Canterbury Bulldogs beat Wests Tigers in NRL round six
* By David Beniuk
* From: AAP
* April 16, 2010 9:23PM
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Tigers v Bulldogs
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* Bulldogs 24 Wests Tigers 4
BULLDOGS star Ben Hannant was left deeply upset last night, with Canterbury insiders claiming the Mormon prop was the target of a religious slur from his Tigers opposite Bryce Gibbs.
The pair exchanged heated words immediately after the fulltime siren sounded on Canterbury's desperately needed albeit untidy 24-4 win at the SFS. They had to be separated by Bulldogs team manager Fred Ciraldo, and Gibbs raced up the tunnel before any of the other 33 players even had left the field.
Hannant was too upset to reveal what was said, but Bulldogs staffers told The Daily Telegraph an insult was directed at Hannant's faith.
"We believe it was about Ben's religion and he's very upset," one Canterbury insider who declined to be named said.
"We also think it was happening in the scrums and during the game, not just at fulltime."
When asked about the incident, an emotional Hannant shook his head and replied: "I'll keep it to myself … he [Gibbs] knows what he said. I don't want to comment on it."
Gibbs refused to comment, but his skipper Robbie Farah who finished the game with his left elbow on ice after a painful first-half blow acknowledged that heated words were exchanged.
"I saw Chris Heighington and Ben Hannant and one of their team managers … he [Hannant] was running his mouth off," Farah said.
"I grabbed Heighno and got him out of it."
The drama overshadowed Canterbury's return to the winners' list through a renewed attitude and some dreadful handling from the Tigers.
The game was punctuated by so many simple mistakes - Wests failed to find touch with a penalty and committed two shepherds in the first half alone - that the error rate even obscured Farah's one-on-one battle with Bulldogs rake Michael Ennis.
The fact Ennis posted a rare double made him a winner on the scoresheet, but both players would have been capable of much better if either side had not coughed up possession throughout the 80 minutes.
Ennis's first try opened the scoring after a tedious first 35 minutes, and his second in the shadows of fulltime, from a Brett Kimmorley kick, sealed Canterbury's second win of 2010.
After celebrating with gusto on the field, Ennis paid credit to Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore for inspiring the turn-around in attitude that saw Canterbury dominate field position. The fiesty rake also said the senior players had spoken at length during the week about their flat start, ending in a frank discussion on match eve about the need to play as a team rather than individuals.
"He [Moore] was excellent this week, he's a great man manager," Ennis said.
"I don't think he would have been sitting up there in the coach's box thinking he could have done anything more.
"On the day before the game, the senior forwards got together and said we can listen to everyone saying we've got guys out and lose and go to one and five. But we had a good team. We said that we had to rip in."
Moore acknowledged last year's fairytale team had a long way to go before they are treading a path to resemble 2009's yellow-brick road.
"We are nowhere near as good as we can be and our cohesion is out," Moore said. "When you spend a few weeks out of form it can take a while to get back. It all starts with attitude."
Farah suspected he might need scans on his elbow today, but a Tigers official last night told reporters the injury did not look serious and is not expected to sideline him from next weekend's clash against Penrith.
