Match Details
Match Date	31st Aug, 2013
Opponent	Penrith
Result	Win 34-14
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	Michael Ennis
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	15,313
Referee	Gerard Sutton Gavin Reynolds

A once-trademark charge from back-rower Tony Williams ignited the Bulldogs and ensured he would feature in his first semifinal series at Canterbury after helping his side to a 34-14 win against Penrith in front of 15,313 spectators at ANZ Stadium.

The Bulldogs looked like faltering after a poor first half against a spirited Penrith side who were playing to keep their season alive. But a Canterbury onslaught – with 16 points in 18 minutes – halted the away side’s momentum.

The Panthers had rushed to a 14-6 lead before Williams’ gamechanger, which he described as overdue. ‘‘It’s been a long time coming,’’ Williams said. ‘‘I wasn’t involved much before that so I had to do something. I was lucky to get through there and throw that pass.

‘‘It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster. [My confidence] is better than the early part of the year. With the forward pack we’ve got, I think it’s the best in the comp. It’s just a matter of getting everyone fit.’’

Cramped deep inside his half, Williams scooted down the blindside from dummy-half where he shrugged off four Panthers defenders and left another grasping at his ankles as he threw a pinpoint pass to an unmarked Mitch Brown.

Brown flanked down the wing before kicking over the top of Penrith fullback Lachlan Coote with teammate Tim Lafai winning the race for the ball, dragging two Panthers’ defenders in Dean Whare and Luke Walsh over the try line in the final play of the first half.

The victory ensures Canterbury a spot in the top eight, moving them to fifth and a guaranteed home final but almost certainly ends Penrith’s hopes of an unlikely finals place.

‘‘A little bit ugly,’’ Bulldogs coach Des Hasler said of the match. ‘‘Particularly the first half. Both sides were substandard with the completion rate.

‘‘We contributed to our own downfall. Luckily we tackled well.’’

The Bulldogs battled without established stars Ben Barba, Frank Pritchard, Greg Eastwood and Sam Kasiano. Barba and Kasiano are a chance to return in their must-win game against Brisbane on Thursday.

The Bulldogs may also be without Dale Finucane, who was placed on report for a first-half high tackle on Penrith’s Clint Newton.

The Bulldogs scored first when James Graham showed how much his ball-playing skills are valued by opposition teams.

He dummied to pass the ball wide, instead opting to go it alone, but had Penrith defenders including Tim Grant drifting, allowing Graham to cut through the middle of the ruck and race 10 metres to score after just four minutes.

Penrith hit back almost immediately, scoring twice in four minutes with five-eighth Isaac John crossing for the first try after his cut-out ball allowed Lewis Brown to get on the outside of Inu before passing back to John in the clear.

Another John long ball saw winger Josh Mansour in space and opened up the one-try advantage.

Down by just two at half-time, the Bulldogs started the second half the stronger. And much like their counterparts, looked to take revenge scoring two tries on Penrith’s right side of the field.

Lafai scored his second 11 minutes after the break, courtesy of a tap-on pass from fullback Josh Morris. Brown stumbled across the line six minutes later to give Canterbury an eight-point lead.

Ivan Cleary said his team could take a lot of out 2013. ‘‘It’s been an improvement and we’re improving as a club,’’ Cleary said. ‘‘In that sense, I don’t know if I’d say successful but it’s close to the mark.’’

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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