Match Details
Match Date	12th Sep, 2009
Opponent	Newcastle
Result	Win 26-12
Coach	Kevin Moore
Captain	Andrew Ryan
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	21,369
Referee	Tony Archer Jason Robinson

The Bulldogs have gifted Brett Kimmorley another week of recovery time as they battled to a hard-fought 26-12 qualifying final win over the Newcastle Knights at ANZ Stadium.

As a result of the four-tries-to-two victory the Dogs have next week off and are hopeful that the injured playmaker will have recovered from surgery to his fractured cheekbone by the time they return to the field for the preliminary final.

We never stopped believing we could win with or without Kimmorley, against any side, at any time. We had to win pretty ugly but we got the job done, said Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore.

The Bulldogs were far from convincing as their rudderless attack stuttered and started at the hands of Daniel Holdsworth and Ben Roberts, but their physical defence stood up to compensate.

Any doubts over the fitness of the Knights' Isaac De Gois were confirmed in only the second tackle of the night.

Newcastle coach Rick Stone's gamble turned sour as a strong charge from Ben Hannant left the prodigious hooker clutching at his troublesome left knee and forced him from the match.

As the Bulldogs struggled to make the most of early attacking possession, the Knights were having no such problems.

From their first set on the Bulldogs line they went short side on the fifth tackle and caught the defence napping as Junior Sau dived over.

But as the half wore on the Dogs began to click into gear some great interplay between Josh Morris and Bryson Goodwin on the left-wing reaped rewards with the centre strolling over to open the blue-and-whites' account.

Newly-crowned NRL Rookie of the Year Jamal Idris was beginning to live up to his title as he sparked a scintillating linebreak and flick-pass that saw Luke Patten put the Bulldogs in the lead.

And the fullback wasn't finished yet. On the cusp of halftime Holdsworth put David Stagg into a gaping hole, who unleashed Patten for his second try in six minutes and an 18-6 halftime lead.

The Knights' finals hopes were reignited as Scott Dureau scored twelve minutes into the second half to narrow the gap to a converted try.

And the Dogs were seemingly doing their best to help out as they handed over cheap possession at both ends of the field.

However the physical encounter began to take its toll on Newcastle, minus hooker De Gois and with second-row Zeb Taia virtually an on-field passenger courtesy of his injured shoulder.

On the back of a rare linebreak from Hazem El Masri up the middle, the Knights conceded a penalty and El Masri dutifully obliged to extend the lead to eight points.

Ben Hannant, who finished with 21 runs and 18 tackles, barged over from close-range in the 73rd minute to end the Newcastle Knights' season and put the Bulldogs one win away from the 2009 Grand Final.

I had a feeling Newcastle were a bit busted so if we put the heat on them physically, they'd struggle, said coach Moore.

Now we've got the week off, which is a bonus, but only if we use it wisely.

Source: Evan Sieff

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