Join TCT live at 3:00PM for all the action from Belmore as the Magpies look to snap a three game losing streak against the Bulldogs!

 

The Late Mail is in! Following Kaysa Pritchard’s elevation to the first grade squad last night, Joseph Ualesi moves from the bench into the starting lock position and Blake Cook joins the bench wearing the #19.

 

Easily the most exciting aspect of today’s fixture, which will be played in absolutely gorgeous conditions by the by, is the promotion of boom NYC halfback Troy Dargan into Wentworthville’s starting line up. Dargan has set the Holden Cup alight this year – leading the competition in both linebreak assists and try assists. Today represents both a difficult test and a huge opportunity for the young playmaker as he gets his first taste of genuine senior football.

 

Kick off is just 15 minutes away now so stay tuned right here on TCT!

 

Wenty will be receiving the ball and running away from the train line to start the first half.

 

Rroy O’Brien gets the first run and is brought down 12m out from the goal line. The Magpies roll their sleeves up and ruck it up the middle before hoofing a kick into the Bulldogs’ half. The home team work it down their right edge in their first set of the game before swinging back to the middle to bring up the last tackle. They run it down their left edge on the last but Wenty mark up well and scoop up a desperate offload before receiving the first penalty of the game midway through that following set.

 

Alvaro dummies inside as he works the ball towards the posts, barely brought down in time. King looks to burrow over on the next tackle and is held up by the narrowest of margins. Wenty spin it to their left edge on the following tackle but they make an unforced error to release the pressure valve.

 

The Dogs quickly pick up their own opening penalty of the game when the Wenty defenders are ruled to have infringed inside the 10m mark. Canterbury find touch on half way and work the ball to their left mid-count where they find an overlap. Moss moves quickly to shut it down. The Dogs bring the ball back the middle – right in front of the posts – before setting up for another left-side shift on the last and the Magpies are caught short again. This time the cover defence doesn’t get there in time to force the Bulldogs’ winger into touch and the home team get on the board first.

 

Try scored by McInally. Conversion unsuccessful by Stanley.

Bulldogs lead 4-0

8min gone

 

Interestingly, Dargan is playing on his lesser preferred edge – the right. Back to the game, the Dogs begin their set after points strongly as they rumble up to halfway before dropping the ball out wide on their left.

 

Wenty move the ball down their right early in the reply set. Moss juggles a good ball from Dargan but holds onto it. Dargan then darts from dummy half, bit lucky not to get pinged for an obstruction to be honest. Wenty complete their set well when a decent grubber from Dargan is turned into a line drop out courtesy of a punishing hit from Cody Nelson. Great tackle.

 

Booming line drop out as it sails 60m on the full. Ualesi and Alvaro bring the ball back into the Dogs’ half. Wenty once more go down their right where Schulte gets a nice flick offload to Walker. Walker goes back to the posts and finds James Hasson on an angled line. Hasson steams past the front line and carries defenders to the line but is ultimately just short of scoring. Good effort though.

 

Wenty then go to Folau on the left who beats the first defenders but is held up over the line before Cornish bombs to the right where the Magpies are ruled to have knocked on in goals in the contest.

 

Some misfortune for Wenty as they get a hand to a Bulldogs’ offload late in the seven tackle set. Canterbury will pack down for a second consecutive set of possession just outside our goal line. Tony Williams throws off Cody Nelson down Wenty’s right edge but the cover defence quickly entraps him. The Dogs mirror the efforts of their first try when they work the ball back to the posts only to immediately strike back down their left. Nick Walker is caught in no-man’s land as a Harbour Bridger cut out ball drifts over his head to give Jarrod McInally an early double. Some seriously troubling signs down our right edge at the moment.

 

Try scored by McInally. Conversion successful by Chisholm.

Bulldogs lead 10-0

17min gone

 

Oh dear, we are caught short AGAIN down our right edge – this time it is a two man overlap on halfway. Fortunately the Dogs blow it when McInally tries to kick ahead for his inside support runner but comes up with an air ball that is scooped up by Troy Dargan.

 

Wenty just pound it up the middle in what is a surprisingly rare set in possession for them and end up kicking early trying to turn the Dogs around. The home team play a safe hand in return, knowing they have a 10 point lead but following the completion of their set they are penalised in defence which brings the Magpies right back into their half.

 

Matt Woods and Danny Alvaro takes strong carries to bring the Magpies to the posts before the visitors look to execute a set piece down the right. Dargan sees the compressed defence and stabs a kick in behind for Walker. It is a touch high but still very much catch-able but Walker lets the ball sail through his hands and into touch to see a try go begging.

 

Wenty compound the mistake by getting pinged for a lifting tackle. Momentum rapidly swings back to the Dogs here.

 

Bit of a nothing set here for the Dogs as the fart around up the middle and then panic on the last before getting away a desperate grubber that Alvaro dives on. They then are penalised for offside defenders to complete a rubbish run of play.

