Match Details
Match Date	30th Mar, 2017
Opponent	Brisbane
Result	Win 10-7
Coach	Des Hasler
Captain	James Graham
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	7,412
Referee	Matt Cecchin Chris James

Des Hasler is on the verge of signing a two-year contract extension at the Bulldogs.

At a three-hour board meeting at ANZ Stadium just a few hours before the gutsy 10-7 win against Brisbane, the Bulldogs board spoke at length about the future of Hasler and appear set to commit to the coach until the end of 2019.

Canterbury have compiled a proposal to put forward to Hasler and his manager George Mimis, but chief executive Raelene Castle has given the strongest indication yet that the coach will remain at the club beyond his 2017 contract expiration.

‘‘We continue to have positive conversations,’’ Castle said.

‘‘We’ve got a position now we’ll present to Des’ management and we’re hopeful that will result in a favourable outcome. There’s still some hoops to jump through ...’’

Asked if those hoops were results based, Castle said: ‘‘No they are not results related’’. ‘‘It’s a decision for two years so it’s important we get it right and make sure both parties are happy. I’d be very surprised if we don’t have a decision within the next month.’’

Canterbury powerbrokers gathered at ANZ Stadium for their scheduled monthly board meeting, where the future of the coach was the main point of discussion following an embarrassing 36-0 loss to Manly the week before.

There has been great conjecture over the future of Hasler following a disappointing finish to last season, which was compounded by a slow start to the new year.

However, the besieged Bulldogs players responded to the criticism of their performances with an inspired performance that has taken the heat off their much-maligned coach. This was a different football team to the one humiliated at Lottoland last Saturday afternoon.

Given the miserable wet conditions at ANZ Stadium, it was far from pretty – but there was a notable improvement in the attitude and effort of the playing group.

Five-eighth Josh Reynolds has come under fire for his side’s inability to score points this season, but the Bulldogs No. 6 was arguably their best in the victory against the Broncos. Reynolds scored a try and was denied a couple of others on a night in which his passion and love for the club came to the fore.

The Bulldogs have endured a tough start to the season taking on the highly fancied Melbourne Storm, Sydney Roosters and Broncos in the first five weeks.

But there appears to be some light at the end of the tunnel, with Canterbury to take on wooden spoon favourites Newcastle next weekend following their win against Brisbane on Thursday night.

The Broncos exposed the inexperienced Bulldogs fullback Brad Abbey to open the scoring, with Sam Thaiday chasing down a long range Anthony Milford kick to dive over the line for a 6-0 lead.

The Bulldogs had two chances to score off kicks in the opening stages of the match, but Josh Reynolds and Brenko Lee found themselves in offside positions and cost the Bulldogs a chance to open their account. Canterbury’s best players made inexcusable errors attacking the Brisbane line, with Josh Jackson and skipper James Graham coughing up possession to release the pressure just when they looked like getting on the scoreboard.

Jordan Kahu extended Brisbane’s lead beyond a converted try when he landed a field goal on the stroke of half-time to give his side a seven point buffer at the break.

Canterbury withstood an attacking onslaught from the Broncos to open the second half and reaped the rewards of their defensive effort by finally cracking the Brisbane defence through Josh Reynolds.

After breaking their point scoring drought, the floodgates opened for the Bulldogs with Jackson bursting into open space to put Brad Abbey over and give Canterbury a 10-7 lead midway through the second half. Graham then pulled off an inspirational tackle on Corey Oates to take the winger over the sideline that denied the visitors an opportunity to reclaim the lead late in the contest.

The Broncos had a chance to snatch victory on the final play of the game but Canterbury’s defence withstood the late resurgence.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

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