The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs NYC side have tonight drawn 16-all with the Parramatta Eels at ANZ Stadium.
It was four tries to three, with goal kicking proving the difference.
Harry Pondekas was a late withdrawal from the side with a foot injury. Royce Hunt came back into the side whilst Darcy Maroske and Jake Kamire swapped spots in the front row.
The early period of the match was riddled with errors but the deadlock was broken through a Marcelo Montoya try in the 23rd minute. It was a smart shift to the left and Montoya had space, and speed to burn to go over and score. Brad Keighran couldn’t convert with the scoreboard left reading 4-nil.
Five minutes later the lead was extended through centre Michael Morgan. It was lovely hands from fullback Josh Bergamin to centre Michael Morgan who crashed over to score. Keighran again missed the conversion attempt, with the lead 8-nil after 28 minutes of play.
With five minutes left in the half the Eels registered their first points, with Brandon Raeli crossing the try line. Nathan Davis converted and the gap closed to 8-6 and that’s how it stayed through until the half-time break.
Soon after the restart the lead was extended through Montoya. It was a set play that came together nicely and the left winger cruised over without being touched. Keighran again missed from out wide with the scoreboard reading 12-6.
Back to back tries to Eels back rower Joshua Aloiai in the 56th and 68th minute and with the second converted by Davis, the Eels had hit the front for the first time in the match, 14-12.
With four minutes left on the clock, right winger Reimis Smith went over in the north-west corner to level the scores at 16-all. Again, the conversion attempt was from out wide and Keighran couldn’t convert.
The last passage of play was played with plenty of vigour from both sides but none were able to break the deadlock. A penalty to the young pups put them in good field position but an error in front of the uprights ended that opportunity. The Eels then ran 70m in one set but they also were unable to convert it into points, leaving the scoreboard at 16-all when the final siren sounded.
BULLDOGS 16 (Montoya 2, Morgan, Smith Tries)
Drew with
EELS 16 (Raeli, Aloiai 2 Tries; Davis 2 Goals)
At: ANZ Stadium
