Round 9
Roosters 14 l. Bulldogs 30

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

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

Bulldogs sneak into top four
Mon May 8, 2006
The Bulldogs and Roosters clash was always going to be a grudge battle and it was no exception yesterday as the Bulldogs emerged 30-14 victors. Both sides struggled last year after playing in the 2004 Grand Final with the Bulldogs battered badly around with injuries and the Roosters struggling to adapt to life after Brad Fittler.

Even though the match was at the Roosters home base of Aussie Stadium, it was the Bulldogs fans that dominated the 16.121 strong crowd with about 60-70% of support for the visitors. Bulldogs boss Malcolm Noad said on the club's official website, "The players after the match commented that it was like playing a home game given the mass of blue-and-white that could be seen and the vocal support they received during the game. It did certainly feel that Bulldogs fans outnumbered Roosters fans two-to-one."

Whoever planned the NRL draw didn't realise that they would have four classic and intriguing battles all on the same day. Newcastle and Brisbane saw two 1988 clubs face off with the mouth watering battle of Andrew Johns and Darren Lockyer the feature. Any clash at Leichhardt Oval with Manly as the opponent would always attract drama and controversy with a great game to boot.

Two battles between arch-rival clubs are always spiteful and keenly contested but there was extra incentive in both of them. It was no secret that Lance Thompson left the Dragons in very bitter circumstances and he was to join the Dragons local rivals Cronulla. Thompson had the laughs yesterday as he scored the first try and kicked the final goal as he enjoyed a sweet moment at the expense of Peter Doust and Nathan Brown.

Braith Anasta left the Bulldogs in circumstances that weren't the best and made comments that the Bulldogs were going stale and he would learn more under Ricky Stuart than Steve Folkes. The Sharks don't have a star-studded side where Thompson joined and the Roosters were already full of stars before Anasta joined. Whereas Thompson was villified by the Dragons club and cheered by their supporters, Anasta attracted no comments from the Bulldogs club and copped it big time from the supporters who let him know where he stood with them. Anasta had a better match than the stuff he has dished up this year but the Roosters were on the wrong end the scoreboard with unheralded halves Ben Roberts and Daniel Holdsworth finishing on top of NSW State of Origin representatives Anasta and Brett Finch. It was a big game for Anasta and he tried his best despite copping extra attention on and off field, in particular a good hit from Sonny Bill Williams.

The opening stages was an arm wrestle between two clubs looking for the crucial blow and than the game opened up where the Roosters superior speed got them on top. Nigel Plum scored the opening try charging onto a good short ball and than Amos Roberts was on the end of a 70m try where the Roosters caught out the Bulldogs left side defence with Finch featuring twice.

Tony Grimaldi played the majority of the match at hooker got the Bulldogs right back into the match three minutes before halftime scoring an impressive 35m try where he scooted out of dummy half. Grimaldi's performance was his best of the season and the best from any Bulldogs dummy half this year.

Craig Fitzgibbon pushed the Roosters eight clear just after halftime prompting the great comment from Phil Gould saying it was a good move as the Bulldogs didn't have two tries in them. Gould's comments came to bite him and the Roosters as the Bulldogs scored 24 unanswered points to send the Roosters packing.

The Bulldogs grinded their way forward and played the edges of the ruck extremely well easily getting on top in the forwards battle. A good quick ball from Roberts found Reni Maitua into space who offloaded superbly for Holdsworth to score under the posts.

A great short ball from Grimaldi at dummy half saw Mason crash over on the last tackle with the Roosters defence leaving the gap open up the middle. The try from Mason gave the Bulldogs an 18-14 lead and they were gathering further momentum.

Luke Patten playing in easily his best game for at least two years scooted away from dummy half in a great 60m burst and he nearly got around the outside of Amos Roberts where he was held up. Patten's run got the Bulldogs into great field position where the forwards again took command with Roy Asotasi offloading to Brad Morrin to crash over.

The Bulldogs were home and hosed at 24-14 but for good measure scored in the final seconds when Patten again dashed away from dummy half finding Williams in support who linked with El Masri and Williams backed up on the inside to score. Gould in the commentary was critical of the Bulldogs playing Williams in the centres but he had a very strong game defensively, did some outstanding things in attack and scored the final try at the end. Williams is gaining confidence by the minute and playing three successive full games, which includes the Test match will only give him and the Bulldogs a further boost.

Mason was again the Bulldogs star and backed up his Test match performance with a strong game for his club. The Bulldogs had a decision to make last year between Mason and Anasta and definately made the right choice in keeping Mason, who is a better footballer and clubman than Anasta. If it wasn't for the efforts and passion of Mason, the Bulldogs would be at the same level as Souths this year. The players are growing in confidence feeding off Mason's leadership and inspiration. Hindsight is such a wonderful thing and this case the Bulldogs have been proven correct, yet last year were roundly criticised for keeping Mason and not Anasta.

