Match Details
Match Date	4th Sep, 2009
Opponent	Wests Tigers
Result	Loss 12-34
Coach	Kevin Moore
Captain	Andrew Ryan
Venue	Sydney Football Stadium
Crowd	17,375
Referee	Jared Maxwell Steve Lyons

Benji Marshall could have dodged a bullet last night. In the end, he didn’t need to. He just dodged the Bulldogs and a bottle as he ended his opponents’ minor premiership hopes with the sort of display that left you wanting more. Only we won’t get any.

We will see more of the Bulldogs, but last night’s performance showed they will do so under doubt and duress without their halfback Brett Kimmorley.

There was little doubt who the star was. Marshall scored one himself, showing the sort of steps you’d expect him to produce on the dance floor in coming days, having to ensure he missed a missile (or at least a bottle of water) hurled from the crowd in the final strides, and set up three more as Wests Tigers poked as many holes in the Bulldogs defence as they did their title campaign. It certainly ain’t over, but as some angry young fan showed, the Bulldogs may be going to water.

This really was an intriguing matchup. One team had minor premiership on the mind and the other Mad Monday. But it was the Tigers who showed early on that they had their minds on the job rather than the grog.

The Tigers found themselves 10-0 up before the Bulldogs had any consistent possession; the momentum going their way with a penalty on the second tackle and continuing through tries to Blake Ayshford and Chris Lawrence in opposite corners within seven minutes. Both were set up by Marshall, who was in the mood to groove.

The Bulldogs looked a little nervy, while the Tigers were playing like it was their last – funnily enough. Marshall was chipping and Robbie Farah was chirping and the rest of the side was chiming in with the sort of play that belied the fact that they had little more to play for than the ability to knock the Bulldogs off their perch.

Maybe that was motivation enough, or maybe the very fact that the Bulldogs found themselves at the top of said perch caused their own fall; sure, they were lacking the calm of Kimmorley, but they were missing more than that. They had glaring deficiencies in defence as well as attack with the veteran on the sidelines.

They did have their traditional Bulldog grit as the Tigers pummelled them in the latter stages of the first half, but they finally broke with four minutes left in the half when Keith Galloway’s offload found Farah, the hooker found Tim Moltzen, and the fullback found a defensive line scurrying backwards and he scurried over himself.

Speaking of which, by now, the NRL officials were starting to scurry towards Kogarah, as the Tigers and the Dragons had each taken a substantial advantage into half-time.

Whatever the Tigers took into halftime, they brought it back onto the field after the break, too. The second half began as the first did, with an early penalty against the Bulldogs and points following quickly. And it was a try four years in the making.

Danny Galea, the dependable backrower, has produced two nude runs in successive seasons since his move from Penrith in 2007. But he saved the first till last; scoring his first try for the club in potentially his final match for it. It was set up, once again, by Marshall, who picked the ball of his bootlaces and sent Galea in on his inside.

Just after the 50-minute mark, Marshall made his mark, scoring a wonderful individual try and essentially ending the Bulldogs’ minor premiership charge in the final stride; just a half-hour before the end of the home and away season.

Two Bulldogs scored in the final halfhour, Luke Patten and Josh Morris, and a future one chimed in as well, Dene Halatau scoring in his final match with the Tigers – and his last before joining the Dogs. By the time Halatau scored, the JJ Giltinan Shield had well and truly gone to Kogarah.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

LINE UP