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NRL 2022: Canterbury Bulldogs win 16-12 over Sydney Roosters in thriller
After a week of drama and without captain Josh Jackson, the Bulldogs managed to pull off a miracle upset to win just their second game of the season.
Martin Gabor
3 min read
April 30, 2022 - 7:41PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
In the absence of Josh Jackson, Josh Addo-Carr stood up as co-captain, scoring two tries. Picture: Getty Images.
In Gus, we trust.
After a week of headlines dominated by Gould-related column inches, the Bulldogs supremo showed he is still one of the game’s greatest thinkers as he helped engineer the upset of the season from the box as coach Trent Barrett stalked the sideline to inspire his side to a miraculous 16-12 win over a Roosters side that is totally out of sorts.
But things are never easy for Canterbury, and they had to survive one of the wildest finishes of the season to pick up their second win of the year.
With three minutes to go, it looked like Joseph Suaalii had tied things up when he slid over in the right corner. The referee awarded the try before the Bunker intervened to check for obstruction.
But that was quickly cleared, and thousands of heads dropped. That was until one last replay showed Suaalii had put a toenail into touch with the ball still in the air.
Forget about column inches. Footy is a game of millimetres.
GOULD STANDARD
Gould was criticised for some tough love at a video session and for then taking charge at training, but the players didn’t complain and it showed on the field at Accor Stadium.
This is a team that hadn’t won since Round 1, but they doubled their 2022 win tally on the back of effort and nailing the key moments.
If this was a game of skill then the Roosters would’ve won by 50. But skill counts for little if you’re not hungry enough to dive on loose balls against a team that was prepared to do anything to get the two competition points.
A nervous Trent Barrett nervously watched on from the sidelines as the game went down to the wire. Picture: Getty Images.
They tackled their guts out from the opening whistle, and when their attack started to go nowhere, Matt Burton nailed a 40/20 that woke them and the crowd from their slumber.
One man who never switched off was Barrett. Rocking a fresh suit, the under-pressure coach stood among his players on the sideline, riding each play like his career depended on it.
But who needs to sit when you’re winning? At least Gus didn’t steal his chair like he did to poor old Laurie Daley back in the day.
RED-FACED ROOSTERS
You could almost excuse their loss on Anzac Day because form always goes out the window when they play the Dragons.
But they have been in free fall for a while now, and Saturday’s result exposed everything that is wrong with them in 2022.
The top teams nail the one-percenters every week, but the Chooks committed a number of inexcusable errors that we haven’t seen from them in years.
Luke Keary failed to find touch from a penalty, they conceded a try from dummy-half, Sam Walker threw a loose pass that was intercepted by Josh Addo-Carr for a try and they even sent a restart sailing out on the full in the second half.
Then there’s their attack, which is awful right now. It took them 38 minutes to score from a kick, and their only other points came from a clear knock-on by Angus Crichton in the previous ruck and another try that featured a blatant forward pass.
They’ve relied on guys like Joseph Manu to save them this season, but he had one run for three metres in the first 60 minutes. That’s concerning.
FLYING FOXX
It took him six games to open his Bulldogs account, but the floodgates are now open for Josh Addo-Carr on the left wing.
He has now scored five tries in three games after he bagged a first-half double at a ground where he has dominated over the years, and although the creativity on his inside is still a work in progress, his sheer effort is enough to spark something out of nothing.
After a week of drama and without captain Josh Jackson, the Bulldogs managed to pull off a miracle upset to win just their second game of the season.
Martin Gabor
3 min read
April 30, 2022 - 7:41PM
News Corp Australia Sports Newsroom
In the absence of Josh Jackson, Josh Addo-Carr stood up as co-captain, scoring two tries. Picture: Getty Images.
In Gus, we trust.
After a week of headlines dominated by Gould-related column inches, the Bulldogs supremo showed he is still one of the game’s greatest thinkers as he helped engineer the upset of the season from the box as coach Trent Barrett stalked the sideline to inspire his side to a miraculous 16-12 win over a Roosters side that is totally out of sorts.
But things are never easy for Canterbury, and they had to survive one of the wildest finishes of the season to pick up their second win of the year.
With three minutes to go, it looked like Joseph Suaalii had tied things up when he slid over in the right corner. The referee awarded the try before the Bunker intervened to check for obstruction.
But that was quickly cleared, and thousands of heads dropped. That was until one last replay showed Suaalii had put a toenail into touch with the ball still in the air.
Forget about column inches. Footy is a game of millimetres.
GOULD STANDARD
Gould was criticised for some tough love at a video session and for then taking charge at training, but the players didn’t complain and it showed on the field at Accor Stadium.
This is a team that hadn’t won since Round 1, but they doubled their 2022 win tally on the back of effort and nailing the key moments.
If this was a game of skill then the Roosters would’ve won by 50. But skill counts for little if you’re not hungry enough to dive on loose balls against a team that was prepared to do anything to get the two competition points.
A nervous Trent Barrett nervously watched on from the sidelines as the game went down to the wire. Picture: Getty Images.
They tackled their guts out from the opening whistle, and when their attack started to go nowhere, Matt Burton nailed a 40/20 that woke them and the crowd from their slumber.
One man who never switched off was Barrett. Rocking a fresh suit, the under-pressure coach stood among his players on the sideline, riding each play like his career depended on it.
But who needs to sit when you’re winning? At least Gus didn’t steal his chair like he did to poor old Laurie Daley back in the day.
RED-FACED ROOSTERS
You could almost excuse their loss on Anzac Day because form always goes out the window when they play the Dragons.
But they have been in free fall for a while now, and Saturday’s result exposed everything that is wrong with them in 2022.
The top teams nail the one-percenters every week, but the Chooks committed a number of inexcusable errors that we haven’t seen from them in years.
Luke Keary failed to find touch from a penalty, they conceded a try from dummy-half, Sam Walker threw a loose pass that was intercepted by Josh Addo-Carr for a try and they even sent a restart sailing out on the full in the second half.
Then there’s their attack, which is awful right now. It took them 38 minutes to score from a kick, and their only other points came from a clear knock-on by Angus Crichton in the previous ruck and another try that featured a blatant forward pass.
They’ve relied on guys like Joseph Manu to save them this season, but he had one run for three metres in the first 60 minutes. That’s concerning.
FLYING FOXX
It took him six games to open his Bulldogs account, but the floodgates are now open for Josh Addo-Carr on the left wing.
He has now scored five tries in three games after he bagged a first-half double at a ground where he has dominated over the years, and although the creativity on his inside is still a work in progress, his sheer effort is enough to spark something out of nothing.