Match Details
Match Date	25th Mar, 2016
Opponent	South Sydney
Result	Win 42-12
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	James Graham
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	38,192
Referee	Ben Cummins Alan Shortall

Canterbury produced the closest thing to rugby league perfection in a first-half ambush that has cast grave concerns over South Sydney’s credibility without Sam Burgess.

Twelve months ago, Canterbury fans were throwing bottles, but they’ll be popping them over the long weekend as they celebrate a crushing victory against the old foe.

James Graham said this time last week the Bulldogs were searching for answers after a disappointing performance against Parramatta, but it was a dramatic change of attitude at ANZ Stadium this time around.

‘‘It was a good bounce back for us, but Souths had a few troops out,’’ Bulldogs coach Des Hasler said. ‘‘You have those halves of footy, but the second half was a little bit sloppier. But we controlled possession well and that certainly contributes. I’ve said a number of time this competition is about possession.’’

It was brutal. It was brilliant. But as good as Canterbury were, South Sydney were woeful in probably the worst half of football the club has produced in the Michael Maguire era. With Burgess nursing a neck injury after checking out of hospital earlier in the week, the Bulldogs exposed what was an unusually brittle Rabbitohs middle to outpace the game clock in points over the first half-hour.

A week after they had their pants pulled down by the Eels, Canterbury responded against a football team that now looks a shadow of the side that burst out of the blocks against the Roosters in the opening round.

Bunnies fans were heading for the exit gates before half-time, with their team trailing 32-0, but the spray they would have copped from Maguire at the break ensured there wasn’t a repeat of the feeble effort in the opening 40.

‘‘I have a team in there that can perform better than what we did,’’ Maguire said after the match. ‘‘It’s up to us to make sure we do. I sense all sorts of different things but ultimately it’s a game where you have to put your body in front and we didn’t do that in the first half. We have to make sure we fix that moving into the next game.

‘‘That game is not acceptable. We have to have a good look at ourselves and make sure we get what we need after that game.’’

All the talk in the pre-season was about North Queensland and Brisbane, but this Canterbury team is the best chance for the premiership trophy returning south of the border.

Souths will be counting the days until Burgess returns, and while they’ll be a different football team with him in it, it won’t be until Tom Burgess, halfback Adam Reynolds, lock John Sutton and winger Alex Johnston return before they provide a gauge of whether they’ll be mixing it with the big boys come that first Sunday in October.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

LINE UP