Shane Flanagan tees off on contentious calls as Bulldogs win 20-18 over Dragons
An irate Dragons coach Shane Flanagan has slammed a number of contentious decisions in his side’s narrow loss to the Bulldogs, a game that he said “was taken away from us”.
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An irate Shane Flanagan says Saturday’s heartbreaking loss to the Bulldogs “was taken away from us” due to a number of contentious calls that has left the Red V with a mountain to climb if they want to play finals footy.
The Bulldogs claimed a 20-18 victory thanks to a Jethro Rinakama try with two minutes to go, but Flanagan is adamant the Bulldogs shouldn’t have had the ball because of two key decisions that went against his side.
The Dragons coach was furious that the Bulldogs were awarded a six again in the dying minutes because he thought Viliame Kikau’s pass went forward into one of his players.
But that was nothing compared to a captain’s challenge by the Bulldogs that was initially ruled a knock-on by Jacob Kiraz, only for the Bunker to penalise Luciano Leilua for crowding the ruck.
“I was really proud of the effort they put in and the way they played, but the game was taken away from us from I what believe (were) wrong decisions,” he said.
“With 10 minutes to go there was a forward pass in the middle part of the field, but the Luciano Leilua decision was outrageous.
“That was five minutes and 30 seconds to go on their 30 or 40 line. The player never got to his feet, ball planted on Luciano who doesn’t have to disappear; Luciano can hold his ground.
“He’s got to get to his feet before he plants the ball. It has been the rule all year and it cost us today.
“And then we go downfield from the back of that, Kikau passes the ball, hit Sloan and goes forward. So in the collision, that’s a knock-on. Ever since 100 years, that’s a knock-on and that was at the 78-minute mark.
“As I said, they’re trying so hard. They’re a good side the Bulldogs, they compete hard, but it was some decisions tonight that cost us two competition points and could cost us an opportunity to play semi-finals.”
The Dragons are two wins outside the top eight but could have produced one of the bravest wins of the year had winger Tyrell Sloan not been penalised for a push which denied him an early try.
“I don’t think he pushed him, I think it was just a collision thing,” Damien Cook said.
“I don’t think you ever see his hand sort of pushing motion. It was just part of the game. They’re both looking for the ball. I don’t think there was any intention there.”
Flanagan said he would likely speak with people at the NRL about the controversial calls which proved costly on a night his side took it to one of the premiership favourites.
“We can’t come back and rectify them,” he said.
“The Luciano Leilua one, that was a penalty on the field and then the Bunker took it away. And seriously, that one there it riles me more than anything because you have got to get to your feet to play the ball. You’ve got to be balanced.
“We can see it every week. I get emails from the NRL about things that they’re concentrating on and it is about balance and you can’t fall forward. You can’t be falling sideways. You can’t ball plant.
“But tonight he ball planted and we lost the game because of it. And then the bat on from Kikau and I can go on and on about it, but I’m just so disappointed that we lost the game, not from effort.
“And can you imagine if this was a semi-final?
“It would be drama. But it’s the Dragons and we’re fighting really hard to stay in touch.”
MATCH REPORT
With just one moment Lachie Galvin justified his selection into the starting side.
The Bulldogs were on the back foot and looked helpless with a shocking second half.
Enter Galvin. With the game on the line and with his side trailing by two points Galvin threw a Sam Walker-like Harbour Bridge cut out pass to send winger Jethro Rinakama for the match winner with less than two minutes left into the game.
“It was great for him to own that moment,” said Bulldogs five-eighth Matt Burton. “He is only young and just getting started but he is a talented player.”
Before that though were going to be plenty of questions for the Bulldogs given Toby Sexton’s axing in the lead-up to the game against the Dragons.
But that pass was enough for Galvin to win the game.
Like the rest of his Canterbury teammates he had a solid first half but had little impact in the second half until the dying stages as his side struggled to build any momentum.
The first half produced some good moments. He was part of a wide shift to help lay on Canterbury’s first try to Jacob Kiraz.
