Canterbury rookie Jack Underhill produced a bone-jarring tackle that may have just saved the club’s season as coach Cameron Ciraldo spoke about how difficult it had been to shield the playing group from the constant “outside noise” and “rumours”.
The Dogs ended a five-match losing streak with a spirited 30-20 win against the Melbourne Storm on Friday night.
Another defeat would have all but ended any hopes of them playing finals and led to further speculation about player unrest.
Dogs general manager of football, Phil Gould, conducted a number of interviews during the week to address some of the whispers, including Matt Burton and why there had been no push to cut him loose before his contract expires at the end of 2027.
Burton was brilliant and at his running best against the Storm, as was the returning Jacob Kiraz at fullback, and Underhill, who won over the Dogs’ faithful with a brilliant hit on Storm forward Alec MacDonald.
Had Underhill not forced the ball loose, the Storm could have scored to make it 24-6 and all but seal the result.
The Sunshine Coast youngster spotted MacDonald juggle the ball before he went low and ironed him out.
He did something similar in the dying stages of the Jersey Flegg grand final to win it for Canterbury a couple of years ago.
“I was in a lucky position, I got lucky there – it was cool, the boys grabbed me straight away, and it was a big confidence boost,” said Underhill, who debuted last weekend at Magic Round.
“You put a hit on, and all the boys grab you; it was mad, awesome. Sitili [Tupouniua] was slapping me in the head. Everyone dreams about [tackles like that].”
Underhill then charged down a Jahrome Hughes kick, diving on the ball, which allowed Canterbury to keep attacking in the second half. He was ruled to have knocked on, but asked for the decision to be challenged, and was successful.
The home fans gave him a standing ovation.
“I couldn’t hear anything, I was about to vomit everywhere – I was trying not to spew when I ran off,” said Underhill, a strawberry blond who looks like former Dog Aiden Tolman, and who had never met a person of Middle Eastern descent prior to arriving at Belmore.
“I had never really met a Lebanese person, it was a massive culture shock for me, but they have all welcomed me like a son,” Underhill said of the locals.
While Underhill switched on his phone and received more than 100 congratulatory messages, Ciraldo said he had asked his players to stay off their mobiles the past month and ignore the negative headlines.
“Our wins are extreme, but our losses are even more extreme – even when we perform well and lose, the outside noise becomes quite debilitating for young guys,” Ciraldo said.
“As much as we say ‘block it out’, it’s hard to ignore all of it, not just the outside noise, but the rumours that circulate, and the bullshit that gets made up.
“I’m really proud of this group that they kept turning up, and trusting in what we were doing.
“But some of the stuff that has been said about some our players and our staff is totally unfair.
“People make up rumours about players on the outer and getting sold. Burton is one that gets tossed up a lot, doesn’t he?
“It’s really disappointing when you’re going through a losing streak and people decide to make up rumours about your players. It’s hard for us to defend.”
The only disappointing news for the Dogs, who play Wests Tigers next Saturday, was the broken arm suffered by back-rower Jacob Preston after ten minutes.
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