Bulldogs survive howler to put Broncos on bottom

Canterbury survived one of the worst refereeing blunders of the season to ambush South Sydney and possibly send the wooden spoon to Brisbane.

Canterbury’s Dallin Watene-Zelezniak collides with South Sydney’s Damien Cook at ANZ Stadium

Canterbury survived one of the worst refereeing blunders of the season to ambush South Sydney 26-16 and possibly send the wooden spoon to Brisbane.

The Bulldogs clearly misread the script that called for an easy Rabbitohs win as they shot out to a 20-0 lead early with South Sydney looking off the pace against their lowly counterparts.

Despite a blatantly incorrect decision from referee Ashley Klein to award a try to Souths winger Jaxson Paulo and a Cody Walker-led fightback, the Bulldogs managed to hold on for their third win of the season, snapping a seven-match losing streak.

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It temporarily lifts them off the bottom of the ladder, relegating the wayward Broncos to last, while shattering the Rabbitohs’ hopes of finishing in the top six and landing a home final.

With the finals just around the corner, the last thing the NRL needs is another officiating crisis.

The rookie Rabbitoh plunged over in the corner after some sharp work by Walker in the lead-up.

Touch judge Phil Henderson signed off on the grounding and referee Klein did not hesitate to award the four-pointer — only for replays to clearly show Paulo’s leg hitting the touch in-goal line before he scored.

Souths were trailing 20-0 at the time and the try sparked them to life, as they crossed through Campbell Graham minutes later to cut the deficit to 20-10 at halftime. Luckily, it did not decide the final outcome.

Less clear cut than the Paulo debacle was Klein’s decision to sin bin Souths backrower Jaydn Su’A in the 22nd minute.

Su’A levelled Bulldogs half Lachlan Lewis, who was taken from the field for an HIA and did not return, and was duly dispatched by Klein amid heavy protest from Rabbitohs skipper Adam Reynolds. Further replays appeared to vindicate Klein’s call with Su’A appearing to make contact with Lewis’ head. He is expected to be charged by the match-review committee.

The Daily Telegraph