Canterbury scrapped to a 15-14 golden point win over the Sharks in a sloppy contest that was all Cronulla’s for the taking in the latter stages.
A disciplinary error from Toby Rudolf in the 75th minute allowed Matt Burton to level the score at 14 a piece prior to the full time whistle. He held back Bailey Hayward, who was chasing after his own grubber.
Hynes shanked a 15-metre field goal attempt from right in front in the dying minutes of regulation time, and he would pay the heaviest of prices.
Toby Sexton and Oregon Kaufusi were both placed on report for crusher tackles, with the latter looking rather nasty on the neck of winger Blake Wilson.
“We’ve lost a few of those this year, it was nice to get one,” Cameron Ciraldo said post game.
“Bit of a goldfish mindset I think. He’s so brave, we back him,
“Deserved a really good moment there.”
Bulldogs skipper Stephen Crichton was full of praise for his five-eighth.
“He’s coming out of his shell a lot. It makes me very privileged that he’s on my side,” Crichton said.
Meanwhile, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon believed his side were strong, despite a flurry of disciplinary issues.
“We play like that tonight and ice our moments, we win plenty of games,” Fitzgibbon said.
“Some of the discipline, they were head scratchers really.”
Fitzgibbon was also vocal on Hynes’ horror run, saying it’s all part of being a key spine player.
“Yeah it’s part of the job and responsibility. That’ll sting, he’s got to dust himself off pretty quickly.”
Cameron McInnes backed Hynes to bounce-back.
Bulldogs players charge in to celebrate Burton’s drop goal. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“He’s our guy, he’s our man. We are all behind him. We’ll do great things with him leading us,” McInnes said.
Kaufusi was then pinged for a second infringement which nearly cost the Sharks the game – taking out the chasers when Braydon Trindall had a late shot for a field goal. Matt Burton marginally missed a 45-metre field goal attempt the next play.
The low-scoring contest was a result of poor errors from both outfits, who failed to take opportunities in key attacking moments.
Burton boot hot
Matt Burton’s boot was the reason Canterbury pulled off the one-point win. But not for the glaring post regulation time nudge.
Burton kicked for a monster 693 metres, getting the Bulldogs out of trouble for the entire second half.
Often starting their sets with shocking territory, Cameron Ciraldo’s men relied on the power of his left foot to kick them out of pressure. It allowed the Dogs to hold on.
Burton was strong with ball in hand, breaking the line on one key occasion, while he was cool and calm in the latter stages.
In his first two drop-goal cracks, Burton missed marginally from beyond the 40-metre mark – illustrating his insane power and ability.
He also had 135 running metres and led Canterbury throughout a quiet Stephen Crichton performance – who was evidently fatigued post Origin II.
Dogs bark early
Canterbury were on fire early on – with the fixture looking ugly for Cronulla in the opening minutes.
Viliame Kikau was the first to open the scorebook, running through off his own grubber to pick up the pill and dive over – post a botched William Kennedy grab.
Reed Mahoney then bulldogged his way over the line, taking advantage of a tired and lost Sharks defensive line – who were poor at marker all night.
Toby Rudolf had moments of laziness – which opened the door for the Bulldogs right until the final whistle.
The attack soon dried up for the home side, who went on to make silly errors and gift Cronulla with plenty of possession late in the first half.
Briton Nikora put his line-running on display, darting in on a great angle to split the Bulldogs middle.
From there, it was sloppy rugby league – with Sione Katoa making waves first in the final half. Katoa pulled off an incredible finish to shrug off Bronson Xerri following a sharp short-side play.
It was then Braydon Trindall who was the beneficiary of a freakish Ronaldo Mulitalo grubber. The winger managed to get off a short kick while both arms were wrapped up in contact.
Hynes nightmare lives on, but McInnes franks Origin form
Nicho Hynes will be livid. The No.7 not only missed a straight forward drop-goal to ice the match, but the halfback missed two critical try conversions.
Had he have kicked successfully, the Sharks would’ve held off the Bulldogs.
Hynes did look promising at times, breaking the line and linking up with his right edge in the second half during a strong phase.
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He was a little lost early on, which was highlighted through pushed passes and poor fifth tackle options.
Meanwhile, Cameron McInnes was the best on field. The nugget lock was absolutely remarkable. He made 52 tackles in a 60 minute stint, and ran for 130 metres.
While dropped for Origin two, the former Dragon put his best foot forward and showed it was right to pick him for game one.
Despite dropping the pill on the third tackle of the game, McInnes did not stop trying in any effort areas.