Rout 66: Pressure eases on O’Brien as Knights put Bulldogs to the sword

Kalyn Ponga handed Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien a lifeline with a stunning performance against the Bulldogs on Sunday that should quash rumours about O’Brien’s security at the Hunter club.

After the sacking of Anthony Griffin and Justin Holbrook, O’Brien was suspected to be next in the firing line, but Ponga and his Knights wreaked utter havoc at Accor Stadium, annihilating a lacklustre Bulldogs side 66-0.

Not even 24 hours after the Wests Tigers were humbled 74-0 in Townsville, the Bulldogs were handed a similar fate by an invigorated Knights side who took advantage of Canterbury’s weak right edge and poor goal-line defence.

Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said it was an embarrassing moment for the team and the club.

“[It] was pretty disappointing, but it was one of those games where the harder we tried, the worse it got,” Ciraldo said.

“Things just snowballed. We started off with a lot of energy and stuck to the plan at the start, but just some seven-tackle sets gave them more possession, put us on the back foot and any time they came down our end of the field they just capitalised.”

The Knights were unstoppable against the Bulldogs on Sunday.Credit: Getty

With 25 minutes left on the clock, even the most die-hard Bulldogs fans were marching out of the stadium, but not before booing the team and giving Ciraldo an earful on the way out.

With the return of experienced players Matt Burton and Josh Addo-Carr, and coming off the bye, the Bulldogs looked like they were up for the fight in the opening 10 minutes.

Newcastle completed just one of their opening four sets, but the home team lacked bark and bite, and with a try to Jackson Hastings in the 12th minute, the Knights began to put their opposition to the sword.

Canterbury rookie Khaled Rajab struggled to hold off the Newcastle onslaught, and Ciraldo took him from the field with two minutes left in the first half. By then, the Bulldogs had leaked five tries to go to the break 30 points down.

Jackson Hastings celebrates a try for Newcastle.Credit: Getty

Whatever Ciraldo said to the Bulldogs at half-time did nothing to lift the embattled team, and it took the Knights just two minutes to get their first points on the board after the break.

Bradman Best bagged his first career hat-trick, slicing through the Bulldogs line, and young hooker Phoenix Crossland got a double along with two line breaks and a try assist.

Ponga had 22 points of his own after taking over kicking duties, nailing all 11 conversions, and played his hand in a bunch more with three try assists and three line-break assists.

Jacob Kiraz almost saved the Bulldogs some dignity with a last-gasp effort in the corner with just 12 seconds left on the clock, but after putting a foot into touch, and Crossland holding the ball up anyway, Canterbury were handed the equal second-biggest loss in their 88-year history.

Next week won’t be any easier for the Bulldogs, who come up against resurgent South Sydney, but Ciraldo said his focus was first on making sure his team handled the humbling defeat.

“Today’s a tough day. When you lose like that, it hurts. It hurts a team, it hurts individuals, I’ve just got to make sure they’re OK,” Ciraldo said.

“That was hard out there today, and we’re looking after them as people first, and we’ll worry about Souths tomorrow.”

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