Captain Clutch Kicks Bulldogs To Win In Golden Point Thriller

Captain Stephen Crichton has kicked his side to a 13-12 win as the Canterbury-Bankstown defeated the Manly Sea Eagles in a Golden Point thriller.

Donning the Club’s alternate black jersey for the first and only time this season, the hungry Bulldogs fought right to the death to record a crucial win at Accor Stadium.  

As the boys ran out all eyes were on the late changes made by Coach Cameron Ciraldo which saw Crichton shift to five-eighth and Matt Burton move to the centres. That was in addition to the pre-kick-off change of Enari Tuala going to centre and Jethro Rinakama coming onto the wing.

It was a high-energy start from both sides with the Bulldogs threatening early, however it was the Sea Eagles who got on the board first through Lehi Hopoate to take a 4-0 lead.

The game fell into a grind for the next 15 minutes until Manly struck again with Reuben Garrick burrowing over close to the line from dummy-half. Manly failed to convert again, leaving the score at 8-0.

The Bulldogs got on the board through Captain Crichton, who also converted his own try in the 33rd minute. It came after a Sea Eagles short dropout didn’t go 10 metres, giving the Bulldogs a golden opportunity. Lachlan Galvin made the most of it with a neat grubber for Crichton to score off.

Manly looked sharp in the early minutes of the second half with Jamal Fogarty nailing a 40/20 but the Dogs showed great defensive grit to ensure the Sea Eagles didn’t follow that up with points.

Ciraldo’s men then charged their way down the other end of the field and came close to scoring their second try only for a pass to float over the sideline.

But they eventually did cross through Galvin, who had been threatening all night, with the all-effort half spotting a gap and backing himself. Crichton converted to take his side to a 12-8 lead.

Manly responded seven minutes later when Hopoate crossed in the corner for his second of the night. Fogarty’s conversion attempt hit the upright, leaving the score 12-all.

The Sea Eagles backed that up on the very next set with a Jason Saab linebreak before the speedy winger found Garrick on his inside – but a brilliant try-saving tackle from Harry Hayes stopped him in his tracks.

With scores locked up and less 10 minutes left, the game officially entered field goal territory. Fogarty went first in the 71st minute and failed before Crichton attempted in the 77th minute and also failed.

The siren sounded at 12-all and the two teams prepared for Golden Point. Unfortunately the Dogs copped a significant blow one minute into the extra time period with Sitili Tupouniua leaving the field with a hamstring injury.

The boys rallied though and Crichton slotted the match-winner in the 82nd minute to seal the result.