Just a week after a 66-point whipping, the Bulldogs proved it’s never too late for redemption.
Against an Origin-depleted South Sydney, Canterbury winger Blake Wilson bagged a hat-trick to hand Canterbury their biggest scoreline this year, with a 36-32 victory on Saturday night.
Blake Wilson scores a try during the round 19 NRL match against South Sydney.Credit:
But it wasn’t without its worries. With just five minutes left in the game and a 14-point lead, the Rabbitohs scored back-to-back tries to put them within four points of the Bulldogs.
With a game that was eerily similar to their loss to the Dragons, it was too little too late for South Sydney.
Canterbury skipper Matt Burton was relentless and led his team to just their sixth victory of the year.
It was an ominous start for the Bulldogs, with Ryan Sutton taken from the field on a stretcher after a shoulder charge from Taane Milne.
Ryan Sutton receives medical attention after injuring himself in a tackle.Credit:
Milne was put on report for the incident and sent to the sin bin, while Sutton was taken to hospital for precautionary scans after complaining about pain in his neck.
The incident was costly for the Rabbitohs, with the visitors scoring 12 points while South Sydney had just 12 on the field.
Overlooked for Origin, Tevita Pangai jnr took Sutton’s place and chased down a Lachlan Illias kick within minutes of taking to the field.
The ball rebounded off Pangai jnr, who safely collected it to start the Bulldogs set just 30 metres out from the South Sydney line.
From there, the Bulldogs shifted the ball out to Blake Wilson on the wing, who bagged a double inside the first 12 minutes.
But it wasn’t a reassuring start for Bulldogs fans who were holding their breath after fill-in Rabbitohs skipper Tom Burgess scored in the game’s opening minutes.
But a dropped ball from Dean Hawkins handed the Bulldogs a scrum feed just 25 metres out from Souths’ goal line, and they pounced on their first opportunity to get some points of their own.
Burton complained of a laser being shone in his eyes while trying to convert the try, and subsequently, five teenagers were marched from the venue after one was identified as the culprit while taking a photo with Rabbitohs mascot Reggie the Rabbit.
Fresh-faced halfback Toby Sexton proved a good buy for the struggling club, putting in a solid 80 minutes for Canterbury just four days after arriving at the club.
Although his first end-of-set kick went haywire, his fast footwork and slippery attack kept a depleted South Sydney side on their toes all night.
The visitors went to the break 12 points up, keeping the Rabbitohs at bay with a scrambling goal-line defence that had been missing for most of the season.
It was a war of attrition to start the second half, and both teams were without points for the first 15 minutes, but Ethan Quai-Ward went over in the corner to give Bulldogs’ fans something to cheer about.
Blake Taafe split the Bulldogs’ defence and ran 40 metres to score for South Sydney and quickly landed a second try to keep them in the game.
But despite a courageous effort in the final five minutes, Canterbury’s desire to redeem themselves outshone South Sydney’s comeback abilities.
Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
