Match Details
Match Date	28th May, 2012
Opponent	Sydney Roosters
Result	Win 30-12
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	Michael Ennis
Venue	Sydney Football Stadium (Allianz Stadium)
Crowd	11,343
Referee	Jason Robinson Adam Devcich

Krisnan Inu has enjoyed a Bulldogs debut to remember, scoring two tries and kicking three goals in a 30-12 victory over the Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium.

Inu bagged his side's first with just his second touch as a Bulldog, getting the Bulldogs back to 6-4 after a disappointing start.

His second, midway through the second half, sparked a run of three tries that saw the Bulldogs turn a 14-12 lead into a 30-12 victory.

In between, Inu laid on a try for Frank Pritchard after renewing the link with junior team and school mate Kris Keating, latching onto a cross field kick before throwing a hail mary pass for Pritchard to fall over the line.

It's my job, jump for the ball, the understated Kiwi international said post match. I knew someone was going to be on the inside, so I just threw it back in and lucky for me Frankie was there, ready for it.

Inu even overcame a shoulder injury suffered before his second half try, eventually claiming man of the match honours in what was his 100th NRL game.

It's probably one of the last teams I thought I would ever play for, but I'm grateful enough to be here and to get my chance, Inu said of his mid-week move to the Bulldogs, where he links with familiar faces in fellow former Westfield Sports High students Keating, Trent Hodkinson and Corey Payne.

I think what made it easy was the boys. Going to a new team is like going to a new school, making new friends. Lucky for me I went to school and I grew up playing with some of the boys, which made it easier.

The boys made it easy for me, just being the guys they are. Real true men and great brothers.

Bulldogs head coach Des Hasler said Inu's starring role was the highlight of a gritty team performance.

We put ourselves in a good position in the first half field wise but we just didn't capitalise on a couple of the opportunities that we were presented, Hasler said. And it kind of interrupts your momentum.

When you give a side like the Roosters possession they can make you pay for it.

In the second half we got back out there, we completed well, we got through 16 of our 19 sets. I still maintain a large part of this competition is going to come down to possession, that seems to be the trend at the moment.

On Inu, Hasler couldn't hide his pleasure.

I thought tonight was a tidy debut, he added. Two tries and a couple of kicks. He's a very handy acquisition for us given the extent of injuries we've had to our outside backs.

Those players make those kind of things (the Pritchard try) happen, the skill that he put on it, the catch, and the awareness to collect the ball and shovel it back in, and having players around the ball. It was crucial for us, given we'd missed one earlier.

While the end result was pleasing, the start wasn't for the Bulldogs, particularly when Mitchell Pearce put on a precision right foot step to open the scoring on 10 minutes.

The Bulldogs struck back quickly, with Inu scoring in the corner off a neat backline move to the left edge.

Soon after the Dogs should have hit the lead when Sam Kasiano bulldozed his way over the line from ten metres, however referee Jason Robinson referred the try upstairs to be disallowed by Paul Mellow, who ruled an obstruction by Pritchard.

The Dogs were their own worst enemies at times throughout the half, blowing at least two more clear scoring opportunities, while the Roosters seemed to make the most of the few chances that came their way.

The most glaring came in the 22nd minute of play, when a simple case of keeping the ball alive in the tackle saw Anthony Minichiello stretch out to score his side's second.

Instead of being 10-6 up, all of a sudden they were 12-4 down and under the pump.

The impasse remained until four minutes from half time and again, when the Bulldogs crossed, it would be Inu in the thick of the action as he claimed Keating's kick, passing as his feet hit the ground into the waiting arms of Pritchard to make it 12-8.

Moments later Josh Reynolds and Michael Ennis combined out of dummy half, with Jono Wright beating the scrambling cover defence to hand the Bulldogs a 14-12 lead at the break.

Ben Barba was once again in the thick of the action on the resumption and once again it was his defence coming to the fore, denying Minichiello a double over the line before running down and stripping Pearce after an intercept.

Inu then got injured after fielding a bomb on his own line, copping a knee to the shoulder, however busted wing or no he'd shrug it off to score down the other end soon after.

Reynolds capped a fine display when he rolled the ball into the in goal for David Stagg to score, while the night was rounded out by a double to Wright, who scooped up a bouncing ball five metres out from his own line to sprint away and score ten minutes from time.
The win is the Bulldogs seventh for the season and sets up a tantalising round 13 home clash against the South Sydney Rabbitohs who have won their past four starts - this coming Saturday at ANZ Stadium.

Source: AAP

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