Senior Pathways Wrap Round 21: Dogs Pip Roosters at Belmore

The Roosters lost their ascendancy shortly after. After 20 minutes of tightly contested footy, it took a special play from Jonathan Sua to get his side on the board. The Roosters read the shift well and there were four defenders there to greet Sua at the line, but despite that he powered his way over.

After their hot start to the match, the Roosters would’ve been disappointed with the 12-6 score-line that didn’t really reflect their dominance in the first half. After receiving a penalty with two minutes to play however, they extended their lead heading into the break when Reece Foley threw a classy cut-out ball to Tom Rodwell who dived over in the corner.

At 16-6, the Roosters came out of the sheds in control of the match and were quick to assert their dominance in the second stanza. In their first set of the half, the Rodwell brothers combined for a stellar try when Toby sliced through the line and found Tom outside him, who showed a clean pair of heels and raced 50m to score under the posts and extend their lead by six.

Just as they were looking to apply the blowtorch to Canterbury-Bankstown, the momentum was flipped on its head. Aston Warwick was sent to the sin bin after conceding back-to-back penalties, the latter being a late shot on Joseph O’Neill. The Bulldogs had to capitalise on the extra-man advantage and did just that. In the 10 minutes that followed, Mitch Woods and Toby Sexton both put Logan Spinks through gaping holes to tighten the margin.

Running down the sin bin clock, Toby Rodwell kicked a penalty goal to push the Roosters’ lead back out to 24-18.

When Warwick returned to the field, the scores remained the same for the next 20 minutes as the two sides continued to battle. But after Tom Rodwell came up with an error in his own 20, Sexton capitalised, and his ball-playing once again came to the fore. He created space for Jack Todd, who did extremely well to drive forward and reach out to level the scores with five minutes to play.

After the Bulldogs worked their way towards the posts, it was Sexton’s chance to finish off the match with a field-goal attempt. Tyler Moriarty flew off the line to get right in front of Sexton, charging down his shot and collecting it on the full. Unfortunately, Moriarty was too eager and left his mark too early, resulting in a penalty right in front of the posts. As the siren sounded, Sexton slotted the penalty goal with ease for the 26-24 win.

Talking Points

• After a quiet first half the Bulldogs’ halves stood up. Mitch Woods’ kicking game and the try he laid on for Logan Spinks was instrumental in their comeback, while Sexton closed out the game well to set up the last two tries for his side and slot the winning penalty goal.
• Xavier Va’a was a shining light in a losing side. He consistently found post-contact metres with his hit-ups, and his impact off the bench was a cut above several others.
• The Rodwell brothers asked questions all day, with Toby’s deceptive playmaking and Tom’s speed and elusiveness. The pair combined for the most impressive try of the day and were always heavily involved when the tricolours were in attacking territory.

Key Moment

Aston Warwick’s sin-binning invited the Bulldogs right back into the game. Prior to this they hadn’t really looked like a chance of winning the game at any stage. But after Mitch Woods and Toby Sexton took advantage of the situation and laid on two quick tries, the game opened right back up for the Bulldogs.

What’s Next?

The Bulldogs will be back at Belmore next week to take on the fourth-placed Newtown Jets, and the Roosters are off to 4 Pines Park where they’ll face the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.

HNWP: Bulldogs 30 def Roosters 18

The Bulldogs have continued their winning ways in the Harvey Norman Women's Premiership team after completing a comeback to defeat the Central Coast Roosters in Woy Woy.

After trailing 14-8 at the break with tries to Adi Vani Buleki and Captain Ambryn Murphy-Haua, the Bulldogs clicked into gear in the second half thanks to some NRLW star power.

Centre Simina Lokotui scored a quick fire double in the space of four minutes, before lock forward Hope Millard powered through for a double of her own as the Blue and White charged to a 30-18 victory.

In Round 5, the Bulldogs will head to Redfern Oval to face the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday afternoon.

Ron Massey Cup: Bulldogs 4 def by Saints 57

It was a tough afternoon for the Bulldogs at St Marys Leagues Stadium, downed 57-4 by competition heavyweights St Marys. 

It was one-way traffic from the get-go for the home side, who ran out to a dominant 27-nil lead at the break. 

The second stanza proved to be much of the same, with the Saints scoring a further five tries, while youngster Paul Johnson got the Bulldogs on the board with a four-pointer at the death. 

In Round 18, the Bulldogs will host the Glebe Dirty Reds at Hammondville Oval on Saturday afternoon.