Bulldogs Down Rabbitohs To Win Mortimer-McCarthy Cup

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs have sealed a 24-18 win over cross-town rivals the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Accor Stadium to claim the Mortimer-McCarthy Cup. 

The Mortimer-McCarthy Cup pays tribute to two of the finest Bulldogs in history; Steve Mortimer and Bob McCarthy - the latter of whom arrived to the Club via the Rabbitohs.

The Dogs got on the board early through Toby Sexton, who started and finished off a great passage of play. Sexton tricked the opposition with a fake kick action before passing to Jacob Kiraz, who found his No.7 again as he crossed for the opening try.

Two tries in three minutes followed to extend the side’s lead to 18-0. Marcelo Montoya scored in the corner after some quick hands down the left edge, before Kiraz found some space on the right and sent Blake Wilson off down the sideline with the winger then finding try-scorer Connor Tracey in support.

Sydney’s weather took a turn and when lightning struck the NRL made the call to halt play with nine minutes remaining in the first half and all players and officials  were ushered undercover.

After a 28-minute wait the players returned to play out the rest of the first half. The Rabbitohs got on the board through Alex Johnston before the players then headed to the sheds again for a shortened half time.

The Rabbitohs narrowed the scoreline to 18-10 when Tallis Duncan crossed in the 56th minute but a Jack Wighton error handed the Dogs a golden opportunity - and they made the most of it with Montoya crossing for his second try of the night.

After bringing plenty of energy and spark off the bench, utility Jake Turpin was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle on Tyrone Munro.

The Rabbitohs capitalised on the one-man advantage with Jack Wighton crossing to set up a tight finish, however Sexton nailed a penalty goal to give his team some breathing room.

Tyrone Munro came up with a chip-and-chase to score a late try but the Bulldogs held on to record their 11th win of the season and hold their reign at the top of the ladder heading into a bye in Round 16.