<span>May 17, 2003</span>
St George Illawarra 16 Bulldogs 18
ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA coach Nathan Brown wasn't willing to risk a $10,000 fine tonight, but his captain Lance Thompson didn't hold back.
Thompson was fuming after his side's dramatic loss to the Bulldogs at WIN Stadium, which swung on a crucial call from touch judge Steve Nash two minutes before halftime. Nash raced on the field to report Thompson for taking out Johnathon Thurston after the Bulldogs five-eighth had kicked ahead and attempted to regather. Thompson appeared to stand his ground but on Nash's advice referee Paul Simpkins awarded the Bulldogs a penalty. At the time they were leading 6-4. Two minutes later they were ahead 18-4 after a pair of Ben Harris tries and the game was effectively over. Even the threat of a $10,000 fine from the NRL for bringing the game into disrepute couldn't hold back an angry Thompson. "It was a disgraceful decision," Thompson said. "You have a bloke who's two metres away and you have a bloke who's 20 metres away who wants to make the decision. "It makes me laugh. Who's running the game out there? "He said that I deliberately went out of my way to drop my shoulder into Thurston. "I didn't move at all. I didn't do anything. "Next time I decide to put a chip over the top I might run straight into someone and fall over and get a penalty." The Dragons faithful made their feelings known as well. One supporter threw a can of Coke at Nash while the 11,555 fans who braved the cold and wet conditions booed the officials off the field at halftime. Brown was more circumspect after watching his side claw its way back into the match in the second half, scoring two tries to narrow the gap to two points with five minutes remaining when Shaun Timmins crossed. "You blokes can write it but I can't say it because I haven't got $10,000," Brown said. "I have plenty of blokes who want to put the money in though. "Everyone knows what happens, but still we could have been good enough to stop those tries." Thurston admitted he didn't know whether he was taken out deliberately but denied he had taken a 'dive'. "That's not in my game at all," Thurston said. "I ran the ball up, grubbered through, bumped into his shoulder and got knocked down. "I got straight back up to make the tackle. I don't know if he did it deliberately." There was no arguing it was the most crucial moment in the match. Even Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes, who watched his side bravely fight off waves of St George Illawarra attacks in the second half, conceded afterwards the game swung on the decision. "We played really well for four minutes," Folkes said. "That was obviously the game in four minutes." The Dragons had a try to Mathew Head disallowed in a frantic second half for a double movement by video referee Phil Cooley while Timmins should have scored a minute before that but opted to pass. But somehow the Bulldogs found reserves of energy to hold on. Folkes was happy with his side's second half effort, but warned the NRL would need to take action to open the game up more. "I think the balance has certainly swung back to defence and it's killing the spectacle," Folkes said. "I think it's something that definitely has to be looked at. "Ninety percent of the game is being played between dummy half and first receiver because the defence is up in your face all the time. "It's not the sort of football I want to play. "It's becoming too important a part of the game, running from dummy half." Captain Steve Price sustained a head knock in the second half but finished the match while Head bruised his stomach in a clash with Bulldogs fullback Luke Patten. The rookie threw up twice on the field but played on and finished the match. BULLDOGS 18 (B Harris 2 T Norton tries H El Masri 3 goals) bt ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA 16 (B Kite J Cross S Timmins tries A Roberts M Riddell goals)at WIN Stadium. Ref: P Simpkins. Crowd: 11,555.
<span>AAP</span>
