2012: ROUND 13

vs South Sydney

Match Details
Match Date 2nd Jun, 2012
Opponent South Sydney
Result Win
23-18
Coach Des Hasler
Captain Michael Ennis
Venue Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd 19,409
Referee Ben Cummins
Gavin Morris

Canterbury winger Krisnan Inu continues to sparkle in the blue and white after nailing the match-winning field goal in the Bulldogs' thrilling 23-18 NRL win over South Sydney at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.

A week after starring on debut for his new club, having been unwanted by the Warriors, Inu was given the responsibility of breaking an 18-18 deadlock five minutes from fulltime before David Stagg added a late try to propel the Bulldogs into the top four.

It was a remarkable win considering the Bulldogs trailed 12-0 after just 15 minutes and, even after Inu's one-pointer, they refused to quit as a desperate Ben Barba pushed Dylan Farrell into touch just short of the tryline to deny what would have been a remarkable Bunnies' win.

The Rabbitohs were searching for five straight wins and looked well on their way when Justin Hunt's early try was followed by Dave Taylor's crushing run to the line.

Sam Burgess attempted to flex some muscle from the ensuing kick-off but only served to turn the game on its head when he sparked a minor brawl as he ran the ball with arm raised into fellow Englishman James Graham.

Given their first sniff of the Rabbitohs' line, Canterbury were more bloodhound than bulldog as they pounced to seize the initiative with three tries in the space of eight minutes.

Inu scored his third try for the club before another Burgess penalty turned into a Jonathan Wright try.

What was meant to be a celebration for the Burgess family - as youngest brother George entered the fray to make it three brothers in the NRL for the first time since the Hughes clan in 2001 - turned sour as he too conceded a penalty from which Ben Barba scored.

The Bunnies' contingent in the 19,439-strong crowd could hardly believe they were trailing at halftime, but another penalty just after the restart helped turn the tide Souths' way.

Martin Tapau had only just gone on when he was a little over-zealous in cleaning up John Sutton, with the Rabbitohs levelling on the next set when Sutton's kick for the in-goal was slammed down NBA-style by Farrell.

Both sides struggled to break free of the arm wrestle before Inu stepped up to end the Bunnies' charge.

"It was ugly but it counted," Inu said of his field goal - his first in the NRL.

"I didn't think I was going to get a shot away but it went over - lucky for us.

"(It's the) first one I've tried so I'm one from one so far."

Bulldogs coach Des Hasler hailed his new recruit's calmness under pressure.

"He was good, wasn't he?" Hasler said.

"He was pretty composed and I really thought he showed his experience tonight.

"At times there, we needed it and he produced it ... that's what he's capable of and that's what you want from a player like Krisnan."

Rabbitohs coach Michael Maguire lamented the ill-discipline which cost his side.

"We had control in the first 20 minutes and then, unfortunately, we let that slide," Maguire said.

"We gave away three penalties and, unfortunately, they got a couple of tries off those and the momentum swung.

"We weren't probably strong enough at that time to make sure we got it back."

Source: AAP

LINE UP
Player Position Tries Goals F Goals Points
Ben Barba Fullback 1 0 0 4
Krisnan Inu Wing 1 3 1 11
Jonathan Wright Wing 1 0 0 4
Josh Morris Centre 0 0 0 0
Tim Lafai Centre 0 0 0 0
Josh Reynolds Five Eighth 0 0 0 0
Kris Keating Half Back 0 0 0 0
David Stagg Lock 1 0 0 4
Dene Halatau Second Row 0 0 0 0
Frank Pritchard Second Row 0 0 0 0
Sam Kasiano Front Row 0 0 0 0
Aiden Tolman Front Row 0 0 0 0
Michael Ennis Hooker 0 0 0 0
James Graham Replacement 0 0 0 0
Corey Payne Replacement 0 0 0 0
Martin Taupau Replacement 0 0 0 0
Dale Finucane Replacement 0 0 0 0
Total: 4 3 1 23