DEAR oh dear. It’s been an absolute horror show for the Bulldogs this year.
Coach Des Hasler’s future was under a cloud all week, which meant a win on Thursday night against the Panthers was a must.
But again, the Bulldogs capitulated.
The Canterbury unit failed to break into double figures as Penrith sailed to a 16-8 victory at Pepper Park.
Their horror season can be summed up with one damning statistic from 2004. Back then, legendary Bulldog Hazem El Masri was running riot with his impeccable conversion kicking. In that year, the champion winger scored more points than the entire 2017 Bulldogs combined.
You read that right.
El Masri scored 342 points that season. And the Bulldogs have only scored 260 points in 21 rounds this year.
Not happy, Jan.Source:AAP
2004 marks a significant date in more ways than one. If the Dogs finish their season outside the top eight, it will be the first time in 13 years Hasler has failed to bring a team through to the finals.
Penrith have put pressure on St George Illawarra to hold onto their spot in the NRL top eight after outlasting a stubborn Canterbury outfit 16-8 at Pepper Stadium.
With scores level at 8-8 at halftime, the game remained in the balance on Thursday night until an acrobatic try by Dallin Watene-Zelezniak put the Panthers ahead in the 57th minute.
This followed an impressive defensive display by the Bulldogs, who had held the Panthers out for 18 straight plays on their goal line midway through the second half.
However, a crucial Kerrod Holland turnover gave the home side one more crack, and Waqa Blake put Watene-Zelezniak over in the corner to the delight of the 8727 crowd.
A handful of errors invited the Bulldogs back into the contest but the visitors continued to struggle in attack and failed to convert opportunities. Penrith’s Tyrone Peachey sealed the win when he scored after a Will Hopoate fumble in the 70th minute.
Another week. Another Bulldogs disappointment.Source:News Corp Australia
The win extends the Panthers’ winning streak to four and lifts them to 24 points alongside the eighth-placed Dragons who face Newcastle on Saturday. The defeat ends the faint finals hopes of the Bulldogs, who have lost four of their past five matches.
Penrith took an 8-0 lead inside 20 minutes with a Nathan Cleary penalty goal and Peter Wallace’s try off a Dylan Edwards grubber.
But momentum swung on two tackle-one errors by Watene-Zelezniak, with Bulldogs five-eighth Josh Reynolds taking advantage by scoring on the Penrith winger’s first mistake.
The second blunder from Watene-Zelezniak, who finished with four errors, led to Holland levelling the scores with a penalty goal.
Bulldogs prop Sam Kasiano lasted five minutes before bruising his sternum in the first half, while Panthers counterpart Leilani Latu broke his jaw early in the second period.
— with AAP
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