Match Details
Match Date	19th Apr, 2018
Opponent	Sydney Roosters
Result	Loss 0-6
Coach	Dean Pay
Captain	Josh Jackson
Venue	Homebush (ANZ Stadium)
Crowd	11,309
Referee	Gerard Sutton Peter Gough

The Sydney Roosters were porous against South Sydney a week ago. Last night at ANZ Stadium, they were impenetrable.

Coming off a drubbing at the hands of their mortal enemies the Roosters put on a defensive masterclass against Canterbury.

They didn't throw a lot at the Bulldogs in the second half, although that was in large part because they didn't have the ball as Canterbury dominated possession.

But for all the ball they enjoyed, the Bulldogs simply failed to find a way through the Roosters. It was an exercise in futility. They couldn't find a gap because there weren't any there.

Players from both sides fell to the ground in exhaustion at fulltime, the siren bringing a halt to the lowest-scoring game in history between the clubs stretching back to Canterbury's entry to the premiership in 1935.

The scoreboard would suggest a dour contest. It was. But it was also gripping at times, particularly when the Bulldogs laid siege to the Roosters line early in the second half.

One man's trash is clearly another man's treasure, Roasters coach Trent Robinson lauding his players at fulltime.

"I don't think that was dour: Robinson said.

 The purists will like that game, I loved it to see a team work as hard as that in defence, that is a footy game. That is a part of footy you should really enjoy. It was hard work. To nil a team, that takes a lot these days.

 I was really proud of them. It has been a couple of years since we defended like that. It's not the finished product, it is not what we want in attack ,but tonight really proud of them.

Forward Dylan Napa, part of a forward pack which was singled out for criticism after the loss to the Rabbitohs exemplified the Rooster’s intent.

Successive hits in the second half rocked Josh Jackson and Adam Elliott, the latter forcing the ball loose.

The challenge now is to back it up next week against league leaders St George Illawarra at Allianz Stadium on Anzac Day.

Bulldogs coach Dean Pay said: “Tough game for sure. There wasn't much in it. From where we were last week I thought, we improved again tonight, I really did. You can never question their effort. Their effort is fantastic. We got over the line four or five times and couldn't get the ball down.

You jag one of those and it could be a different story. I said to the boys you can't be disappointed with that effort because we are  improving. The thing is we're getting closer.

There was so sense of what was to unfold in the opening few  minutes as the Roosters made a flying start. When Latrell Mitchell danced his way through after only five minutes, there was a sense that the floodgates could open.

Mitchell popped off his left foot and beat four defenders on his way to the line, illustrating again why he could yet become a potent  weapon for NSW coach Brad Fittler in this year's State of Origin series.

“We executed that really well right at the start," Robinson said.

“After that we were searching to go to I2-0 instead of building pressure.”

Soon after, Mitchell demonstrated why Fittler might be wise to tread with caution when he was sent to the sin bin, although to be fair to Mitchell he may have been hard done by.

He was ruled to have tackled Kieran Foran without the ball when the Bulldogs five-eighth looked a chance to score. It seemed like a tough call.

In his absence, his teammates stepped up. When he returned to the field, the Roosters were still in retention of a six-point lead.

The second half began with the Roosters on the attack and only desperate defence from the Bulldogs stopped them scoring.

When Canterbury finally got their hands on the ball, they wasted no time inflicting some wounds of their own. Roosters hooker Jake Friend was the victim.

The club's co-captain came into the game following a difficult week during which Robinson was forced to defend his skipper after a  sub-par display against South Sydney.

Friend went low on Moses Mbye but reeled away from the tackle with a cut to his head and a date with the concussion bin.

When he left the field, others stepped up as the Bulldogs laid siege to the tryline.

A week ago against the Rabbitohs, the Roosters conceded points at will. Last night, they withstood everything that was thrown at them. At one point early in the second half, when Friend was off the field, they' were battered.

Time and again the Bulldogs appeared certain to score but the Roosters had other ideas. Friend was eventually ruled out of the  remainder of the game but it did little to change the course of the match.

Try as they might, the Bulldogs couldn't find a way through.

Source: The Australian

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