News Pointless Bulldogs making rugby league history as Bunnies get the chocolates

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Pointless Bulldogs making rugby league history as Bunnies get the chocolates

The Bulldogs are on the brink of capturing the one record nobody in rugby league wants, while South Sydney will be sweating on the judiciary after a big win.


The loudest the Canterbury fans got all day against South Sydney wasn’t for a try, a big hit or a bit of individual brilliance or anything worth remembering.
The cause for celebration was when the Bulldogs successfully pulled off a captain’s challenge midway through the first half.

What was originally ruled a Will Hopoate knock on was turned into a penalty against Latrell Mitchell for a strip. Break out the champagne.

The way Canterbury going it might be the only win they have for a while, so the fans had to get around it.



Canterbury and South Sydney players scuffle. Picture: Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

Canterbury and South Sydney players scuffle. Picture: Grant Trouville/NRL Photos

At 0-4 and with their last try coming 246 minutes ago and counting you have to take what you can get and the blue and white faithful didn’t get much.

Trent Barrett’s first month in charge has created all the wrong kinds of history. The 2021 Bulldogs are now just the second team in Australian rugby league history to go three straight games without scoring a point, joining the 2014 Sharks.

They also have the dubious honour of having the worst attacking start to a season since Glebe scored just 12 points in their first four games in 1928.

The Dirty Reds were kicked out of first grade a year later and any time you’re matching a club that’s been out of the big leagues for 93 years it’s not a great sign.
The gap between the best teams in the competition and the rest becomes more of a yawning chasm by the week and for the Bulldogs to compete with Souths at all they would have needed a lot to go their way.

They were already on a hiding to nothing but from the opening whistle everything went wrong. Turns out you don’t need James Graham and David Klemmer blowing up at referees to have a bad time on Good Friday.

Lachlan Lewis of the Bulldogs leaves the field after a head knock. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Lachlan Lewis of the Bulldogs leaves the field after a head knock. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Five-eighth Lachlan Lewis, who came into the side to ease the playmaking pressure on Kyle Flanagan, was concussed after five minutes - and the Bulldogs will get a please explain from the NRL after Lewis stayed on the field for a set afterwards.

It forced Sione Katoa, a hooker, into the halves and against South Sydney’s dynamite attack that was like bringing a butter knife to a gunfight.

Damien Cook and Cody Walker didn’t just eat the Bulldogs alive, they looked like they were playing a different sport and whatever game it was it was faster and more furious than anything Canterbury could muster.

There are some bright spots for Canterbury, if you look hard and squint your eyes.

Nick Cotric looked dangerous - even if he was a little kick-happy when he got into space, he’s one of the few who can get into space at all. Adam Elliott’s effort never wanes and Corey Allan tried hard on the wing.

But that’s scant consolation. The Bulldogs have been looking for silver linings for years now and the Barrett era was supposed to be the start of something.

Jack Hetherington of the Bulldogs looks on during the round four NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Jack Hetherington of the Bulldogs looks on during the round four NRL match between the Canterbury Bulldogs and the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images


Maybe it still will be. Bulldogs players swear they’re better than this, and that Barrett really is the sharp attacking mind he seemed to be at Penrith last year.

If you ask them, they’ll tell you that what they’re showing on the field is nothing like what they do at training. And the cavalry is coming, in the shape of Penrith’s Matt Burton and Melbourne’s Josh Addo-Carr.

But that isn’t happening until next year, and four games in is very early to be talking about next season.

And if a Bulldogs revival is happening in the foreseeable future there’s a lot of players at the club right now who won’t be here to see it.

This year, which began with at least a little bit of optimism, is quickly collapsing into misery again. It doesn’t matter how bad your roster may be, April is too early to be planning your off-season.

Things won’t get any easier next week, when the Dogs have to tangle with the Storm.

No team in Australian rugby league history has been kept scoreless four times in a row and at this point avoiding another unwanted record is about all Canterbury can hope for.


Good Friday became a very Good Friday for South Sydney after they cleared out to a 38-0 win over a Canterbury side which simple could not land a blow at Stadium Australia.

Damien Cook’s signature running game returned to its five-star best, inspiring a comfortable victory that left the Bulldogs staring at a 0-4 start to a season for the first time in 50 years.

The winless Dogs now own the unwanted record of failing to score in three consecutive games.

They could have played until midnight and still not managed to register a point – even if the lights were turned out.

It was the first time since 1950 the Bunnies have kept Canterbury scoreless.

Cody Walker of the Rabbitohs celebrates scoring a try. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Cody Walker of the Rabbitohs celebrates scoring a try. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Losing returning five-eighth Lewis to concussion after just six minutes didn’t help the cause, nor did the unforced errors and lack of imagination with the ball.

The points didn’t exactly flow for the Rabbitohs early but they cashed in regularly enough as the game progressed to ensure a third straight win was never in doubt.

Adam Reynolds moved the ball to Latrell Mitchell on the right and his sublime pass allowed Josh Mansour to cut back inside for the opening try on 18 minutes.

Souths led 8-0 when Damien Cook spied three lazy ruck defenders and sprinted clear before finding Cody Walker on his inside for the Rabbitohs’ second try just past the half-hour.

You sensed 14-0 would a bridge too far for Canterbury – and it was.

Second half tries to Walker, Alex Johnston, Latrell Mitchell and Adam Reynolds sealed the deal for the Rabbitohs.

COOK ON FIRE

There are heavy suspicions Wayne Bennett planted the story a couple of weeks ago about Damien Cook’s running game going missing.

Since then it’s been a case of run Rabbit run.

The No. 9 ran for 130m and set up two tries for Cody Walker with darts out of dummy half against statue-like defenders.

Way to use the media, Wayne.

Damien Cook was in the middle of everything for South Sydney. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Damien Cook was in the middle of everything for South Sydney. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

WALKER TO BE SAT DOWN?

Cody Walker was brilliant but he may be missing for a week or two after landing a stray elbow on Nick Meaney.

It’s sure to be closely looked at by the MRC.

“It was deliberate and it was ugly,” Mick Ennis said of the incident.

Walker was in an angry mood throughout the game.

STINK ABORTED

Just for a minute, the big crowd of 23,340 thought it was in line for a good old-fashioned all-in brawl early in the second half.

After a cranky Cody Walker rag-dolled Kyle Flanagan to the ground, players came from everywhere to join the fray.

Fists were at the ready and there was plenty of jumper grabbing, but the only thing thrown was Walker’s dummy from the cot.

There were bigger blow-ups on the dodgems at next door’s Easter Show.

Corey Allan of the Bulldogs is tackled by Cameron Murray. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Corey Allan of the Bulldogs is tackled by Cameron Murray. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

GROUND-DOG DAY

You know things are crook when fans start cheering the for and against while looking up the draw to work out where the next win may come from.

But that’s the lot of a Bulldogs supporter at the moment as season 2021 slowly disintegrates.

With victory against the Bunnies out of the question, attention turned to where the Bulldogs would sit on the table at the end of it.

They started 54 points in front of Manly on for and against and safely avoided conceding the half-century, leaving the Sea Eagles anchored to the bottom.

As for that next win, let’s just say the round 16 encounter with the Sea Eagles can’t come quickly enough.

JACK ATTACK

Trouble has a way of finding Jack Hetherington.

The fiery Bulldogs forward is a regular on the Match Review Committee’s rap sheet and again found his name pencilled in after a run-in close to halftime.

Hetheringon was reported for a crusher tackle on Cameron Murray and was lucky not to be in further hot water when an attempted shoulder charge on Mark Nicholls just missed its mark.
 
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