One of the final plays of the game summed up exactly how Canterbury are travelling now.
Lachlan Galvin was put into open space by Matt Burton on Friday night and started charging to the try line in the final minute. But Hohepu Puru chased hard and grabbed Galvin, then Sam Stonestreet pulled down Galvin’s pants, and the playmaker bounced the ball before the line.
Bulldogs players and fans probably didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
The 38-16 defeat was their fifth straight loss, and finals football is starting to look like a pipedream.
The club’s video review session went extra long at Belmore at the start of the week.
Canterbury players might want to set aside a whole day when they sit down to pick apart what went wrong against the Will Kennedy- and Ronaldo Mulitalo-inspired Sharks.
Good luck working out the one thing that would have upset coach Cameron Ciraldo the most.
The Dogs have been such a defensive powerhouse in recent years, but some of their efforts without the ball were embarrassing.
Every time they made an error in the first half, Cronulla pounced. There was no resilience.
Replacement Cronulla hooker Puru raced out of dummy-half and brushed past three defenders for an easy try.
Nicho Hynes could not believe his luck when he skipped past four defenders for an even softer try.
“You can’t give up 30 points in the first half and expect to make a game of it,” Ciraldo said.
“They’re very ugly moments [the first-half tries]. If you want to make an excuse, maybe it was fatigue, but that would just be bullshit anyway. We need to do better.
“A lot of games are must win. The boys are fighting hard and preparing well, we’re just not executing in the game at the moment.
“We’ve had a lot of travel, Vegas, Canberra, Brisbane three times in the last four weeks. Again, it’s no excuse, but we’re pretty keen to get home next week and play in front of our home fans. The boys have given our fans a lot to cheer the past two years, and we need some energy from our fans next week at Accor Stadium on Friday night.
“They’re preparing their arses off, it’s not happening ion the field right now, but it would be great to get a big crowd there.”
The Dogs host an Origin-depleted Melbourne next Friday night. As it stands, the Bulldogs are a good chance of being at full strength with Crichton at risk of being snubbed by NSW.
Crichton, playing his 150th NRL game, finished a long-range try in the second half, but there was little else to cheer. Kennedy denied Enari Tuala when he dived in the left corner and somehow knocked the ball free from the Bulldog’s grasp.
Forget bagging Galvin for what he is or isn’t doing. Galvin is not the problem. The Dogs simply have too many players out of form and out of confidence.
Cronulla, on the other hand, were re-energised by the return of Mulitalo, who was playing his first game of the season since rupturing his ACL during last year’s Pacific Championships.
He scored in the first half, then defused a kick to help himself to a second in the second half. Even in defence, he was constantly in the sights of the Dogs attackers, and forced an error in the first half when the Dogs had a rare chance to attack from good field position.
Cronulla are a different side with their upbeat winger. Kennedy, too, was excellent and close to the best player on the field. It beggars belief he remains without a deal in 2027. Kennedy’s management has reportedly sounded out interest from Super League, but he would be wasted in England.
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon wanted his players to “harden up” after being thrashed by South Sydney last weekend. Had they lost, the pressure would have started to build on the Shire club.
They will enjoy the bye round, Mulitalo will strip fitter second-up, and Blayke Brailey and Cam McInnes are still to return from a concussion and ankle injury respectively.
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