09 :: R16 Fri :: Bulldogs 30 Cowboys 18 @ ANZ

[jimmy_the_greek]

30-6 Bulldogs

 

[Shorty]

30 - 18 actually.
Well done to the Dogs way too good - I rate them higher than the Dragons to get the premiership.
There was some clown on the forums last year boasting that a team that got the spoon the year previous could never win the premiership, the Dogs will go bloody close!

I'm very proud of our boys, we kept trying - Our attack isn't up to scratch but the scary thing is when it is...it'll probably be at the back end of the season...we could do a Broncos and come good finals time!

 

[Big Pete]

Well deserved win by the Bulldogs, played hard and made the most of their oppurtunities.

Solid performance from the Cows, it was obvious they missed the influence of Bowen, Graham and O'Donnell and sadly their replacements weren't up to scratch. Thurston is a fantastic player, what a competitor.

I couldn't believe they didn't at least go upstairs for Rapira, IMO that was a try.

Also Watts wasn't a square up, I couldn't believe the hide of the commentators.

 

[Ianc]

Didn't have anything go our way tonight but were beaten by a better team. Very clinical by the Dogs. They are my favorite to win the comp.
We'll do alright later on I think. We def need to learn how to win in NSW.

 

[Ianc]

BTW JT is an absolutely competitive champion. We'll struggle to keep him IMO.

 

[Charlie124]

Very dissapointing result considering Rapira was robbed of a try and Patten grounded his with his f**king face, taking them into account youve got a 24 all ballgame. But having said that, the doggies played a bloody good game and you cant blame them for the referees mistakes.

Good game dogs.

 

[jimmythehand]

personally i don't think there was any evidence to suggest either of them were tries. Under the rules they should both have been given benefit of the doubt by a video referee, but if the referee is right on top of it he has a better view than any camera and was spot on to call no try instead of wussing out like most referees do.

how on earth could john williams get called for two mid air tackles, and then guess what, in reverse, john williams catches the ball, bryson goodwin gives him a push in mid-air and his foot hits the sideline to stop a try. Shouldn't that be a penalty try? How did the commentators miss that incident given how much they went off about the two that were called?

 

[[FKN-SIK]]

Great win by the Dogs. Very happy with the performance. Some dodgey decisions went both ways but overall the boys managed to handle them and played strong for the majority of the match.

I really wish they held on in defence in the last 10 minutes or so and keep the score at 30-6. Would have put us on top of the table. Nevertheless that's footy.

Great game by the Cowboys. They played very well I think. JT is an absolute workhorse!

 

[Slackboy72]

Very dissapointing result considering Rapira was robbed of a try and Patten grounded his with his f**king face, taking them into account youve got a 24 all ballgame. But having said that, the doggies played a bloody good game and you cant blame them for the referees mistakes.

Good game dogs.

but but ... don't the refs always screw the dogs over?

 

[Big Pete]

It's one of the most inane rules in Rugby League. Neither the attacking nor defending sides should be able to tackle a player in the air - a rule that I thought was made to help protect the players.

Also why is it acceptable for a player catching the ball to be tackle in the air, but it's illegal to tackle a kicker who doesn't fly anywhere near as high?

The replays showed Rapira scored, definately a poor decision there but it didn't surprise me. Couldn't believe Maxwell decided to call that up but called the Patten No try up, it was never going to be awarded.

 

[jimmythehand]

ahh you're right, defensive players can do that i forgot.

I didn't see any replays that showed the ball hitting the line in either of the Cowboys incidents, when did they show those?

 

[The Tank]

Ben Roberts should be selected for NSW according to Wally Lewis. FFS.

 

[Charlie124]

but but ... don't the refs always screw the dogs over?

If you're trying to make reference to them being screwed over against the dragons, they most certainly were robbed of a win there. Tonight they got one back, just wish it hadnt been against my team.

 

[Big Pete]

Bulldogs were certainly fortunate tonight BUT they were the better team. The Cowboys weren't robbed like the Dogs were against the Dragons where they were literally robbed.

jimmythehand - Rapira's was pretty conclusive for mine. While the side view of Watts' showed he had made it.

 

[jimmythehand]

geez i mustn't have been watching the same replays as you. I thought the side on replay was pretty conclusive that watts was short, but there was some doubt there and rightly given to the attacking team. The reporter at leaguehq thought it was a country mile short.

I didn't see any replay of Rapira's try that showed any sort of evidence either way.

 

[Dee]

While there were some ridiculous decisions, the main thing is the best team won in the end. Dogs were fantastic, all over. The scoreline may have been closer with some correct video ref decisions, but the result deservedly went to the bulldogs.

JT backed up again and played brilliant! We are starting to miss Bowen though, people were saying he wasn't at his best, but jeez, you don't realise the impact he still had. LOD and Webb were missed also, hopefully they're sweet next week, though I'd like to see Tamou and Rapira retain their spots, great efforts, players of the future I reckon. Ditch Kafusi and Manuokofoa I say. ;-)

 

[jimmythehand]

ditch ben harris instead ....

 

[Dee]

ditch ben harris instead ....

oh well yeah that's a given. Time for Donald Malone to show what he's got!

 

[Timmah]

Cowboys definitely were dudded by a couple of second half calls but they failed to capitalise twice when handed possession INCORRECTLY in the first half. First the line drop-out awarded when Patten missed the ball completely despite Maxwell have a clear and open view of the play, then across the other side when a Cowboys player knocked the ball forward out of Hazem's hands. We had little luck in the first half apart from the Rapira call but to our credit our defence held well.

A bit pissed off we softened to allow two tries and cost ourselves the competition lead... but the boys will be better for the win and now a 9/10 day rest leading in to the big game against Manly. Something tells me we won't be 34-12 winners this time...

 

[jimmythehand]

Would a challenge system have resulted in all these bad decisions being corrected?