Monday, 14th May 2007
THE Bulldogs captured their first ever Harold Matthews premiership when they came from behind to beat Penrith 18-14 in golden-point time.
The Panthers were looking at registering their third consecutive title and looked on course when they established an 8-0 lead after just 10 minutes of play. The first was scored in the second minute when lock-forward James Toole scored after a break from Kilifi Tia-Kilifi.
Penrith suffered a huge blow when Toole went off with a shoulder injury, which he received in the process of scoring.
Centre David Biddle was next to score when he burst on to a magnificent pass from William Beale to score.
The Bulldogs bounced back when Teni Waipouri used his large frame to wrestle four defenders and still manage to plant the ball over the tryline. Ali Hijazi added the extras and then kicked a penalty right on half-time to level the scores at 8-all.
"We knew that Penrith would start on fire and it was important that we stayed within sight of them because I knew that we would finish strongly. To go into the break on even terms, gave us a huge lift," said Bulldogs coach Nal Wajisekera.
But it was Penrith that were first to score in the second-half when Blake Austin crossed for a simple try in the 37th minute.
The Bulldogs had a number of chances to square up proceedings but some poor options saw them fail to cross the line.
A penalty 90 seconds from full-time gave the Bulldogs a final chance to snatch a draw.
Prop-forward Lance Whitnall broke through the defensive line before sending Hijazi away. He was brought down short but Alai Taufaao was able to crash over with 30 seconds remaining to bring the Bulldogs to within two points. Hijazi added the pressure conversion to send the game into golden-point.
With three minutes gone in extra-time, Bulldogs five-eighth Aiden Sezar lined up for a shot at field goal on the last tackle but a poor pass from dummy-half eliminated that option.
Sezar had no option but to run the ball and the ball went wide for winger John El-Agha, who dived over in the corner to start the celebrations for the Bulldogs.
"It is a privilege to be involved with the Bulldogs and to be part of a history-making side makes it more special. It was a great team effort but Nathan Massey and Lance Whitnall stood out," said Wijesekera.
Bulldogs 18 (Teni Waipouri, Alai Taufaao, Johyn El-Agha tries; Ali Hijazi 3 goals) d. Penrith 14 (David Biddle, James Toole, Blake Austin tries; Austin goal) at Western Weekender Stadium. Referee: Jayson Elkins. Touch Judges: Lewis South, Shane Charman. Crowd: 2113.
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