Bulldogs account for Vulcans in an entertaining affair at Belmore

Canterbury have recorded their first win since Round Two of the VB NSW Cup with an entertaining 38-30 victory over the Auckland Vulcans at Belmore Sports Ground.

With both teams coming off narrow four point losses at home last weekend the 2011 grand final rematch promised to be a close contest, especially with the inclusion of Kris Keating, Tim Lafai and Martin Taupau for the Bulldogs.

Not reknowned for playing well away from home, the Vulcans got off to a promising start in the 6th minute when Auckland second-rower Agnatius Paasi made an attacking raid down the blindside and offloaded to his left winger Atelea Nafetalai who then stepped inside the Bulldogs fullback to cross in the corner to give them an early 4-0 lead.

However three tries in the space of nine minutes to the home team gave the small but vocal Bulldogs fans something to bark about.

In the 13th minute Canterbury speedster Corey Thompson showed some fancy footwork to evade five Vulcans defenders on a 20 metre angled run from the grandstand touchline back inside to the score left of the post.

Former Rooster and Jets playmaker Jack Littlejohn added the extras to make it 6-4 to the Bulldogs.

Four minutes later new recruit Littlejohn combined with Canterbury’s most consistent player all season, Lachlan Burr, and the Bulldogs backrower got the ball down on his second attempt to extend their lead to 10-4.

Canterbury halfback Littlejohn decided to take a gamble in the 22nd minute by running it on the last and it paid off when he found centre Ed Murphy down the right edge and he barged over in the corner.

Tim Lafai, the classy Bulldogs centre took over the goalkicking duties with immediate success nailing the sideline conversion and all of a sudden the home team had blown out to a 16-4 lead.

A few elementary errors from the Bulldogs and a string of penalties midway through the first half invited the Vulcans back into the game and they responded by also scoring three tries between the 28th and 37th minute mark.

A great one-handed pass from fill-in fullback Tangi Ropati to his winger Nafetalai saw him crash over in the left corner for his second try of the half and eighth try of the season.

A late hit from Bulldogs enforcer Taupau on Vulcans playmaker Harry Siejka on the last tackle after getting a bomb away earnt Auckland another set of six in the Doggies danger zone and interchange hooker Siliva Havili made them pay by sneaking over from dummy half and scoring a soft try fromclose range.

Former Panther Siejka finally landed a conversion and it was a two point ball game with seven minutes left in the first half.

Three minutes before the break Canterbury five-eighth Kris Keating had a moment he would rather forget when he threw an intercept 35 metres out from his own tryline and Vulcans winger Ngani Laumape latched on to it to streak away and score untouched under the posts.

With Coach Barry Ward’s job and the Bulldogs season on the line Canterbury needed to score first after the break but after being on the wrong end of a few debatable refereeing decisions Canterbury found themselves further behind in the 49th minute when former Titan Dominique Peyroux combined with his winger Nafetalai who then found fullback Ropati backing up on the inside to dive over for a try and give the Vulcans some breathing space.

Yet just like in the first half the Bulldogs bounced back with a rapid-fire tryscoring blitz midway through the second stanza which changed the complexion of the game.

In the 58th minute Canterbury reduced the deficit to 24-20 when Lafai steamed onto a Keating flat ball from 10 metres out but he failed to convert his own try.

Two minutes later Taupau, who had been having a great game in attack with numerous offloads and strong charges, got another left handed offload away to his backrower Paul Carter and he crossed for the first of his two tries down the left side.Lafai’s conversion gave the Bulldogs a slender two point lead 26-24.

Carter was in again three minutes later when he finished off the try of the match. Starting in their own half, the Bulldogs went from touchline to touchline with prop Junior Palau popping a nice ball in traffic out the backs and although Keating and Lafai’s passes were both borderline, quick hands along the backline saw Thompson into some open space down the left flank and then as he got to the fullback he showed great skill to kick the ball infield off the outside of his right foot and Carter got a lovely bounce to win the race to the ball and score. Lafai’s third conversion extended the Doggies lead to 32-24.

Cook Islands International Drury Low then put the issue beyond doubt in the 68th minute when he sliced through some tiring Vulcans defence to score the match winner under the posts. Lafai converted Canterbury’s fourth try in ten minutes to give them a 38-24 lead.

Although Auckland prop Daniel Palavi scored a late consolation try from close range in the 77th minute and Siejka converted to reduce the margin to 38-30 the Bulldogs hung on to win their first home game of the season and begin their long climb back up the NSW Cup ladder.

This round the Vulcans will host the Knights at Mt Smart Stadium while the Dogs will have their hands full with a talented Wenty side at Ringrose Park on Sunday.