This game was well and truly a tale of two halves, as a second-half fightback from the St George Illawarra Dragons was not enough to win – with the Canterbury Bulldogs holding on to win 28-20, in front of a big crowd at WIN Stadium.
With the Bulldogs cruising in the first half, on the back of a solid showing from five-eighth Josh Reynolds, it was the Dragons who were struggling immensely, and looked lackadaisical in attack.
Fast forward to the second half, and you would think that you were watching a completely different game – as the Dragons came out all guns blazing, and scored 14 unanswered points, in a dominant second half display.
With both Josh Reynolds and Josh Morris scoring doubles for the away team, Des Hasler maintained that his side is still ‘flying under the radar’, as they prepare for a top-of-the-table clash against the Melbourne Storm next week, in Mackay.
“There’s a yardstick and we’re probably at the bottom end of the yardstick,” Hasler said.
“We’re a young side, we’re still learning the game and we’re just trying to hang in there and stay with the big boys.”
Despite an evident head clash, following a bout of friendly fire from halfback Kris Keating, Hasler offered up an unusual report on Frank Pritchard’s injury and grogginess.
“He’s got just a twisted ankle,” he said.
“He was just a bit wobbly on his ankle so that’s why he was swaying from side to side.”
For Dragons coach Steve Price, the loss came down to one thing, and one thing only. His side’s poor effort in the first half.
“Yeah we showed credibility and we showed strength to claw back and have our opportunities to win the game, but you can’t do that at NRL level to start the game,” he said.