 

Alvaro and Schulte work the ball up the middle for Wenty early in this set. Daragan plays down the left to Cornish who finds Moss but it is all far too slow. Tuha tries to spark the Magpies to life with a jaunting dummy half run that earns the Magpies six again when his offload picks up a hand of a defender. Wenty look to capitalise on the chance as Rory O’Brien gets a short ball from King out of dummy half down the left-edge and forces his way over the line to score! Geez Wenty needed that.

 

Try scored by O’Brien. Conversion unsuccessful by Cornish.

Wenty trail 4-10

26min gone

 

 

Solid set for Wenty after the try. The ruck it deep into Canterbury’s half before Dargan rolls the ball in behind. Kick chase wasn’t great but it was adequate I guess. The Dogs slow the pace of the game down in the following set as they drive it upfield and then find touch with a long kick. The touchy marks it 10m out from Wenty’s goal line.

 

Tuha and Folau takes carries before Woods has a strong run down the left. Alvaro is used to centre the ball two or threes passes back to the middle. Dargan runs the ball after hesitating on his outside options and gets hammered for his moment of hesitation. That brings up the last and Cornish puts up a bomb from halfway that is massively over cooked. It sails in goals and is taken on the full for a seven tackle set. The Magpies then concede a penalty to gift the Dogs a perfect attacking opportunity with less than 10min in the half.

 

The Dogs go wide right early this set before going back to the left edge. I think you guys know where this is going…

 

Wenty’s right edge continues to bleed points as Jarrod McInally completes a first half hat-trick. Very basic shift – barely any blocker in motion to commit interior defenders – as hands sufficed to generate the one-man overlap. Not sure what is causing all the issues here but adjustments desperately need to be made at oranges.

 

Try scored by McInally. Conversion unsuccessful by Chisholm.

Bulldogs lead 14-4

33min gone

 

Urgh, Wenty are getting real scratchy here. Standing off Tony Williams badly and letting him plow through the line without actually running hard. Williams offloads to support and Wenty do manage to bring the runner down but are then penalised for slowing the ruck down. Huge pressure on the Magpies now.

 

The Dogs drive the ball into the posts before taking a crack at a burrow over under the black dot but thankfully the ruck defence on the Magpies is up the scratch. They go wide right again with a loopy cut out ball that allows Tuha to scramble across and make the tackle before kicking in behind our left-edge two tackles later. Again Tuha is on hand to clean up and does the job quite well. Wenty get to their kick in what is a small blessing after the recent run of play but Dargan manages to pick out McInally, who is guarding the left sideline.

 

With a 10 point bugger the Dogs throw caution to the wind as they move the ball down their right edge and burst into the backfield. Moss moves up to force the issue up against a 2-on-2 with a Wenty cover defender pushing up but the Dogs kick ahead and Walker has to come from the opposite wing to make the save and bat the ball dead.

 

Hello what happened there? The Dogs went to their right mid-count and some how Honeti Tuha has come away with the ball. Was that an intercept or a scooped up knock on? I have no clue. Regardless, Tuha streaks the length of the field to score an absolutely massive try in the context of the game – although he was heroically pursued by the #10 of the Dogs, Danny Fualalo.

 

Try scored by Tuha. Conversion unsuccessful by Cornish.

Wenty trail 8-14

40min gone

 

Neither team make a serious effort to set up for the kick off which leads to a bizarre scene as the Dogs take an age to take the kick and start walking off before the siren sounds. The ref is left back on the field looking somewhat miffed by a horn eventually sounds out.

 

Half Time

Canterbury Bulldogs 14 lead the Wentworthville Magpies 8

 

Second Half

 

The Magpies will be kicking off and running towards the train line in the second half.

 

Nelson gets us underway with the kickoff. Oh my, rubbish start for the Magpies as the Dogs open them up down their left edge. In between Cornish and Hasson it looked like. Moss eventually makes the cover tackle but the Dogs are now in our red zone. They get in an attacking bomb that is grassed by Folau. He looked to be hit in the air though. Ref rules knock on. Wenty looked to have dodged the bullet when Tuha scoops up an errant pass but Woods just as soon gives the ball back. In a twist worthy of M.Night Shahmalayn (sp), the Dogs throw another loose ball! This one is picked up by John Folau who makes an impressive run after securing possession – stepping and fending his way to 25m out after starting on the goal line. A good carry and offload from O’Brien on the following tackle puts Wenty back on the front foot and they ride the momentum in to the Dogs half where Cornish dabs it into the corner for a scrum 10m out.

 

More issues for our right edge in the following set. They manage to prevent an outright line break but give up considerable metres as second phase play forces them to scramble. The Dogs hoist up a bomb on the last but Moss expertly defuses it.

 

Finally the Magpies string together some positive footy as Cornish swoops down the left edge and throws an inch perfect short ball to John Folau who strides into the backfield! Folau quickly establishes who his support runners are and hits Tuha with a nice ball to put his winger over for a double. Good work from Cornish and Folau there. Honeti looks to be in some trouble here though. He couldn’t stride out to the line and gets some treatment afterwards.

 

Try scored by Tuha. Conversion successful by Nelson.

Wenty lock the scores up at 14-all

49min gone

 

Woods and O’Brien are the first up runner this set. Hasson followso n the third before King and Kassis combine nicely on the fourth. Cornish turns O’Brien back inside to bring up the last before getting his hands on the ball on the last for the kick. He dabs it in behind but the Dogs are quick to clean it up.