The Bulldogs are now in 4th position quietly creeping up the table despite only playing two complete halves of football this year with the other being against Wests Tigers in Round 2. Brent Sherwin, Willie Tonga, Mark O'Meley and Andrew Emeilo are still to return to the line up that didn't play yesterday whilst Mason, Asotasi and Williams were backing up from the Test match. The second half performance would have impressed coach Steve Folkes and the Bulldogs have to build on the momentum gained in the last two weeks. Sunday's clash against Parramatta will be extremely tough as the Eels lift for these occasions and are desperate for two points or their season will be over.

It's not all lost for the Roosters who are just two points outside the log jam for 8th position. The Roosters have the side on paper to cause damage even if Minichiello will be missing for the next eight weeks. There's a chance that Minichiello's replacement fullback at the Roosters could well be the NSW fullback and they still have International or State of Origin players in Fitzgibbon, Anasta, Finch, Adrian Morley, Craig Wing, Chris Flannery (who is due back after the bye), John Doyle and Ashley Harrison at the club. Whilst Anthony Tupou was within a whisker of playing for NSW last year, Amos Roberts is a big chance of playing for the Blues this year, David Shillington is a good chance to play for Queensland this year and Setaimata Sa is already being rated by some as a better prospect than Williams.

Next week the Roosters have the bye and than shape up against Souths, which will be a quick four points for the Roosters and get their season firmly back on track. The Roosters are simply too good a side to miss out on the Finals this year and eventually everything will click for them.


Bulldogs pluck the Roosters
Sun May 7, 2006
Source: www.bulldogs.com.au

The Bulldogs have fought back from 12-0 down late in the first half to defeat the Sydney Roosters 30-14 at Aussie Stadium this afternoon as they jump into the top four.

The Bulldogs were forced to defend under pressure in the dying stages of the contest after the Roosters threw plenty at them in an attempt to pull off a late charge. The Bulldogs had plenty of early chances when Andrew Ryan was held up in goals and Matt Utai lost the ball while attempting to ground the football after a well-weighted Ben Roberts grubber. Both sides found the swirling winds hard to adapt to with Brett Finch and Ben Roberts both managing to place kicks out on the full.

The two sides continued to hand over the ball in good attacking position however the Roosters drew first blood in the 25th minute after a goal-line drop out and a further repeat set saw Nigel Plum breeze through a yawning gap to score adjacent to the uprights. Fitzgibbon converted the try and the Roosters took a 6-0 lead.

Adrian Morley then breathed a sigh of relief after dropping the ball from the kick-return only for the Bulldogs to squander the opportunity. The 'Dogs just simply couldn't get points on the board after they were once again denied close to the line then watched on as the home side spread the ball wide early for an Amos Roberts try under the sticks. Fitzgibbon had no troubles with the conversion as the Roosters took a comfortable lead with just seven minutes remaining until the break.

The Bulldogs however wanted something to show for their early chances and with just minutes remaining on the clock veteran Tony Grimaldi scooted from dummy-half and ran 30 metres to score beside the posts. El Masri converted the try and in doing so took his 2006 points tally to 100.

The second half demanded good ball handling from the 'Dogs if they were to get away with a win and giving an early penalty away in their own half certainly wasn't the way to go about it as the Roosters extended their half-time lead 14-6.

Those were the Roosters last points as the Bulldogs then started to lift and charged their way up field and eventually were rewarded with a repeat set which led to a Daniel Holdsworth try courtesy of a Reni Maitua break. El Masri converted and the Bulldogs were trailing by just two points after fifty minutes.

The first half errors looked like they were making a return as both sides began to fumble possession however a determined Willie Mason ploughed his way over the line on the last tackle to get the visitors out in front for the first time in the match. El Masri made no mistake with his attempt at goal as he guided the 'Dogs to an 18-14 lead with a quarter of the match remaining.

Matt Utai then seemed to have undone all the hard work from the Bulldogs when he knocked the ball on from the kick-restart, handing the Roosters the ball in prime attacking position. The Bulldogs however lifted their defence and managed to hold the tri-colours out.

The Roosters however were not giving up as they continued to force repeat sets with some solid last tackle options but the 'Dogs were simply too good and on the end of a Luke Patten bust the Bulldogs were celebrating. The ball was spread across field for Asotasi who then offloaded to Morrin who scored his second career try as the Bulldogs extended their lead. El Masri converted to give the visitors a 10-point buffer with ten minutes remaining.

The Bulldogs then repelled the Roosters determined attack after a brilliant try saver from winger Matt Utai prevented any Roosters fight back. To rub salt into the featherless Roosters wounds Sonny Bill Williams added a four-pointer after the siren as the Bulldogs played hot potato. El Masri added the extras and the Bulldogs ran away with a solid 30-14 victory.

Report source: www.bulldogs.com.au

Advanced Search