General PREVIEW: BULLDOGS V BRONCOS

[*Kimmy*_old]

www.bulldogs.com.au

WEDNESDAY, 16TH AUGUST, 2006


Round 24: Bulldogs v Broncos
Venue: Telstra Stadium
Referee: Steven Clark
Date: Friday August 18
Kick-off: 7:30pm
Gates Open: TBA
Broadcast: 8:30pm - Channel 9
Last Met: Broncos 25 v Bulldogs 6, Rd 12, 2006
Total Games: 32, Won: 13, Lost: 18, Drawn: 1
Home Games: 13, Won: 6, Lost: 7, Drawn: 0
Away Games: 15, Won: 5, Lost: 9, Drawn: 1
Telstra Stadium: 5, Won: 3, Lost: 2, Drawn: 0
Total Points For: 609
Total Points Against: 736
Biggest Crowd: 54,751 - Broncos 38 v Bulldogs 18, ANZ Stadium, Rd 17, 1993

With a comfortable 26-10 victory over St George Illawarra at Telstra Stadium last Sunday the Bulldogs extended their unbeaten winning streak to six games as they further cemented their spot in the top two. The Bulldogs have sent an ominous warning to the rest of the competition over the past month with a number of impressive displays from their monstrous forward pack and creative, yet under-rated back line.

The 'Dogs will be up against a Broncos pack desperate to break a five-match losing streak. The boys from Brisbane have once again struggled following their dreaded State of Origin campaign, failing to register a win since the deciding game on July 5.

Broncos coach Wayne Bennett has been under enormous pressure during his teams form slump. The club has watched themselves fall from second place on the NRL ladder down to fifth on 26 competition points, just two points ahead of eighth placed Canberra.

However last Sunday the Broncos delivered their best performance in over a month as they matched it with league-leaders the Melbourne Storm for the full 80 minutes. The Broncos led early and continued to go toe-to-toe with the NRL heavyweights but in the end they simply couldn't draw level as they went down 18-12 at Suncorp Stadium.

Following the encounter coach Wayne Bennett was pleased with the performance from his side as he all but declared the form “slump” over. If the Broncos manage to play football the way they did on Sunday they will certainly notch up more wins than losses.

On Friday night the Bulldogs will be out to extend their winning streak to seven games while the Broncos will be on a mission to keep their finals aspirations alive. For the Bulldogs the return of Matt Utai has the team at full strength after the powerful winger missed the past five matches due to suspension.

The Broncos were dealt a major blow earlier this week when winger Tame Tupou and forward Greg Eastwood were ruled out through injury. Steve Michaels will now replace the giant Tupou, lining up against the NRL's top point scorer Hazem El Masri.

In celebration of 60's Week the Bulldogs will wear their commemorative Berries jersey as they continue their march toward the finals.

BULLDOGS:
Luke Patten, Hazem El Masri, Andrew Emelio, Willie Tonga, Matt Utai, Daniel Holdsworth, Brent Sherwin, Mark O'Meley, Tony Grimaldi, Roy Asotasi, Willie Mason, Andrew Ryan (c), Reni Maitua
Interchange: Sonny Bill Williams, Chris Armit, Corey Hughes, Nate Myles

BRONCOS:
Justin Hodges, Steve Michaels, Brent Tate, David Stagg, Darius Boyd, Darren Lockyer (c), Shane Perry, Shane Webcke, Shaun Berrigan, Petero Civoniceva, Sam Thaiday, Brad Thorn, Tonie Carroll
Interchange: Corey Parker, Dane Carlaw, Ben Hannant, Casey McGuire

 

[*Kimmy*_old]

FFS why do we have to have the dud ref CLARK..ew i hate him!! >=(

 

[westie stylz_old]

The warriors should wear the Auckland rep jersey from 1960.

 

[*~*Fa'AhVaN*~*_old]

GO DOGS! hope they win, not for the warriors sake i just like them

 

[sebastian_old]

I reckon Fokesy will tell the forwards to target Hodges & Darius Boyd in defence. I think the Dogs will cruise to a win, chuck in a few Dogs defencive lapse's & your lookin at 5 tries to 3. 28-16 sounds about right.

 

[D Generation X_old]

FFS why do we have to have the dud ref CLARK..ew i hate him!! >=(

i no bro his like the biggest cheat lol



_____________________________________________________________
GO THE WARRIORS

 

[*Kimmy*_old]

GO DOGS! hope they win, not for the warriors sake i just like them

Woot Woot you've sky rocketed to 1 of my fav posters on here :lol:

Oh and D Generation X tell me about it..i hope he doesnt do the dirty on the Dogs ffs!!!!!

