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Gallant Wests Tigers lose 32-20 to Bulldogs in NRL
By Wayne Cousins
Friday 6 July 2012 9:47 PM
Gallant Wests Tigers lose 32-20 to Bulldogs in NRL
Wests Tigers were gallant in defeat in losing 32-20 to Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Allianz Stadium tonight in round 18 of the Telstra Premiership.
Heading into the match without captain and NSW Hooker Robbie Farah (concussion), Tim Moltzen (hamstring), Matt Utai (hamstring) and Gareth Ellis (foot), Wests Tigers pushed the second placed Bulldogs all the way in front of a crowd of 19,034.
The job was made even more difficult when winger Lote Tuqiri left the field with an arm injury.
Some desperate scrambling defence by Tom Humble and Joel Reddy on the Wests Tigers tryline prevented the Bulldogs from scoring in the opening minutes.
Three minutes later, Wests Tigers opened the scoring when winger Joel Reddy leapt high to defuse a Benji Marshall bomb to score out wide for a 4-0 lead. Marshall failed to convert the try.
Marshall elected to take a penalty tap 10 metres out from the posts in the 28th minute despite the call from the sideline to take the two points on offer. The next set of six saw the Bulldogs keep Wests Tigers at bay.
Two minutes later, the Bulldogs drew level when centre Josh Morris crashed over Reddy and full-back Beau Ryan to score out wide after the ball was shifted left. Centre Krisnan Inu failed to convert the try from the sideline for a 4-all scoreline.
Video referee Sean Hampstead was called on in the 38th minute to rule whether full-back Beau Ryan had scored off a Marshall crossfield kick under the posts. The try was awarded on the benefit of the doubt. Marshall converted the try for a 10-4 lead. The try came after second-rower Ben Murdoch-Masila had stolen the ball in a one on one tackle on Morris two minutes earlier.
The score remained that way till half-time.
2nd Half
Wests Tigers got off to the worst possible start a minute after half-time when full-back Ben Barba made a break down the left flank to find open space to link up with Morris who sent five-eighth Josh Reynolds over under the posts. Inu converted the try for a 10-all scoreline.
Morris grabbed his second try when Barba offloaded a perfect pass with two defenders on him to send the centre over behind the posts in the 47th minute. Inu converted the try for a 16-10 scoreline.
Hampstead was called on for a second time in the 53rd minute to rule whether centre Chris Lawrence had scored in the corner. The try was awarded. It came after some smart dummy half play by hooker Masada Iosefa who put Lawrence in the clear only for the centre to be ankle tapped and then get back up to slam the ball down with one hand despite three defenders on him.
Marshall’s conversion attempt from the sideline fell short in front of the posts to leave Wests Tigers trailing 16-14 after 55 minutes.
Barba extended the Bulldogs lead to 20-14 in the 58th minute when he finished off a backline play to score in the corner. Inu failed to convert the try from the sideline.
Iosefa got Wests Tigers back to 20-18 in the 64th minute when he showed the ball from dummy half before slicing his way past Reynolds to score a superb solo try in the left corner. Marshall converted the try from the sideline for a 20-all scoreline with 15 minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs regained the lead in the 69th minute when Inu dummied to Curtis Sironen before stepping back inside to score behind the posts for a 24-20 lead. He converted his own try for a 26-20 scoreline after 70 minutes.
Reynolds sealed the win for the Bulldogs when he dived over in the final minutes for a 30-20 lead. Inu converted the try for the 32-20 scoreline.
By Wayne Cousins
Friday 6 July 2012 9:47 PM
Gallant Wests Tigers lose 32-20 to Bulldogs in NRL
Wests Tigers were gallant in defeat in losing 32-20 to Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at Allianz Stadium tonight in round 18 of the Telstra Premiership.
Heading into the match without captain and NSW Hooker Robbie Farah (concussion), Tim Moltzen (hamstring), Matt Utai (hamstring) and Gareth Ellis (foot), Wests Tigers pushed the second placed Bulldogs all the way in front of a crowd of 19,034.
The job was made even more difficult when winger Lote Tuqiri left the field with an arm injury.
Some desperate scrambling defence by Tom Humble and Joel Reddy on the Wests Tigers tryline prevented the Bulldogs from scoring in the opening minutes.
Three minutes later, Wests Tigers opened the scoring when winger Joel Reddy leapt high to defuse a Benji Marshall bomb to score out wide for a 4-0 lead. Marshall failed to convert the try.
Marshall elected to take a penalty tap 10 metres out from the posts in the 28th minute despite the call from the sideline to take the two points on offer. The next set of six saw the Bulldogs keep Wests Tigers at bay.
Two minutes later, the Bulldogs drew level when centre Josh Morris crashed over Reddy and full-back Beau Ryan to score out wide after the ball was shifted left. Centre Krisnan Inu failed to convert the try from the sideline for a 4-all scoreline.
Video referee Sean Hampstead was called on in the 38th minute to rule whether full-back Beau Ryan had scored off a Marshall crossfield kick under the posts. The try was awarded on the benefit of the doubt. Marshall converted the try for a 10-4 lead. The try came after second-rower Ben Murdoch-Masila had stolen the ball in a one on one tackle on Morris two minutes earlier.
The score remained that way till half-time.
2nd Half
Wests Tigers got off to the worst possible start a minute after half-time when full-back Ben Barba made a break down the left flank to find open space to link up with Morris who sent five-eighth Josh Reynolds over under the posts. Inu converted the try for a 10-all scoreline.
Morris grabbed his second try when Barba offloaded a perfect pass with two defenders on him to send the centre over behind the posts in the 47th minute. Inu converted the try for a 16-10 scoreline.
Hampstead was called on for a second time in the 53rd minute to rule whether centre Chris Lawrence had scored in the corner. The try was awarded. It came after some smart dummy half play by hooker Masada Iosefa who put Lawrence in the clear only for the centre to be ankle tapped and then get back up to slam the ball down with one hand despite three defenders on him.
Marshall’s conversion attempt from the sideline fell short in front of the posts to leave Wests Tigers trailing 16-14 after 55 minutes.
Barba extended the Bulldogs lead to 20-14 in the 58th minute when he finished off a backline play to score in the corner. Inu failed to convert the try from the sideline.
Iosefa got Wests Tigers back to 20-18 in the 64th minute when he showed the ball from dummy half before slicing his way past Reynolds to score a superb solo try in the left corner. Marshall converted the try from the sideline for a 20-all scoreline with 15 minutes remaining.
The Bulldogs regained the lead in the 69th minute when Inu dummied to Curtis Sironen before stepping back inside to score behind the posts for a 24-20 lead. He converted his own try for a 26-20 scoreline after 70 minutes.
Reynolds sealed the win for the Bulldogs when he dived over in the final minutes for a 30-20 lead. Inu converted the try for the 32-20 scoreline.
