Match Details
Match Date	7th Jul, 2018
Opponent	Canberra
Result	Loss 28-32
Coach	Dean Pay
Captain	Josh Jackson
Venue	Belmore Sports Ground
Crowd	10,415
Referee	Grant Atkins Gavin Badger

This game should have been a celebration of Generation Next at the Bulldogs and Rhyse Martin’s remarkable 24-point haul.

But the Raiders, who have made an art form of blowing big leads themselves this season, finally got one back.

Leilua silenced the 10,415 fans last night when he crashed over in the right corner with just seconds remaining to seal the 32-28 win.

The Dogs led 28-14 with seven minutes remaining and were on track for their first back-to-back wins of the season.

But then Blake Austin scored, followed by Joey Tapine, and finally Leilua. The Raiders players celebrated over the sideline as silence fell across the ground.

It was a cruel end to what should have been all about the Bulldogs new stars, especially Martin, who would not have been recognised by most supporters, scored three second-half tries and slotted six goals.

His final four-pointer also marked the return of Josh Morris, whose final pass for his newcomer mate was absolute class.

For all the doom and gloom at Canterbury and exodus of star players, including Moses Mbye and Aaron Woods in recent weeks, the next batch of kids are clearly going to make the most of their opportunities. Martin, who only debuted a couple of months ago, ran hard and deserved the triple try haul. The 25-year-old Papua New Guinea representative has improved each week and always looked a threat on the left edge.

Lachlan Lewis, the nephew of ‘The King’ Wally Lewis, showed wonderful composure in just his second NRL game, and it was his towering bomb that led to Martin’s second try. It was impossible to miss the way Lewis calmly walked a couple of paces before he launched a bomb and was flattened by defenders.

Jeremy Marshall-King, another youngster given regular game time by Pay, posted the opening points of the night in just the fourth minute when he skipped through some soft Canberra defence. He also came up with a brilliant tackle late in the game to deny former Dog Brad Abbey a try.

The finals still remain slim for the Raiders, but they will back themselves at home to North Queensland next weekend then brace for a horror road trip to Cronulla, Melbourne and Penrith.

Ricky Stuart was happy with the result but far from impressed with the overall effort.

‘‘They should have won, we were pathetic tonight,’’’ Stuart said. ‘‘It’s not something I say a lot about this team, because we have been on the receiving end of that where we have been the better team.’’

Canterbury’s own September aspirations ended much earlier, but Pay – and the Dogs fans – will be content to see the development of their future stars.

‘‘We’re sitting where we are but our football is getting each week,’’ the Bulldogs coach said.

They would have learned plenty from the last night’s late, late loss.

Source: The Sun Herald

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