came as no real shock to Mogg, who suspected the worst the moment Dolphins players boarded the team bus.
Mogg was initially confident after his side’s 36-22 defeat of Easts Tigers in last week’s Intrust Super Cup grand final, but when Redcliffe left the team hotel, alarm bells rang.
Mogg’s worst fears were realised, with two moments of magic from Cleeland catapulting Canterbury to a 16-6 half-time lead before they hit top gear after the break.
“I knew we were in trouble when we left the hotel,” lamented Mogg, the former Queensland Origin winger.
“If you know your team ... I knew we were in trouble.
“I’ve been around footy teams a long time, I’ve played at a high level and been around good players and good coaches. You just know.
“Experience told me that.”
Scores were locked at 6-all at the half-hour mark before the classy Cleeland blew the contest open.
In the 35th minute, Cleeland finished off a bust from hooker Zac Woodford before slicing through two minutes later and racing 50 metres to give Canterbury a crucial 16-6 lead.
The Bulldogs hit top gear after the break, scoring four more tries, with halfback Fa’amanu Brown intercepting a Redcliffe pass in the 77th minute to seal the title.
The result will ring alarm bells for the NRL State Championship.
For the third year in a row, Queensland’s premiers have been flogged, conceding 138 points in three grand-finals. Burleigh were flogged 54-12 by Illawarra in 2016 before Penrith hammered PNG Hunters 42-18 last year.
“We weren’t like the Dolphins,” Mogg said. “I felt we were good enough to beat the Bulldogs, but that was our worst defensive display of the season.”
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