Canterbury Bulldogs beat Sydney Roosters 30-12 in NRL Round 12 clash

KRISNAN Inu only arrived in Australia from Auckland last Wednesday after a mid-season transfer from the New Zealand Warriors.

KRISNAN Inu only arrived in Australia from Auckland last Wednesday after a mid-season transfer from the New Zealand Warriors.

He signed a contract on Thursday morning with Canterbury and had just three training sessions at Belmore before being thrown into last night's game against the Sydney Roosters. And boy, what an impact he made.

Inu was the star in Canterbury's victory over the Roosters at Allianz Stadium, which cements the Dogs in the top eight.

A former New Zealand Test player, Inu scored two tries, set up another, had one disallowed, caught bombs, kicked goals and ran beautifully.

"It was a bit of a rush," Inu said. "I was just doing my best and doing the right thing by the team.

"I prepared for this game like any other. Des (Hasler) has won grand finals and has a smart footy brain. I am grateful to be playing under him."

Inu's most stunning moment came in the 35th minute when he leapt high above Roosters winger Sam Perrett to catch a bomb on the full. He then hurled the ball inside while in the air - and in one motion - to teammate Frank Pritchard, who scored. It was sheer magic.

With his team behind 12-4 at that point, it proved to be the moment which gave Canterbury much-needed momentum.

"My job is to jump for the ball," Inu said. "I knew someone would be inside, so I threw the ball back in and luckily Frank was there."Inu is usually rocks and diamonds. Last night he was a 24-carat diamond.

Hasler praised Inu's performance on such short notice.

"He has played in two grand finals and a lot of Test footy," Hasler said. "I thought tonight he had a tidy debut. Two tries and a couple of kicks.

"He will be a handy acquisition given the extent of injuries to our outside backs. Krisnan showed skill and awareness (in the Pritchard try). It was crucial for us."

Bulldogs skipper Michael Ennis described Inu as "gifted".

"He comes up with some special plays and will be a handy pick-up," Ennis said.

SEE HOW WE COVERED THE GAME AT OUR MATCH CENTRE

The Bulldogs scored six tries to two in a thumping win, and Inu's 56th-minute try from dummy-half gave his side a buffer.

Big Canterbury prop Sam Kasiano was another standout performer, while winger Jonathan Wright also crossed twice and looks to have gone to another level under Hasler.

Hasler has the Bulldogs playing an unorthodox yet highly successful style. He is confirming this year that he is among the very best coaches in the NRL.

CLICK HERE FOR A PICTURE GALLERY OF THE MATCH

Aside from Inu, fullback Ben Barba produced an amazing play in the 48th minute when he chased down runaway Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce and then stripped the ball.

Barba gets better and better every weekend.

The Roosters led 12-4 deep into the first half but tries to Pritchard and Wright near the break gave the Dogs a half-time lead.

"The last 10 minutes of the first half I thought we were in total control," Roosters skipper Braith Anasta said.

"It was a bit of a downer going into half-time behind when we could have been ahead."

The Bulldogs kept their composure when under pressure and then belted the Roosters in the second half.

Saturday night's match between Canterbury and South Sydney at ANZ Stadium should be a ripper. "I thought we were pretty strong in the second half," Hasler said. "We completed well and got through 16 of 19 sets."

Roosters coach Brian Smith said his side looked flat after a month of physical football.

"We opened the game really well but in the second half I thought, for the first time in quite a while, we ran out of energy," Smith said. "Our last four games have been mini-wars.

"I thought our middle boys couldn't quite get the job done for the full 80 minutes."

BULLDOGS 30 (K Inu 2 J Wright 2 F Pritchard D Stagg tries K Inu 3 goals) SYDNEY ROOSTERS 12 (A Minichiello M Pearce tries B Anasta 2 goals) at Allianz Stadium. Referees: Jason Robinson, Adam Devcich. Crowd: 11,343.