They lost the game, and it looks like they may have lost star English import Sam Burgess with injury again, as the Bulldogs were far too strong for a Souths outfit that dropped off the pace as the match wore on.
After a mini-revival by Souths of sorts from their halfback Chris Sandow, Burgess went down injured in the 63rd minute of the game, with club doctor Errol Alcott confirming that the injury Burgess sustained to his left ankle was some sort of syndemosis-type injury.
“It’s potentially pretty serious … the worst case is it’s a syndesmosis injury (which) often requires surgery, a screw (and would sideline him for) four months,” Alcott explained.
“But at the moment we’re calling it a syndesmosis-type injury, it doesn’t in any way mean the ligaments are actually damaged.”
Souths fans will be hoping and praying that it is not serious, with Burgess set to undergo scans on Monday to determine the next course of action.
Bulldogs fullback Ben Barba was perhaps the busiest man in football yesterday, as he welcomed his second child Bronte at 5am on game-day.
He raced home, to get in some sleep, as well as looking after his first daughter in Bodhi, before preparing himself for the clash, where he was once again, a stand-out.
“It’s all a blur at the moment,” Barba said after the game.
“It’s been a long day, I can’t wait to go home now and see them and hopefully have a quiet night’s sleep.
“I’m still just over the moon.”
Whilst Barba was the man-of-the-match, it was Souths halfback Chris Sandow who nearly stole the game for the side, as he led a comeback courtesy of a try of his own, a 40/20, and some other fantastic touches.
“I thought Chrissy played really well,” South Sydney coach John Lang said.
“(But) we’re just not consistent enough, we’re not playing the 80 minutes.”
Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore was heavily impressed by the way his side responded, following Souths getting to within two points, but was somewhat disappointed when they conceded a try in the 80th minute.
“When we were put under the pump, we responded,” he said.
“I think it shows there’s a fair bit of belief in the side and we got through the simple things.”
There were more casualties from the game apart from Burgess, with debutant James Roberts believed to have suffered a fractured forearm, and Bulldogs prop Michael Hodgson fainting, before spending the rest of the day in the sheds.
Dally M Points
3 Ben Barba
2 Chris Sandow
1 Aiden Tolman