 

[Esoj_old]

go the dogs mainly for the warriors finals chances

 

[*~*Fa'AhVaN*~*_old]

GO DOGS! hope they win, not for the warriors sake i just like them

Woot Woot you've sky rocketed to 1 of my fav posters on here :lol:

Oh and D Generation X tell me about it..i hope he doesnt do the dirty on the Dogs ffs!!!!!

WOOHOO, lol,thanks kim

 

[warriorfaithful*_old]

go the dogs mainly for the warriors finals chances

Yeah exatcly. I support two teams at the moment:

The mighty warriors and anyone playing the broncos lol.

 

[*~*Fa'AhVaN*~*_old]

go the dogs mainly for the warriors finals chances

Yeah exatcly. I support two teams at the moment:

The mighty warriors and anyone playing the broncos lol.

lol same bro

 

[Jesbass_old]

go the dogs mainly for the warriors finals chances

Yeah exatcly. I support two teams at the moment:

The mighty warriors and anyone playing the broncos lol.

 

[raypower_old]

What a turn up for the books.

Managed to get some tickets through work as we have a membership at Telstra Stadium and it turned sour pretty quick for the old dogs.

To be honest I didn't think the dogs were that far behind the Broncos in terms of on field effort but having a one man bench, no SBW and O'Meley on the bench for a good portion of the first half probably hurt them.

What got to me was Mason's hit on Perry in the first half. The stadium started booing him. I mean come on, he's one of your own, the hit looked to connect with the shoulder first and then it bounced up and connected with the head area.

Clark was such a passenger as well, he kept a decent 10 but apart from that he made several line ball decisions on fwd passes, then didn't make them when he should have and relied on the video ref far too often for stuff that a man with glasses (ie me) could see at 50 metres away.

Anyways, that's it for us at least and that's twice the Broncos have towelled up the dogs this season as well, let's hope we can serve it up to them in two weeks.

 

[*Kimmy*_old]

I wouldnt have cared so much if we lost without injuries. Because IMO we needed a loss. But FFS ROY FRIGGIN ASOTASI!!..why the feck him!! I was seriously just about in tears when he got injured. Then when Matty Johns said he could be out for the season. FFS i heart Roy..and 1 of the main reasons why i wanted us to get the the GF was for him. The Willie Tonga..arg he'll be a big blow. ANd tbh i couldnt really care less about Nate..i know it sounds mean..but hes gunna be a rooster..and i've lost all respect for the money hungry man!!

 

[raypower_old]

The reports on Roy are that he could be back in 4 weeks so it's not all over yet and with your pack, you can shift mason to prop, shift sbw to 2nd row if he's back and perhaps put roberts in at centre as i don't really rate emilio at all.

I have quite a few mates who support the dogs who were gutten by the result last night and I thought, "Gees GTD would be heart broken right now" So at least you had people thinking about you I know it's small conolation tho...

 

[*Kimmy*_old]

The reports on Roy are that he could be back in 4 weeks so it's not all over yet and with your pack, you can shift mason to prop, shift sbw to 2nd row if he's back and perhaps put roberts in at centre as i don't really rate emilio at all.

I have quite a few mates who support the dogs who were gutten by the result last night and I thought, "Gees GTD would be heart broken right now" So at least you had people thinking about you I know it's small conolation tho...

You don't rate Emelio??..imo he is awesome..so glad he signed for another 2 years :lol:..plus he has the same bday as my brother..i feel that is unfair as my brother doesnt even support the Dogs >=(

And i was heartbroken..still am..but i have a feeling Roy will be out for the season..not just 4 weeks..

 

[raypower_old]

The reports on Roy are that he could be back in 4 weeks so it's not all over yet and with your pack, you can shift mason to prop, shift sbw to 2nd row if he's back and perhaps put roberts in at centre as i don't really rate emilio at all.

I have quite a few mates who support the dogs who were gutten by the result last night and I thought, "Gees GTD would be heart broken right now" So at least you had people thinking about you I know it's small conolation tho...

You don't rate Emelio??..imo he is awesome..so glad he signed for another 2 years :lol:..plus he has the same bday as my brother..i feel that is unfair as my brother doesnt even support the Dogs >=(

And i was heartbroken..still am..but i have a feeling Roy will be out for the season..not just 4 weeks..

Nah I don't really care for him. Perhaps I'm comparing him too much to past Dogs Centres and he comes up well short next to the likes of Tonga, Vagana, Talau etc.

Here's the report from SMH.com which I read earlier, may give you some hope yet GTD.

Season in doubt for Asotasi, Tonga

https://www.smh.com.au/news/league/season-in-doubt-for-asotasi-tonga/2006/08/18/1155408024591.html

Bulldogs 0 Broncos 30

IT HAD taken 23 rounds for the Bulldogs to build up their premiership hopes. Last night it took just 23 minutes for them to be crushed.