 

The Magpies defend solidly up the middle early in the set but Williams again hurts them with a strong carry. T-Rex then offloads and catches the hands of a Wenty defender for a tackle reset. Scott Schulte is left on the ground in the wake of the T-Rex run but the ref fails to call time off and the Dogs get a full set on our goal line 13v12. They take advantage of it as McInally steps back inside some desperate sliding defence filling the hole left by Schulte to score his fourth of the day. Disgraceful stuff from the referee there as he failed to call time out through a full set of possession.

 

Try scored by McInally. Conversion unsuccessful by Chisholm.

Bulldogs lead 18-14

53min gone

 

The Dogs rally after regaining the lead and put together a good set. They work the ball down their right and try to needle a kick into the same corner but Moss flashes across the field to get it on the full. The Magpies are able to piece together a reasonable set of their own, although Cornish perhaps squandered a chance to give Folau and Tuha a 2-on-1 but goes some way to redeeming himself by finding touch 10m out.

 

The Magpies look to have defensive ascendancy after a beautiful hit by Hasson but in the following tackle the referee bizarrely signals a tackle reset despite no Wenty hand being near the ball. A penalty follows and the Dogs end up in our red zone. Danny Alvaro makes a good one-on-one tackle and looks to have made a legitimate strip as well but the referee rules a second defender joined the tackle before the strip was completed.

 

The Dogs tap and go and are held up over the line early in the set. The reload and go to their left, where Cornish now defends and swapping with Dargan, and that man Cornish makes a textbook ankle tackle on Williams. Canterbury then kick to the opposite side of the field where Wenty are forced to bat the ball dead for a line drop out.

 

Phew. Finally the Dogs come up with an unforced error as they are ruled to have made a forward pass down their right edge. The Dogs swarm in the set from the scrum but they are over eager to jump the runner on the third tackle and are pinged for breaking the 10m mark early.

 

Woods and Kassis ruck it out early on.  Bizarrely, Cornish and Dargan have swapped edges again. Which I note due to Cornish forcing a pass down the left that leads to an error. As I type that the Dogs turn the ball over themselves on halfway.

 

Alvaro has a good run and offload to Blake Cook. Wenty go left to Folau who hits, spins and offloads to Cornish on the wrap around. Cornish gets over eager with a sliver of space and grubbers early in behind for Tuha but Brad Abbey gets across to secure the ball.

 

The Dogs work the ball up to halfway in reply and kick to Walker who catches the ball and drifts cross field to link up with Tuha. Folau, Moss and Ualesi work the ball up the middle before an energetic carry from Alvaro brings up the last. Wenty get cute and try to run it down their left on the last but it falls apart when a pass is thrown between Woods and Folau that has no real intended recipient – Moss the culprit there. Tuha picks it up and flicks it back to Folau while dancing with the sideline. Folau himself is quickly ushered that exact direction and flings the ball in field where it is picked up by the Dogs who race 60m down field to score. Aaron Pene put up a good effort in chasing the runner but he was a yard or two short.

 

Try scored by the Dogs. Conversion successful by Keighran.

Dogs lead 24-14

68min gone

 

Short kick off from Wenty. Folau brings it in. Great take as he plucked it out of the air.  Nice run and offload from Ualesi there. Wenty play down their left on the back of it but are held out by urgent cover defence from the home team. They look to mimic the first half efforts of the Dogs by settling back to the posts and rapidly swinging back down their left but Cornish’s pass to Tuha lands near his ankles and Honeti can’t bring it in.

 

The Dogs go on to ice the game when the make a break down our left sideline off a rather blatant forward pass. Moss makes the initial cover tackle but can’t kill the play which allows Mataitonga to offload to Reubenn Rennie who in turn passes to Brad Abbey who crosses 15m in from touch.

 

Try scored by Abbey. Conversion successful by Keighran.

Dogs lead 30-14

72min gone

 

Another short kick off attempt by Wenty. This time the Dogs bat it back out of the hands of Folau. Wenty are pinged midway through the set for hitting a supporting runner on suspicion. The Dogs roll the dice on an early backline movement down Wenty’s left edge but drop the ball outwide as their winger tries to drag in a pass that sailed behind him.

 

Pene and Ualesi work the ball out for Wenty. Alvaro follows with a solid carry but on the fourth the short ball from I think Dargan down our right is batted up and then intercepted. The interceptee quickly links up with Jarrod McInally who races over to score a mammoth fifth try – which the ground announcer informs me is a club record.

 

Try scored by McInally. Conversion successful by Keighran.

Bulldogs lead 36-14

77min gone

 

A third short kickoff is attempted by Wenty but this one is marked short and a penalty on halfway comes about as a result. The Dogs find touch 25m out from Wenty’s goal line and with a little effort and a quick play-the-ball they manage to set McInally up for his sixth try of the day. Absolutely embarrassing for Wenty but credit to McInally for setting a new club record.

 

Try scored by McInally. Conversion successful by Keighran.

Bulldogs lead 42-14

79min gone