Bulldogs hang on to hopes of top eight
WHILE it remains wildly unlikely, Canterbury’s NRL top eight hopes remarkably remain alive following their spirited 12-6 upset of Parramatta.
Dean Pay’s men on Thursday night showed their rebuild has come a long way over the last few months as they provisionally moved to two points behind eight-placed Cronulla.
Should the Dogs win their final two games against North Queensland and Brisbane, and 11 other results run their way, by way of a minor miracle they would find themselves in the finals. They are now $51 with bookmakers to make the top eight.
Regardless of their eventual fate, it has been a remarkable turnaround for a side which has had the wooden spoon dangling over their heads most of the year and were in last spot up until round 15.
Since State of Origin, they have won six of eight – with all of those victories coming against sides who were in the top eight at the time.
“When we came back from the break, we spoke about wanting to finish off the season the best way we possibly can,” Bulldogs coach Dean Pay said. “We spoke about putting a lot of energy into our defence. Over the last six or seven weeks, that’s what’s kept us in games and given us the opportunity to win games.” Pay described Thursday’s spiteful win over the Eels – regarded by many as one of the games of the season – as the best victory he’d been involved in since taking over in 2018.
They got home thanks to a Nick Meaney penalty try with 10 minutes remaining after Mitchell Moses lashed out with his boot in an attempt to stop the Bulldogs winger from scoring. It was about as physical as they come, and the Cowboys were not willing to give an inch to the visiting Panthers.
In fact they were taking them from them, continually punching holes through the Panthers defence.
The Cowboys made an incredible 31 tackle breaks compared to the Panthers 17 as they won the battle of the midfield.
It also showed in the Panthers missed tackles as the visiting side struggled to contain a Cowboys forward pack working on emotion as they played in honour of ill mate Matt Scott.