The visiting Bulldogs ruined Shaun Johnson’s last home game with the Warriors, overrunning their opponents in the second half to post a 34-18 win.
The match was also the last for fellow Warriors Jazz Tevaga and Addin Fonua-Blake who will continue their NRL careers at other clubs next season.In slippery conditions, there were a number of errors made early in the match, including from Johnson who dropped the ball in his first touch, no doubt still gathering his focus after running out to a rapturous applause to a stadium renamed in his honour for the evening.
Not a dry eye at Shaun Johnson StadiumNot a dry eye at Shaun Johnson Stadium
Not a dry eye at Shaun Johnson Stadium
However, back-to-back errors to the Bulldogs then gave the Warriors a wealth of possession and they were able to capitalise when Marcelo Montoya went over on the left-hand side after a nice double-pump from Luke Metcalf caught the visiting defenders.
Metcalf was the creator again when another error from the Bulldogs gave the home side possession back, producing a short ball to Kurt Capewell who went on a powerful run back inside to burst through the line and out over the try line. Johnson kicked his second conversion for a 12-0 lead.
The Bulldogs got their opening points of first half after the Warriors gave up repeated six-agains, with Canterbury’s sweeping sideline-to-sideline play proving hard to handle, with Bronson Xerri go over on the left as the conditions took a turn for the worse, with Matt Burton unable to get close to the uprights, keeping the scores 12-4.
They went back-to-back when Stephen Crichton came out the better when contesting a kick against Capewell and claimed the ball to score.
They went ahead for the first time after Viliame Kikau slipped through defenders to make a break, finding Kurtis Morrin in support who ran in under the posts to score. Burton’s conversion was successful for a 16-12 lead with four minutes remaining in the first half.
However, momentum swung again and a poor pass option from the Bulldogs resulted in a turnover and the Warriors cashed in as the half-time break approached, with Wayde Egan going over next to the post, with Johnson again kicking a conversion which gave them the lead once more, going to the sheds up 18-16.
After the break, Burton got his side on the front foot early, kicking a 40/20 to put his side straight on the attack, but they weren’t able to use their opportunity immediately.
In a see-sawing half with plenty of talking points, including the Warriors losing centre Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to a failed HIA following a high tackle from Bulldogs captain Crichton which did not result in a sin bin, the Bulldogs were the first to score mid-way through the half, with Harry Hayes going over to put his side in the lead once more.
Crichton on report for high contactCrichton on report for high contact
Crichton on report for high contact
With the Warriors having lost both their centres – with Adam Pompey coming off with injury in the first half – the resulting reshuffle unbalancing the Warriors who could not contend with the Bulldogs attack.
The Bulldogs were in again twice more with Josh Addo-Carr touching down to give them their biggest lead of the night, with Burton’s kick putting them in front 28-18, before Jacob Kiraz put a stamp on their victory with a try
However, the home side didn’t stop trying, producing some exciting moments as they attacked the Bulldogs line – but it was not enough, with Canterbury producing a second-half shutout for the third week in a row to secure the win.
In next week’s games, the Bulldogs will be at home at Accor Stadium on Friday night hosting the Sea Eagles while Warriors will head to PointsBet Stadium on Saturday night to take on the Sharks.
