Bulldogs 34 Sea Eagles 12
SYDNEY - Bulldogs winger Hazem El Masri became top-flight rugby league's greatest ever point-scorer as his 2008 wooden-spooners completed a horror week for premiers Manly with a stunning 34-12 NRL victory at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
El Masri's penalty goal in the 33rd minute took him two points past Newcastle great Andrew Johns' 2,176 points.
Slotting over from 11m out adjacent to the left upright, El Masri was mobbed by teammates and greeted by a fireworks display and a roar from the 19,791-strong crowd.
He went on to kick seven from seven in a masterful display which continued league's on-field good news after a week of off-field drama.
Playing his 292nd game, the 32-year-old has now scored 145 tries and kicked 802 goals for 2,184 points in total.
The record-breaking penalty goal, El Masri's fourth kick of the night, came after a brawl, which resulted in Manly hooker Matt Ballin's sin-binning, in a dramatic first half played in a wild storm which hit Homebush in the sixth minute.
El Masri's efforts overshadowed two-try efforts from strapping teenage centre Jamal Idris and winger Bryson Goodwin and the rebuilt Dogs' domination of the premiers, who are still reeling from star fullback Brett Stewart being charged with sexual assault.
The Bulldogs led 22-0 at halftime after handling the appalling conditions better and showing more desire as new coach Kevin Moore, the son of iconic club administrator Peter "Bullfrog" Moore, took the reins for his first match.
Their new resolve was on display early when Idris crashed his way through three would-be defenders, adding his second in the 27th minute after gun buy Brett Kimmorley had handled twice.
Former Cronulla player Goodwin crossed three minutes before the break and added a second 10 minutes after halftime.
But the killer blow had come seven minutes after the break.
After Manly had scored first in the second half through Ballin to make it 22-6, new Dogs hooker Michael Ennis scooped up a wayward Matt Orford grubber and sent another new buy, Josh Morris, on an 80m run to the tryline.
At 28-6, the Bulldogs virtually had both hands on the new Arko-Bullfrog Cup, while Manly's week from hell only got worse with video referee Steve Clark denying Jamie Lyon and Michael Bani within three minutes of each other.
Lyon managed a 78th-minute consolation try after grabbing an intercept from a Kimmorley pass.
Presented with the game ball by NRL chief executive David Gallop after fulltime, El Masri wise-cracked, in reference to the Dogs being stripped of all their competition points for a salary cap scandal in 2002: "Any chance of getting those points back? " "It would have been a terrible night if I'd missed a few goals," he said later.
"I'm just ecstatic, the way the boys got together ... the win obviously is a big factor as well.
"The emphasis on the record was there all through the week but I tried not to think about it.
"I never thought I'd be here in this position but I thank God for what he's given me. " Manly coach Des Hasler and captain Matt Orford were adamant the drama which followed their boozy season launch had not been responsible for the loss.
"Under the circumstances I think it was the best we had to deal with," Orford said.
"We're all professional footballers, it's our job and definitely not one player in our team would use that as an excuse for how we performed tonight. " Hasler, though, took aim at the new two-referee system, saying he would be speaking to referees boss Robert Finch about clearing up just who was in charge.
- AAP
