Were we brilliant or were the Bulldogs bad? I think the truth is somewhere in between.
In the end I think the result reflected that age old truth, forwards win games, the backs decide how much. The Panthers forwards were so dominant the space created for the backline made them all look like future Immortals.
It is apparent to any student of the game that the Bulldogs forwards are on the light side. They have tried to overcome this by by utilizing their fitness and mobility to swarm over the opposition with really fast line speed and getting numbers into tackles. For some reason they had it in their heads they needed to smash us in tackles and many players rushed out trying to put big hits on. This is where the underrated aspect of the Panthers success proved their undoing. The Panthers team are tough, it's in their DNA. It's not in a "in your face" drama queen style like JWH, but in an understated,stoic way. You are not going to beat them by trying to smash them, they'll take their licks, brush themselves off, get up and go again.
One of my favourite memories of playing the Storm is when Nas smashed Yeo into the middle of next week with a huge tackle, commentators went "ooh, a massive hit". As the game went on Yeo just continued to run forward making meters, making post-contact meters, relentless. The Storm were like King Canute stood on the shore ordering the tide to stop coming in. Futile. The Storm were beaten, Yeo unbowed.
And so it was, the Dogs flew out of the line, bounced off tackles and failed to stop offloads. The Panthers rolled forward continuing to dominate territory. The backs licked their lips. Game over.
I just hope the Broncos make the same mistake and try and smash us. It uses energy and is demoralising when even if you make a big hit, the player justs gets up and goes again.
Panthers grit vs Broncos brilliance. Who is our money on?