His boot produced a goal line dropout off the back of a well-timed grubber.
Galvin scored a try in the 23rd minute when he supported Stephen Crichton who did all the hard-work with Galvin putting himself in a good position to score.
Defensively Galvin was solid as he marked up next to Crichton.
The move will be a work in progress but in the end with the game on the line Galvin stepped up when it mattered most.
Jethro Rinakama scores the match-winner! 🤯
— NRL (@NRL) July 19, 2025
Telstra Moment of the Match pic.twitter.com/Q3rYHsSHgT
GALVIN GAMBLE PAYS OFF AS BULLDOGS DENY DRAGONS AT THE DEATH
—Martin Gabor
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo has described Lachlan Galvin’s match-winning play as one of the “bravest” passes he’s ever seen as Canterbury’s new halfback delivered a fairytale ending to steal victory with two minutes remaining.
There’ll be plenty of time spent in the casino when the Bulldogs play the Dragons in Las Vegas next year, but Ciraldo had an early victory with his gamble to put Galvin at halfback paying off deluxe on Saturday night.
The 20-18 win keeps the Bulldogs firmly entrenched in the top four, with Galvin’s performance in the famous No.7 jersey exactly what his coach wanted to see in the run to the finals.
Galvin’s position in the side and how Ciraldo used him have been the biggest talking points ever since he joined the club from the Wests Tigers, with the debate now seemingly over after he delivered the clutch play with two minutes to go.
The Bulldogs looked gone trailing by two points and struggling to conjure anything in attack, only for Galvin to lure Tyrell Sloan in and throw a peach of a pass over his head to set up Jethro Rinakama for the winner.
“I was pretty happy with it, it was a good pass,” Ciraldo joked.
“To make that play at the end, it’s possibly one of the bravest passes I’ve seen.
“We all know he’s had pressure on him, so I can’t rap him enough for how well he’s handled it.
“To trust his instincts and to trust himself to make that plays just shows everyone what we’ve been seeing at training for the last six weeks.”
While Toby Sexton performed strongly in NSW Cup, this is now Galvin’s team and he controlled the game well in a busy first half that saw him force a repeat set and put Viliame Kikau over, only for the big back-rower to be held up.
But there would be no denying Galvin who backed up a big bust by skipper Stephen Crichton to score his second try for the club.
It’ll still take time for him to develop a combination with Matt Burton, but the signs were encouraging with fellow spine member Reed Mahoney burrowing over before he was taken off with 15 minutes to go.
ON THE RIGHT PATH
They don’t hand out competition points for bravery, but this was as gutsy as it gets from the Dragons who were out on their feet in the first half but stormed home to hit the lead with two tries in four minutes.
The Red V have lost so many players to serious injuries this year, with Origin star Valentine Holmes the latest to join the overflowing casualty ward.
But they didn’t use it as an excuse with their right edge causing all sorts of headaches with Sloan scoring in the first half before powerhouse Moses Suli barged over.
Sloan was unlucky not to have another after he was penalised for a push while chasing a kick, while he also made a big break in the second half but couldn’t win the race to the loose ball.
There were some poor kicks they’d like to have again but the passing to the edges was crisp with Kyle Flanagan and Clint Gutherson combining for three assists.
It was Gutherson’s long ball that set up Sione Finau for the try that tied things up, with Flanagan nailing the sideline conversion as the luckless winger was helped off with a dislocated shoulder.
The Dragons fought valiantly with some astonishing goal line defence, with Jaydn Su’A smashing anyone foolish enough to run at him.
But they just couldn’t hold on long enough to leave their finals hopes hanging by a thread.
DOG DRAMAS
The Bulldogs picked up the points but they have a few concerns with Jacob Kiraz (lifting tackle) and Max King (crusher tackle) both placed on report.
Sitili Tupouniua is also facing a stint on the sidelines after he injured his hamstring in his first game back after a lengthy layoff.
Originally published as Shane Flanagan tees off on contentious calls as Bulldogs win 20-18 over Dragons
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