Josh Morris of the Bulldogs makes a break. Photo / Getty Images
Bulldogs 16
Tigers 6
It wasn't the type of performance to send shivers down the spines of the National Rugby League's upper echelon, but it was a valuable two points for Canterbury as they overcame Wests Tigers 16-6 at Campbelltown Stadium.
Having come up with just one win over
the past two months to drop out of the top eight, the Bulldogs finally released some of the pressure building on coach Kevin Moore.
The Bulldogs dominated the Benji Marshall-less Tigers but had to wait until a pair of Wade McKinnon clangers to finally put the home side away, the veteran fullback fumbling two crucial kicks close to his own line.
The first on 55 minutes - with the Bulldogs holding a slender 6-0 advantage that didn't do their dominance any justice -- seemed to knock the stuffing out of the Tigers, who had tackled so gamely in the face of a mountain of ball for the visitors.
The Bulldogs capitalised from the scrum win, Trent Hodkinson putting in a kick for Ben Barba to touch down and a 10-0 scoreline.
Moved out to the wing to accommodate Tim Moltzen at fullback, McKinnon's night went from bad to worse as he fumbled a Kris Keating grubber 13 minutes from time, Josh Morris picking up the crumbs to confirm the win.
Moltzen got a consolation four-pointer off some clever work from hooker Robbie Farah, the skipper kicking the ball rather than picking it up from dummy half one metre out.
Canterbury were all over the Tigers virtually from the kick-off, the home's side's cause made tougher when Simon Dwyer was rushed to hospital for scans on his neck after suffering nerve damage.
CANTERBURY 16 (B Barba J Morris F Pritchard tries S Turner 2 goals) bt WESTS TIGERS 6 (T Moltzen try J Miller goal) at Campbelltown Sports Stadium. Referee: Matt Cecchin, Alan Shortall. Crowd: 19,252.
- AAP
