Round 6
Rabbitohs 18 l. Bulldogs 26

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

South Sydney Rabbitohs
Nathan Merritt [WG] 10 Pts; 1t, 3/3g
Joe Galuvao [SR] 4 Pts; 1t
John Sutton [F8] 4 Pts; 1t

Bulldogs
Hazem El Masri [WG] 10 Pts; 5/6g
Luke Patten [FB] 4 Pts; 1t
Willie Tonga [CT] 4 Pts; 1t
Corey Hughes [BE] 4 Pts; 1t
Andrew Ryan [SR] 4 Pts; 1t



Bulldogs fans lauded by Rabbits faithful
Tue April 18, 2006
Another game involving the Bulldogs, another drama with crowd behaviour. One has to wonder when it will stop and how much of what is broadcast by the mainstream media is reality opposed to ratings-promoting hyperbole.

The drama this time is about the South Sydney Cheerleaders being called a number of unsavoury names as they walked past the opposition - in this case, the Bulldogs - supporters' bay. The claim, as made by an a listener to Ray Hadley's 2GB show and repeated by said broadcaster, is that a number of unacceptable comments were made to the cheerleaders and that one cheerleader was hit by a crowd member in the collarbone with a can of drink.

As a Bulldogs supporter who was sitting in the "opposition" supporters' bay, I saw no such incident. The people I was at the football with saw no such incident. This is not to say it didn't happen, just that we saw nothing extraordinary. A look around the Bulldogs unofficial forums such as The Kennel and the Bulldogs Debate Page will give you a similar sense of "what the?". And, more importantly, the unofficial Rabbitohs forum, The Pride, also has a number of contributors suggesting no such thing happened.

However, that's not entirely what this piece is all about. What, more importantly, it is about is dispelling the myth that every game involving the Bulldogs is a life-threatening experience.

Whilst some of the mainstream media are quick to jump on the comments about bad experiences, you don't see much when the Bulldogs fans are being lauded for good behaviour and a good atmosphere being created. At the Easter Monday home game for Souths, there would have been a 3 to 1 ratio of Bulldogs fans to Rabbitohs faithful in an almost 20,000 strong crowd. Below is just a sample of some of the comments coming from Souths fans who post on The Pride ...

"Were very well behaved. I walked with and caught the train home with many of them and not one said a word to me, my partner or my friends." - 2035

"My family and I were bagged a few times on the way back to our car(on the other side of Parramatta Rd) but it was generally lighthearted.I just couldnt believe how many of them there were.We were well and truly outnumbered by what seemed to be 5 to 1!" - squadrito

"I have never ever had a problem with Dogs supporters and once again yesterday I had no probs- after the game myself and a few mates went for drinks and a few Dogs supporters were there also and there was just a bit of light hearted banter. I really don't see the problem with the majority of our fans. I've seen plenty more Souths fans worse than Bulldogs fans. " - Mr 100%

And the funny thing is, we see this kind of feedback all the time. After our away trip to Newcastle, message boards had plenty of praise for the Bulldogs supporters who made the trek up the F3, as well as a note from Knights CEO Ken Conway praising the Bulldogs fans. The same came out after the game in Canberra just last week. Yet, there are elements of the mainstream media who would have the public believe that good behaviour is the exception and not the rule.

Something that bothers me is the mere fact I felt the need to even write this piece. Whilst I will acknowledge that the Bulldogs fanbase have some highly undesirable elements that seem to hang on the fringes or even hardcore regulars who occasionally go over the top, it is not nearly what is portrayed by an increasingly vindictive mainstream media. The fact that headline space is even being given to this "cheergirl" allegation is just another indication of how the Bulldogs brand is being used to sell papers and increase ratings by whatever means necessary. I have seen far, far worse than what has been alleged occur at Bulldogs home games with our cheergirls being the target and our opposition fans the perpetrators - yet not an inch of column space nor a minute of talkback time has been used to cover it.

I hope that increasing chorus of Rugby League fans from ALL CLUBS who are beginning to realise what is happening and the effect this is having on the game begin to find their voice. Some of the Rabbitohs faithful have had their say, and I doubt it'll be the last time fans from a club opposing the Bulldogs will have something similar to say.

The Pride Website - http://rabbitohs.proboards48.com


Bulldogs in 3rd position after second half comeback
Mon April 17, 2006
An excellent second half comeback from the Bulldogs has seen them jump into 3rd position and avoided being the first side to be defeated by South Sydney when they won 26-18 after being 18-8 down.

The Bulldogs never got going in the first half with Souths enjoying the fruits of a diabolical refereeing display by Russell Smith - the man who infamously sent off two Canterbury players during the 1997 World Club Challenge. Souths scored first when they cashed in on young winger Trent Cutler twice being caught out of position. The first was when they kicked down field with Cutler being caught ingoal and the second when Cutler came in to take Yileen Gorder with the pass going out to Nathan Merritt for the try. John Sutton missed a difficult conversion from outwide.

