Declan Casey bagged a try on the stroke of fulltime as the Bulldogs sealed a come-from-behind 26-22 win over the Rabbitohs in round six of the Knock-On-Effect NSW Cup.
Down 22-20 with the clock winding down, the Bulldogs scrambled to victory as Casey muscled his way over the try line to score as Rabbitohs defenders held on desperately to no avail to stop his last-ditch attempt to snatch a win.
Souths fullback Blake Taaffe had knocked the ball on moments earlier, as he attempted to field a bomb off the boot of Canterbury-Bankstown five-eighth Khaled Rajab. The Bunnies were unable to hold on in defence, as the Bulldogs fought their way home to one of the gutsiest wins of their season so far.
Souths made a strong start to the traditional Good Friday clash after Peter Mamouzelos burrowed his way out from dummy half to score a try inside the Bulldogs’ ten-metre line.
The Bunnies set the try up through a brilliant line break inside their own half to give themselves several repeat sets inside the Bulldogs’ red zone before Mamouzelos went over to put the Rabbitohs in front by six points.
Match: Bulldogs v Rabbitohs
Round 6 -
home Team
Bulldogs
1st Position
away Team
Rabbitohs
12th Position
Venue: Accor Stadium, Sydney
The Dogs had a chance to hit back a short time later after making their way inside the Souths’ red zone following several attacking sets. Rajab made a charge at the Rabbitohs’ line only to be stopped by a brilliant tackle by Taaffe.
Canterbury-Bankstown wouldn’t go away though and continued to carry the ball strongly from the backfield. They were rewarded for their efforts when centre Braidon Burns barged his way over metres in from the eastern touchline to score his side’s first try and take the score to 6-4.
The play was set up beautifully by halfback Karl Oloapu and fullback Joash Papalii who combined through some slick short passes to get Burns over the line.
Souths kept hurting themselves by losing possession of the football well inside their half as they defended valiantly and held off several attacking raids by the Bulldogs.
The cheap turnover of possession and penalties for crowding the ruck came back to bite the bunnies as the Bulldogs found their way to the try line courtesy of winger Blake Wilson who scored a spectacular try down the eastern touchline to give the Dogs an 8-6 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half.
The Bulldogs left edge combined well as the ball went through the hands of Oloapu and Papalii before making its way to Wilson who finished the play off in acrobatic fashion.
The Dogs had the chance to pile on more points just minutes out from halftime when Wilson made several line-breaks inside his side’s end of the field. However, the Bulldogs were denied from extending their 8-6 lead heading into the sheds.
It was Bulldogs prop Billy Tsikrikas who put first points on the board just minutes into the second half. Souths gave away a penalty early for laying on too long in defense, as the Dogs easily made their way down the other end before Tsikrikas scored at the end of the set to take the Dogs to a 14-6 lead.
Things went from bad to worse for the Bunnies as Bailey Hayward bagged his first for the afternoon. He darted out from dummy half to score off Canterbury-Bankstown’s next attacking set to take the home side out to a commanding 20-6 lead.
The Dogs established dominant field position with ease each time they scored points in the second half. Souths were clearly fatigued from repeated sets spent defending their line.
But there was reprieve for the visitors through Tallis Duncan, who managed to get the ball down under the posts to give his side a much-needed four points.
With the scoreboard in their favour at 20-12, the Bulldogs began to get sloppy with their discipline as they started to give away penalties for holding on too long in tackles as the Bunnies made their way down to the Dogs try line on several occasions.
Both sides played set-for-set before the Bunnies hopped off the back of another Bulldogs penalty and scored courtesy of Josiah Karapani. Karapani’s try reduced the deficit to 20 points to 16, as the Rabbitohs began to claw their way back into the contest.
Canterbury-Bankstown seemed to have lost the momentum they had built in the first half. Their attacking sets went astray as they invited their opposition into their territory with penalties.
The Bunnies exploited this ill-discipline to take a brief lead at 22-20 when backrower Ben Lovett crossed over untouched near the western touchline. Despite three unanswered tries, the Bulldogs were able to hang on for long enough to get the win in dramatic fashion.
Talking Point
Peter Mamouzelos was strong out of dummy half for Souths despite being on the losing side. He made several line breaks and looked threatening on several occasions, which lead to the number nine scoring a try in the first half. His speed and deception in and around the ruck - alongside his service to his halves - helped stabilize the Bunnies attacking sets, particularly when they were behind on the scoreboard.
Key Moment
Up 6-nil early in the second half with the Bulldogs struggling to get themselves into the contest, Mamouzelos made a brilliant line break several metres inside the Rabbitohs 40-metre line.
Mamouzelos had made his way down to the Bulldogs 10-metre line and passed the ball to backrower Chase Chapman who was looming up on the inside. The forward was unable to score off the pass after charging his way to the try line, as the Bulldogs scrambled in defence to prevent him from getting the ball down.
A try to the Bunnies from that effort would have given them at least a ten-point lead early in the game which they could have used to their advantage to build more attacking plays.
What’s next?
The Bulldogs will take on the Eels next Sunday at Commbank stadium while the Rabbitohs will also be on the road to face the Bears at North Sydney Oval.
