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THE Bulldogs showed the best and worst of themselves in their 16-2 win over the Dragons at ANZ Stadium.
In another week where their world seemed to be collapsing, the Bulldogs dug deep into their reserves of resilience and came away with one of their most memorable wins of the season.
There is great pride in this Canterbury team. Their effort against a top four team could not be questioned.
After Penrith butchered them last week, such a response was to be expected. After all, we’ve seen this before.
Manly smacked Canterbury 36-0 in Round 4 and they responded the next week with a stirring 10-7 win over Brisbane.
Any win should be treasured, especially given the way the Bulldogs have struggled in recent weeks.
But the cracks have only been papered over. There are still underlying and fundamental issues in the Bulldogs play.
Their win over the Dragons was a grind in every sense of the word. Neither team could generate much spark, so it degenerated into a contest of will.
And that’s exactly the type of game the Bulldogs can win. If the keys to victory are strength, power and resolve, Canterbury are dangerous.
But that type of football is not sustainable. For the seventh match in a row, the Bulldogs failed to crack 20 points.
The amount of field position, the amount of possession, the sheer number of chances they had, such windows will not be open each and every week.
Any team that thrives in such a position has a finite ceiling — we saw that for many years with the Cronulla Sharks.
For several seasons, the Sharks were exactly where the Bulldogs are now. They were rugged and committed and capable of displays of sheer, bloody-minded toughness, the kind of toughness that some clubs would kill for.
But against the top end of the competition, against teams that can match that same strength and reply with heavy artillery, this is not enough.
It was only with the addition of a top-class playmaker like James Maloney and strike backs like Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes that the Sharks were able to cast off the shackles and take that next step.
Canterbury are stuck on that next rung down. They have too much talent and too much pride to stay in the depths they found themselves in before Monday.
They don’t have enough beyond those base qualities to take the next step up and therein lies the complaint for many of their fans.
Sure, the impending arrival of Kieran Foran might help. And there still could be moves for Canterbury to make in terms of personnel for next season.
But wins like this one are a double-edged sword. They show the best and worst of this roster and as valuable and emotive as the win may have been it’s also a reminder of just how far the Bulldogs are from where they expect to be.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...d/news-story/3101c2ea53668f84099fc074ef67f46b
In another week where their world seemed to be collapsing, the Bulldogs dug deep into their reserves of resilience and came away with one of their most memorable wins of the season.
There is great pride in this Canterbury team. Their effort against a top four team could not be questioned.
After Penrith butchered them last week, such a response was to be expected. After all, we’ve seen this before.
Manly smacked Canterbury 36-0 in Round 4 and they responded the next week with a stirring 10-7 win over Brisbane.
Any win should be treasured, especially given the way the Bulldogs have struggled in recent weeks.
But the cracks have only been papered over. There are still underlying and fundamental issues in the Bulldogs play.
Their win over the Dragons was a grind in every sense of the word. Neither team could generate much spark, so it degenerated into a contest of will.
And that’s exactly the type of game the Bulldogs can win. If the keys to victory are strength, power and resolve, Canterbury are dangerous.
But that type of football is not sustainable. For the seventh match in a row, the Bulldogs failed to crack 20 points.
The amount of field position, the amount of possession, the sheer number of chances they had, such windows will not be open each and every week.
Any team that thrives in such a position has a finite ceiling — we saw that for many years with the Cronulla Sharks.
For several seasons, the Sharks were exactly where the Bulldogs are now. They were rugged and committed and capable of displays of sheer, bloody-minded toughness, the kind of toughness that some clubs would kill for.
But against the top end of the competition, against teams that can match that same strength and reply with heavy artillery, this is not enough.
It was only with the addition of a top-class playmaker like James Maloney and strike backs like Jack Bird and Valentine Holmes that the Sharks were able to cast off the shackles and take that next step.
Canterbury are stuck on that next rung down. They have too much talent and too much pride to stay in the depths they found themselves in before Monday.
They don’t have enough beyond those base qualities to take the next step up and therein lies the complaint for many of their fans.
Sure, the impending arrival of Kieran Foran might help. And there still could be moves for Canterbury to make in terms of personnel for next season.
But wins like this one are a double-edged sword. They show the best and worst of this roster and as valuable and emotive as the win may have been it’s also a reminder of just how far the Bulldogs are from where they expect to be.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...d/news-story/3101c2ea53668f84099fc074ef67f46b