Hazem El Masri got the Bulldogs on the board with a penalty goal and soon after they scored when Willie Mason got away a great offload for Corey Hughes to score under the posts. El Masri landed another goal for the Bulldogs to lead 8-4 and that was basically the last they saw of the football.

Souths kept on catching the Bulldogs ruck defence of Hughes, Adam Perry and Tony Grimaldi off guard and were making plenty of metres. The Rabbitohs sliced the Bulldogs open up the middle with Luke Patten making a last ditch tackle. Patten gave away a foolish penalty as it was the last tackle but to many people's surprise was sent to the sin bin. Souths cashed in on the lucky break scoring two tries with Joe Galuvao crashing over under the posts and then Sutton crossing outwide with Merritt converting both tries and also landing a penalty goal.

Sonny Bill Williams finally made it back onto the field just before halftime to a huge cheer from the pro-Bulldogs crowd despite it being officially a Souths home match. Williams immediately got the ball where he looked dangerous and he was hungry for action. Williams presence did lift his teammates and he was used well by coach Steve Folkes either side of halftime easing him back into his return match.

The Bulldogs came out a different side in the second half and once they cut down their errors wore Souths down and their defence was sensational. Souths did have a chance immediately after halftime to seal the match when Adam MacDougall making a fine break only for Merritt to drop the ball. From there the Bulldogs line was hardly broken again and they slowly but surely grinded their way to victory.

Willie Tonga was first to score in the second half when he got on the outside of Gorden with El Masri adding the extras from wide out with the Bulldogs back within four points.

Luke Patten until his try was continually caught out of position making the Souths halves Ben Rogers and Sutton look like Andrew Johns and Wally Lewis in the kicking department but Patten got the late Bulldogs resurgence going when he charged onto a Sutton grubber kick with great positional play and ran 98m to score in the far corner. Patten's try lifted the Bulldogs and his positional play for that moment and after that was exceptional. El Masri failed to convert with the scores level.

Another Mason burst with a great offload to captain Andrew Ryan on the inside put the Bulldogs up 22-18 and with El Masri's successful conversion pushed the margin out to six points.

Patten was once again in position for another dangerous Souths kick and raced the ball 60m downfield where he was taken by Todd Polglase in a great cover tackle. Polglase sacrificed himself ten minutes in the sin bin as the Bulldogs were certain to score. Unfortunately for Souths El Masri chewed up valuable time and also landed the penalty goal to get the Bulldogs home.

Both Souths and Canterbury have been involved in interesting public holiday clashes over the years with the 1986 Anzac Day clash the most famous or infamous for Peter Kelly's first tackle send off following a classic high shot on Ross Harrington. This match was again another interesting and highly spirited clash between the most successful club in Premiership history and the most successful club of the last 30 years.

The Rabbitohs might have lost but there's plenty of positives for coach Shaun McRae to take from the match. Souths have a willing team and it appears they are all going in the right direction. There does appear to be a lack of fitness and killer instinct in the Souths outfit and that's something they need to work on more than anything else. Russell Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court should be ensuring that McRae has the best available coaching and training facilities and resources. There's some fine talent in that side and if they can pick up 2-3 handy recruits they can be much more competitive.

As for the Bulldogs - it wasn't their best performance but they now sit in 3rd position with three wins and two losses plus two points from the bye in Round 4. The biggest positive for the Bulldogs is without doubt the return of Williams but there were some others. Tonga is starting to look dangerous again with the ball and Mason has all but sealed himself a Test position. The Bulldogs were criticised for keeping Mason over Braith Anasta but amongst all the wrong's in the Bulldogs club right now, keeping Mason was the big one they got correct. Mason's form has been exceptional and he is playing to a passion and standard Anasta can't match, which the Roosters are now finding out.

Brent Sherwin was the Bulldogs best in their Premier League victory today and has to be back in the top side with Daniel Holdsworth moving to five-eighth and Reni Maitua to lock. Folkes has to bite the bullet and simply invest in Holdsworth, Sherwin and Maitua as the 6-7-13 combination for the long-term. Sherwin has struggled for consistency but the Bulldogs need Sherwin in the side if they are going to stand a chance. The Bulldogs kicking game today did make Polglase on occasions look like Clive Churchill.

Other concerns for Folkes is the Bulldogs lack of speed around the ruck area in both attack and defence. The service from hookers Hughes and Perry is way too slow and Grimaldi's speed around the rucks is too slow for a lock forward. The Bulldogs are getting eaten alive around the ruck area and speed out of dummy half is so very crucial as Robbie Farah yesterday showed for the Wests Tigers. Shane Walker easily won Souths the battle around the ruck area where his pace and service was much quicker. Folkes has to work on getting the right No.9 in place. Grimaldi is a fine defender and one of the best work horses there is but Williams and Maitua offer much more in the lock position and there's still a key role for him in the squad this year.

Souths will be disappointed to let go of a golden opportunity but if they stick together and work even harder they should get a few wins on the board if they play with the effort as they did today.

The Bulldogs are chalking up victories but have to look at a few key areas before they will threaten the big guns.

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