Match Details
Match Date	10th Jul, 2010
Opponent	Melbourne
Result	Win 20-18
Coach	Kevin Moore
Captain	Andrew Ryan
Venue	Adelaide Oval
Crowd	10,350
Referee	Matt Cecchin Tony De Las Heras

The Canterbury Bulldogs have held off a resurgent Melbourne Storm to register their third win in a row with a 20-18 point triumph at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night.

It's been a long time since Adelaide Oval last hosted Rugby League, with the ground last hosting a League match 12-years ago when the infamous Adelaide Rams took on St. George.

But the 10,350 strong South Australian crowd who braved the cold were treated to a fine display of football as the Bulldogs kept their season alive by breaking a two game run of second-half scoring droughts.

With some warmth in the legs it was Melbourne who got scoring underway in the 11th minute when Cooper Cronk's high bomb was chased down by Brett Finch. Showing more want for the ball than Bulldogs fullback Luke Patten, Finch managed to get a hand to it and after some deliberation by the video ref the four points were justly awarded.

Put on the back foot early, Canterbury coach Kevin Moore couldn't have asked for a better reply as his players struck back almost instantly when a move instigated by veteran Brett Kimmorley stretched the Storm's right side.

Finishing stylishly into the corner winger Bryson Goodwin showed strong hands to latch onto Ben Barba's slick final pass and then put on his kicking boots to raise the flags from the spot.

With the scores levelled up, Cronk's grubber bobbled awkwardly towards the Bulldogs line and some magical control from Billy Slater then saw Melbourne take back the lead.

Trailing by six points big Jamal Idris' natural instincts kicked in as he showed his aerial prowess to jump high over a helpless Slater and keep his eyes firmly fixed on the ball.

Grounding his eighth try of the season right under the sticks, the promising young gun set up an easy conversion for Goodwin, who ensured the entertaining first-half arm wrestle drew to a close just the way it started.

Mounting some pressure early as they emerged from the sheds, Canterbury finally broke their second-half scoring duck when Idris gave Storm lock Todd Lowrie a hefty don't argue and offloaded onto Shane Neumann who grabbed his chance to slide over in the 50th minute.

Almost stationed into touch as he lined up his conversion, Goodwin's radar was firmly fixed when he slotted over his third giving the Bulldogs some breathing space at 18-12.

Beginning to bunker down as the Storm began to strike at their defensive line, Canterbury looked focused as it drove Melbourne backwards, its mentality illustrated when Patten put his body on the line to save an almost certain try knocking a surging Matt Duffie over into touch with a huge collision.

Granted a penalty from some Storm ill-discipline, Goodwin then stretched the Bulldogs' lead out to eight when he opted to have a shot at the sticks, but the Storm kept on coming and were rewarded with five minutes to go.

Nabbing his first try of the year, Sika Manu's powerful thrust was too much for Barba and Gary Warburton to handle, but holding onto their slim two-point lead, the Bulldogs held on for a tense last few minutes registering a third consecutive win.

Source: Sportal

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