Match Details
Match Date	21st May, 2012
Opponent	Cronulla
Result	Win 26-6
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	Michael Ennis
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	12,012
Referee	Gerard Sutton Gavin Badger

Canterbury fullback Ben Barba gave Queensland a timely reminder of his talents as he engineered a 26-6 NRL win for the Bulldogs over Cronulla on Monday night at ANZ Stadium.

The Maroons decided they didn't need the dynamic No.1 on their bench for game one this Wednesday night, but State of Origin is a long series and Barba continued to push his case with a blistering two-try display.

Barba made it 18 tries from his last 16 matches at ANZ Stadium - a record comparable to Manly fullback Brett Stewart's feats at Brookvale Oval - to consolidate the Bulldogs' position in the top eight.

Canterbury surged to a 24-0 halftime lead, and although the Sharks kept things tight in the second half, without captain Paul Gallen and star Todd Carney there to inspire them, they surrendered their place in the top four to Manly.

Barba was electric from the back and was on hand to score after just seven minutes, backing up a 30 metre line-break from hole-running second rower Dene Halatau.

Moments later he played beautifully out the back of a left-side attacking raid to put centre Tim Lafai over for a 12-0 lead after just 10 minutes.

And in the final minute before halftime, Barba chased through a perfectly placed Josh Reynolds grubber.

Barba showed his full array of talents on Monday - mixing scintillating ball running with intelligent defensive plays at the back.

Cronulla saw the match slip from their grasp midway through the first half, when Jeff Robson butchered a certain try, before they fell victim to a controversial video referee decision down the other end which saw the Bulldogs skip away to 18-0.

A 70 metre dash from Colin Best should have resulted in a Sharks try from the ensuing play - but instead of passing to the four-man overlap to his right, Robson went himself and the golden chance died.

When video ref Chris Ward ruled centre Jonathan Wright didn't knock on into the hands of Cronulla winger John Williams before regathering and touching down off a Reynolds bomb, it was always going to be a long way back.

Captain Jeremy Smith surged over for the Sharks four minutes after halftime to give the visitors hope, but they didn't offer enough in attack.

Journeyman Luke MacDougall dislocated his elbow in his first game for the Bulldogs, while prop Sam Kasiano could once again attract the attention of the match review committee for an awkward first half tackle on Sharks second rower Sam Tagataese.

Source: AAP

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