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Christian Nicolussi
By Christian Nicolussi
August 23, 2019 — 5.08pm
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is expected to be cleared of a serious shoulder injury and only wished Parramatta firebrand Nathan Brown had made the effort to smash him ''front on'' rather than blind-side him.
Brown was charged with a grade-two shoulder charge and will miss the remaining two regular-season games against Brisbane and Manly with an early plea.
Winger Reimis Smith is also expected to spend a week on the sidelines for his attempted headbutt on Eels winger Maika Sivo during the wild western derby on Thursday night won 12-6 by the Bulldogs.
How Smith will miss one game and Brown just the two matches for flattening Watene-Zelezniak – and after three failed previous attempts in the first half – left a few Belmore types scratching their heads on Friday. Only a couple of weeks earlier, Canterbury feared they would lose Chris Smith for one game after a hit that was nowhere near as savage as Brown's 49th-minute bell-ringer.
Watene-Zelezniak was clearly unimpressed with the Eels lock forward who was called a ''f---ing wanker'' by Dogs skipper Josh Jackson as he was being spoken to by officials. A melee erupted before Brown was set upon again at full-time by a few fired-up Canterbury players.
That's how he plays. I don't know what he was going for. I saw the replay and it was pretty bad.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
"He came in from the side. I heard he might be in trouble. It would have been good had he come at me front on,'' Watene-Zelezniak said.
"That's how he plays. I don't know what he was going for.
"I saw the replay and it was pretty bad. I had the last laugh.''
Watene-Zelezniak received a painkilling injection and returned to the field ten minutes later.
Watene-Zelezniak, whose arrival at Canterbury nine weeks ago from the Panthers has coincided with six wins, praised Jackson and the rest of the players for rallying around him when he was floored by Brown.
"I wish I was amongst it, but I couldn't move my shoulder,'' Watene-Zelezniak said.
"I love playing with these boys. We have an amazing captain in Josh Jackson. I'm grateful to have him in this team. These boys have the belief we can do something special. Parramatta are one of the better teams but it was a gritty win. We've still got a lot of work to do. We scrambled well and turned up for each other.''
Canterbury coach Dean Pay confirmed on Friday that his star No. 1 was a chance to play against the Cowboys in six days time. Pay was not prepared to risk Watene-Zelezniak's health but also expected the Kiwi international to pester him for a start.
It was a torrid night for Watene-Zelezniak, who was belted earlier in the game by Sivo. The sound of the shot echoed around Bankwest Stadium as more than 18,000 fans enjoyed the constant replays on the big screen.
Watene-Zelezniak was seen in the sheds discussing his shoulder injury with Billy Slater, the legendary fullback who had his share of shoulder issues during his wonderful career.
Eels skipper Clint Gutherson said Brown was an integral part of the team and a player ''who sets the tone for our forwards''.
"He brings aggression to the team. He was given ten minutes in the bin and hopefully it stays like that,'' the skipper said before the charges were released.
The Bulldogs were in a wooden-spoon shootout with the Gold Coast Titans just a couple of months ago but are now just two points outside the right.
The return of five-eighth Kieran Foran can not be underestimated in the past fortnight, nor Watene-Zelezniak's tough runs to start the sets.
By Christian Nicolussi
August 23, 2019 — 5.08pm
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak is expected to be cleared of a serious shoulder injury and only wished Parramatta firebrand Nathan Brown had made the effort to smash him ''front on'' rather than blind-side him.
Brown was charged with a grade-two shoulder charge and will miss the remaining two regular-season games against Brisbane and Manly with an early plea.
Winger Reimis Smith is also expected to spend a week on the sidelines for his attempted headbutt on Eels winger Maika Sivo during the wild western derby on Thursday night won 12-6 by the Bulldogs.
How Smith will miss one game and Brown just the two matches for flattening Watene-Zelezniak – and after three failed previous attempts in the first half – left a few Belmore types scratching their heads on Friday. Only a couple of weeks earlier, Canterbury feared they would lose Chris Smith for one game after a hit that was nowhere near as savage as Brown's 49th-minute bell-ringer.
Watene-Zelezniak was clearly unimpressed with the Eels lock forward who was called a ''f---ing wanker'' by Dogs skipper Josh Jackson as he was being spoken to by officials. A melee erupted before Brown was set upon again at full-time by a few fired-up Canterbury players.
That's how he plays. I don't know what he was going for. I saw the replay and it was pretty bad.
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak
"He came in from the side. I heard he might be in trouble. It would have been good had he come at me front on,'' Watene-Zelezniak said.
"That's how he plays. I don't know what he was going for.
"I saw the replay and it was pretty bad. I had the last laugh.''
Watene-Zelezniak received a painkilling injection and returned to the field ten minutes later.
Watene-Zelezniak, whose arrival at Canterbury nine weeks ago from the Panthers has coincided with six wins, praised Jackson and the rest of the players for rallying around him when he was floored by Brown.
"I wish I was amongst it, but I couldn't move my shoulder,'' Watene-Zelezniak said.
"I love playing with these boys. We have an amazing captain in Josh Jackson. I'm grateful to have him in this team. These boys have the belief we can do something special. Parramatta are one of the better teams but it was a gritty win. We've still got a lot of work to do. We scrambled well and turned up for each other.''
Canterbury coach Dean Pay confirmed on Friday that his star No. 1 was a chance to play against the Cowboys in six days time. Pay was not prepared to risk Watene-Zelezniak's health but also expected the Kiwi international to pester him for a start.
It was a torrid night for Watene-Zelezniak, who was belted earlier in the game by Sivo. The sound of the shot echoed around Bankwest Stadium as more than 18,000 fans enjoyed the constant replays on the big screen.
Watene-Zelezniak was seen in the sheds discussing his shoulder injury with Billy Slater, the legendary fullback who had his share of shoulder issues during his wonderful career.
Eels skipper Clint Gutherson said Brown was an integral part of the team and a player ''who sets the tone for our forwards''.
"He brings aggression to the team. He was given ten minutes in the bin and hopefully it stays like that,'' the skipper said before the charges were released.
The Bulldogs were in a wooden-spoon shootout with the Gold Coast Titans just a couple of months ago but are now just two points outside the right.
The return of five-eighth Kieran Foran can not be underestimated in the past fortnight, nor Watene-Zelezniak's tough runs to start the sets.
