Canterbury throw away lead over Warriors to stay bottom of NRL table
The Warriors secured victory for their new community on the NSW Central Coast and for rusted-on fans back in Auckland.
The New Zealand Warriors secured victory for their new community on the NSW Central Coast and for rusted-on fans back in Auckland.
But, most importantly, they won for exasperated supporters of the hapless Broncos.
A 20-14 come-from-behind win over Canterbury on Sunday kept Brisbane away from the indignity and humiliation of being pushed to last spot on the NRL competition table.
Canterbury would have jumped one place from 16th with a win – forcing the 15th-placed Broncos to a position the club has never held so late in a season.
It is inconceivable to think that Brisbane could be languishing so close to last spot during late August – a time when the club is usually preparing for finals footy.
Canterbury just can’t find a way to win. The Dogs’ bark is now a whimper. The Bulldogs led 10-0 with 2631 fans at ANZ Stadium believing Canterbury would finally exit the premiership cellar.
“We’ve got five weeks left to get off the bottom of the table and I’m going to pick a team that’s going to try and do that,” Bulldogs interim coach Steve Georgallis said. “There will be a few changes this week. I’m not giving up and I told them not to give up. We have been sitting here for the last six weeks saying it was ‘another one that got away’.”
The Warriors continue to show enormous courage and resolve despite being stuck in Terrigal away from loved ones. While unlikely, the Warriors can, mathematically, reach the finals. Now that would be some achievement.
For the first time since taking over from Dean Pay, Georgallis was filthy at fulltime.
Canterbury stayed close to the Warriors, as they have with nearly all opponents during the past six weeks. In that time, the Bulldogs have one win, an 18-12 result over Newcastle, but lost 29-28 to Wests Tigers, Parramatta 18-16 and St George Illawarra 28-22.
That’s four losses by a combined total of 15 points.
“We handed it to the Warriors in the second half; poor defensive reads, poor kicking game, lack of direction,” Georgallis said.
“It’s really frustrating and I’m really disappointed.”
Bulldogs fullback Will Hopoate scored just five minutes into the second half to give his side an eight-point lead. But without confidence and depth, Canterbury’s left-edge defence fell apart.
Bench player Jack Murchie scored twice, fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck sealed the win with a 62nd-minute try while Kodi Nikorima laid on three try assists. Each time Canterbury scored, the Warriors hit back.
The Daily Telegraph
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