Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo says winger Jacob Kiraz must be “banging the door down” for a NSW Origin debut after he scored a hat-trick of tries in the Bulldogs’ 38-18 victory over Gold Coast at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday.
With incumbent NSW wingers Brian To’o and Zac Lomax both injured and racing the clock to prove their fitness for the Origin series opener on May 28, Kiraz provided Blues coach Laurie Daley with food for thought with a timely display.
The 23-year-old scored the first try of the match with a spectacular overhead leap to catch a bomb, then ran in two more in the second half after supporting breaks by centre Stephen Crichton, who is likely to be one of the first names on Daley’s team sheet.
The Canterbury crowd favourite also produced a try assist for teammate Jacob Preston – after another high-flying mark – and carried the ball 213 metres in attack.
Given that Kiraz plays outside Crichton on a weekly basis, their combination and understanding could be advantageous in the Origin arena.
“I’m very lucky to play with someone like ‘Critta’,” Kiraz said in a post-match interview with Fox Sports.
“The experience he has, it makes my job a lot easier. The chemistry we have, all the stuff you see, we’re just doing all the reps at training … he knows what he’s doing and I’m very lucky to have someone like him inside.”
Asked for his thoughts on Kiraz winning a NSW call-up, Ciraldo replied: “If he keeps playing like that, he’s going to be banging the door down.
“We missed him at the start of the season. He was working away hard in the background to get himself right to come back into play.
“And he hasn’t just come back in and played. He’s played at an exceptional level … he’s done a great job, Kiraz, to get himself ready to play this season, and I just think he can keep improving.”
The ladder-leading Bulldogs banked their seventh win of the season in a vastly improved performance after their 42-18 loss to Brisbane 10 days earlier.
They dominated the early exchanges and, despite a Titans fightback, went to half-time with a 14-8 lead, leaving Ciraldo slightly frustrated that his side wasn’t further ahead.
Canterbury’s Jacob Kiraz on the fly.Credit: Getty Images
Gold Coast suffered a body blow in the fifth minute when halfback Tom Weaver was knocked senseless in attempting to tackle Viliame Kikau and was ruled out of the game after failing his head-injury assessment.
Within a minute, Canterbury capitalised after halfback Toby Sexton launched a cross-field kick that Kiraz flew high to catch cleanly and score.
They increased their advantage seven minutes later through fullback Connor Tracey, who dived over after a Jacob Preston offload.
But just when it seemed as though the Dogs would run away with it, Titans winger Tony Francis took a long-range intercept. A few tackles later, back-rower Beau Fermor scored, and Gold Coast were back in business.
Canterbury’s Marcelo Montoya prepares to crash into Gold Coast defenders.Credit: Getty Images
Titans skipper Tino Fa’asuamaleaui then conjured up an unlikely try with an unplanned chip and chase, forcing an error from Tracey. The ball bounced opportunely for centre Phil Sami to score, cutting the gap to just six at the break.
The Bulldogs increased their lead in the second half, however, when Crichton sent Kiraz over twice in the space of 10 minutes, either side of Preston’s try.
Gold Coast responded with a second try from Fermor, followed by a runaway effort from the prolific Alofiana Khan-Pereira, but a second sin-binning – this time for bench utility Chris Randall after centre Brian Kelly had been marched late in the first half – sabotaged their comeback plans.
“We let ourselves down,” Titans coach Des Hasler said. “We just let ourselves down. On a catch, on a tackle. We let them get away again, just after half-time. I think they scored three tries in 10 minutes.”
The only real disappointing note for the Bulldogs was when Preston was sin-binned late in the match for an alleged hip-drop tackle.
