Match Details
Match Date	12th Jul, 2009
Opponent	New Zealand Warriors
Result	Win 18-14
Coach	Kevin Moore
Captain	Andrew Ryan
Venue	New Zealand (Mt Smart Stadium)
Crowd	11,802
Referee	Jason Robinson Gerard Sutton

A last-gasp try secured the Bulldogs an 18-14 victory over the Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday.

The Warriors led by two points with less than two minutes on the clock but couldn't hold on as youngster Ben Barba made the most of his opportunity in first grade and sliced through to score the match-winner.
Going into the match without the likes of Brett Kimmorley, Michael Ennis, Ben Hannant, Josh Morris, Greg Eastwood and Bryson Goodwin, the Dogs were expected to struggle.

But Daniel Holdsworth once again showed his mettle at halfback while Michael Sullivan was dynamic in the number nine jersey.
The difference between this year and last year is we have plenty of depth. We needed that depth today and it came through for us, said wing Hazem el Masri, who had another perfect day with the boot.

The Warriors were on the board early courtesy of Manu Vatuvei. The hulking wing collected a flick-pass from centre Joel Moon and found the line after only five minutes.

The Bulldogs attempted to hit back but their left-hand flank, which has proved most profitable this year, was falling flat.
After a midfield arm-wrestle that dominated the first forty minutes, the Dogs finally broke through with three minutes left in the half.
Prop Brad Morrin charged, offloaded in the tackle, the ball took a fortuitous bounce off the legs of Michael Luck and rolled into the in-goal for Sullivan to claim the try.

El Masri's conversion gave the Dogs a 6-4 lead at halftime.
The Warriors defence was non-existent as five-eighth Ben Roberts engineered a spread to the left and Luke Patten strolled through for a try four minutes after the break.

The Dogs then had a golden chance to wrap up the game but captain Andrew Ryan lost control of the ball while reaching for the line.
After constantly kicking for Vatuvei's wing without success, Warriors halfback Stacey Jones directed a 62nd minute bomb to the other wing where Kevin Locke flew over Tim Winitana to score.

Prop Russell Packer's converted try gave the Warriors a two-point lead and as time ticked away it looked like it would be enough.

But Yileen Gordon showed some fancy footwork to crack the line. From the next play the Bulldogs spread the ball left and Barba made no mistake from close-range.

David Stagg was again invaluable for the Dogs finishing with 45 tackles, four offloads and four tackle breaks.

Source: Evan Sieff

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