The Bulldogs suffered possible season-ending knee injuries to prop Roy Asotasi and centre Willie Tonga in a first half that also had second-rower Willie Mason put on report as the Broncos broke a five-game losing streak with a 30-0 win - handing the minor premiership to Melbourne in the process.

With Kiwi Sonny Bill Williams already out of the game after succumbing to a knee injury on match day, it was a bleak night for the Bulldogs, who face having at least two of their representative stars on the sidelines for their premiership charge.

Both Tonga and Asotasi will have scans on Monday but there were fears last night they had each suffered grade-three medial ligament damage. Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes confirmed Tonga's ligament may have been ruptured, putting him out for at least six weeks. Asotasi faces at least a month on the sidelines and maybe longer.

"I guess it's character-building," Folkes said. "Obviously it's significant but it's not the end of the world. I'm really confident with the guys we can bring in. The result's probably the kick in the backside we need before the semis. I'm disappointed, obviously, but I'm not about to commit hari-kari or anything."

Mason was placed on report for a 10th-minute tackle on Broncos halfback Shane Perry, which referee Steve Clark said was "late and up in the region of the head and throat".

Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said Mason should have been sent off for the hit. "If you don't get sent off for that, I don't know when anyone's going to get sent off," he said.

"It was late and it was head high. You can't do much more than that. He's a pretty tough guy, Shane, so his toughness got him up. We encourage our guys to get up. We don't encourage them to lie down, play dead when they're OK . . if the tackle was on time it's a different matter but it was deliberate because it was late.

"I don't want to see 12 play 13 but we have the send-off rule in the game. There are times it should be used and I thought tonight was one of them."

Mason rubbished the suggestions he should have been dismissed, but he admitted to having concerns.

"I was just speaking to Shane, and he said I definitely hit him in on the shoulder," Mason said. "I don't think I'll have much of a case to answer, unless they get me for hitting him late. I was a bit worried there for a while … but I don't think it warranted a send-off. I haven't seen a good view of it. I hope I haven't got a case to answer anyway."

Folkes added: "I don't think you get sent off for hitting someone in the shoulder."

It was a first half that was as dramatic as it was manic. After 13 minutes Asotasi limped off. Ten minutes later, Tonga was in the dressing room. Another of the Bulldogs' representative players, Nate Myles, suffered a knock to his knee after 23 minutes. The Queensland forward returned early in the second half, however he was clearly hampered by the injury for the remainder of the contest.

For a while the game was far less dramatic than what was happening in the home dressing room, which by now had two more players in it than was on the interchange bench.

Still, it was no less important, at least from a Brisbane angle. The Broncos opened the scoring after just seven minutes through lock Tonie Carroll. Then after 34 minutes, it was hooker Shaun Berrigan, although his put-down looked dangerously close to what could have been considered a nice piece of dribbling with a basketball.

Twelve-nil it was, however. But not for long. Two minutes later Lockyer scored. Last week the Broncos led the Storm, the other premiership pacesetters, 10-0, only to be run down. But at 18-0 at half-time, they wouldn't be denied this time in a match that featured no less than five forward-pass rulings, three of which resulted in disallowed tries.

Just four minutes after coming out of the sheds for the second half, another Bulldog was heading up the tunnel. This time it was Dallas McIlwain, Williams's replacement, who damaged his shoulder attempting to put the ball down after his own grubber-kick. The try was denied, in surely the ultimate insult-to-injury moment. He may also miss the rest of the season.

"Do I look happy?" Bennett asked. Well, he certainly spoke like it. Asked if the slump was over, Bennett replied as only Bennett can: "I never said we were in one."

Suddenly, they aren't so bad after all. And suddenly, the Bulldogs are struggling. Who would have thought that this time yesterday?

BRISBANE 30 (S Berrigan 2 T Carroll D Lockyer B Tate tries; C Parker 3 D Lockyer 2 goals) d BULLDOGS 0 at Telstra Stadium. Referee: S Clark. Crowd: 26,111.

 

[raypower_old]

Actually it says Roy will be out for at least a month...ah well...sorry GTD...

 

[*Kimmy*_old]

"Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes confirmed Tonga's ligament may have been ruptured, putting him out for at least six weeks. Asotasi faces at least a month on the sidelines and maybe longer. "

Oh yes great news. Oh and ffs if your willie you get sent off for hitting someones shoulder..Clark hates him!!

 

[edguy_old]

yeah and someone teach general patton to tackle .......omg , those first 2 attempts of his on the first 2 try scores ....one word for it
LAME !!!!