Injuries mar South Sydney win over Canterbury Bulldogs
If you line up South Sydney’s star-studded roster against Dean Pay’s it’s not a fair fight.
If you line up South Sydney’s star-studded roster against Dean Pay’s it’s not a fair fight.
But such is the fight Dean Pay has put in his battling Bulldogs squad that they pushed the spluttering Rabbitohs right to the finish before eventually falling to a 26-10 loss at Bankwest.
As the pressure mounts on the Canterbury board to make a decision on the off-contract Pay’s future, his players showed once again that one thing they won’t do is give up on their coach.
Souths were far from impressive in the four tries to two win after leading 8-6 at halftime.
There was concern late for luckless Souths centre Braidon Burns who suffered a suspected dislocated knee after being twisted awkwardly in a tackle.
Jaydn Su’a could also be in strife with the match review committee for an earlier shoulder charge on Watene-Zelezniak.
The Bulldogs would also have huge concern for Adam Elliott who left the field in the final minutes with an unknown upper body injury.
One thing you can’t accuse the Bulldogs of is not giving it everything.
Sunday night was no different.
The really worked hard to make a game of it against the far more talented Rabbitohs.
But after holding Souths to 14-10 midway through the second half, a crucial captain’s challenge from Watene-Zelezniak was match-defining.
On a kick return deep inside his half, Watene-Zelazniak lost control of the ball but contested the call to no avail.
Soon after Cody Walker benefited from some heavy work from his forwards to dive over.
Dane Gagai then put the match to bed with an almost length of the field intercept try in the final minute.
Still, it was hardly a performance that would have thrilled Rabbitohs coach Wayne Bennett.
But the two competition points are much needed after a lacklustre return from the COVID break.
While Adam Reynolds was well off his best, Walker was hardly sighted in the first half, not having a run before the break.
But they sparked in the second half with Reynolds setting up a try for Su’a with a clever grubber kick before Walker’s try sealed the win.
The Rabbitohs now take on Wests Tigers on Friday at Bankwest in what should be a ripper given the Tigers’ rapid improvement.
The Bulldogs have been trying to settle on their halves combination all season.
Classy youngster Brandon Wakeham is really starting to find his feet alongside Kieran Foran.
After jumping ahead of Lachy Lewis and Jack Cogger, the 21-year-old held his own for the most part against two of the best in Walker and Reynolds.
The former Westfields Sports High gun set up the Bulldogs’ only first half try for Marcelo Montoya with a deft chip kick.
It was welcome moment for Montoya who was returning after more than a year on the sidelines through injury.
Given Wakeham has only played eight first grade games he is a real talent on the rise.
Alex Johnston was told during the week that he won’t be at Redfern next year because the Bunnies can’t fit him into their salary cap.
So given he needs a home for 2021, he showed the Bulldogs why he could be a bargain buy given they are currently courting Canberra winger Nick Cotric for a reported $750,000 a season.
Johnston’s wage at Souths would be half of that at best.
But his express pace was on show when he ran onto a classy ball from Latrell Mitchell and torched Watene-Zelezniak with a sharp-in-and-away on a blistering 65m sprint.
It’s was Johnston’s 90th try in South Sydney colours after setting himself the challenge of trying to cracking his century by season’s end.
To put that in perspective, Gagai debuted three years before Johnston and only scored his 50th NRL try with that late effort.
Johnston has now scored seven tries for the season and in five consecutive games.
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