The Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs have stormed into the NRL top eight with a stunning 24-9 win over South Sydney on Good Friday at ANZ Stadium.
The Bulldogs trailed by one at the half-time break, before second half tries to Josh Jackson, Kerrod Holland and Josh Morris sealed the game and the Bulldogs’ third straight win.
The Bulldogs stunning second half run started in the 63rd minute, with Josh Jackson finishing off a great attacking move to snatch a lead they would not relinquish. In the lead up, Josh Reynolds turned Brenko Lee inside who then delivered a perfect ball for the NSW second rower to crash over out wide.
From the following set, captain James Graham found a flying Brett Morris on his inside who split the Souths’ defence and linked with Moses Mbye in support. Mbye then floated a ball to Kerrod Holland who crashed over in the corner to send Bulldogs fans into rapture.
Josh Morris then put the icing on the cake, scoring in the opposite corner after some great lead up work from winger Marcelo Montoya.
In a tight first half, the Bulldogs had the better of the chances but could only manage one try to trail 8-9 at the break.
Kerrod Holland opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the 10th minute before Souths bounced back with a penalty goal to Adam Reynolds and a great individual try from Alex Johnston. From a Sam Burgess offload, the Souths’ fullback sold two dummies to split two defenders and run 30 metres to score in the corner. Adam Reynolds added the extras to give Souths a six point lead.
Late in the half, Sam Kasiano charged down and then recovered an Adam Reynolds grubber, before storming to the halfway to put the Bulldogs in an attacking position. Josh Reynolds then finished off his own brilliant individual effort, chasing his own kick and getting the ball down as Alex Johnson tried to shadow it over the dead ball line.
Adam Reynolds added a field goal just before the end of the half but it would not be enough for the visitors.
For the Bulldogs, Josh Reynolds put in a strong attacking display and Brett Morris was back to his best at fullback. Kerrod Holland made a great return from injury, scoring a try and kicking four goals while James Graham put in another solid display up front.
Bulldogs 24 (Josh Reynolds, Josh Jackson, Kerrod Holland, Josh Morris tries; Kerrod Holland 4 goals) def. Souths 9 (Alex Johnston try; Adam Reynolds 2 goals; Adam Reynolds field goal) at ANZ Stadium. Half-time: 8-9. Crowd: 35,984.
