Matt Burton dazzled in an 11th-hour audition to be part of Michael Maguire’s first NSW squad as the Bulldogs embarrassed a woeful Dragons with a near point-a-minute second-half blitz on Thursday night.
Burton, who is in the frame for the Blues five-eighth position, one of the most contentious positions for Maguire’s game one selection, was near his best as Canterbury piled on 38 unanswered points in the second half for a 44-12 win at Accor Stadium.
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Dragons centre Jack Bird was given the green whistle and wheeled from the field in agony on a medicab after his ankle was caught under Bronson Xerri in a tackle in the dying moments of the first half. He was sent for scans on Thursday night to assess the extent of the injury.
But the night belonged to Burton and the Bulldogs, who overcame a six-point half-time deficit to thump their bitter rivals to start Indigenous Round.
Asked about Burton’s suitability to Origin, Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said: “He’s going a lot better. But the sky’s the limit for him.
“If he puts it all together, it’s not going to be a debate if he’s going to be in that team. But he’s done a fair bit the last couple of weeks. He’s put himself in the frame for that team. I’m sure if he gets an opportunity, he’ll grab it with both hands.”
The Bulldogs celebrate a Jacob Kiraz try.Getty
Burton racked up 20 individual points with two tries and six goals as Jaeman Salmon and Jacob Kiraz also bagged second-half doubles in the Bulldogs’ most comprehensive performance of the Ciraldo era.
St George Illawarra’s NSW State of Origin hopeful Zac Lomax was sin-binned in the second half as the Bulldogs racked up seven tries in 32 minutes after the break.
Having dominated the first half, St George Illawarra held a 12-6 lead after Bulldogs winger Josh Addo-Carr stepped on the sideline as he planted the ball right on the stroke of the half-time siren.
But without Bird and Hame Sele (shoulder) in the second half, the Dragons produced one of the most insipid displays of the season, spared the ignominy of conceding a point a minute when Burton’s last-minute conversion attempt was waved away.
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St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan joked the last time he was in the Accor Stadium media centre he was celebrating a premiership with the Sharks, quipping “how things have changed”.
“It’s so bad you’ve got to try to laugh about it,” Flanagan said. “The two halves were so different. I thought we were really good in the first half and if we continued to do that, we’d win the football game. It’s a credit to them, they did exactly what we did in the first half.
“If I could put my finger on exactly [what’s going wrong], I would fix it. There’s a number of things I’m thinking about why. Maybe we’re squeezing the lemon on a couple of them. But you can’t do it in one half and not the other half.
Zac Lomax is penalised for tackling Jake Turpin in the air.Getty
“It was just a complete 360 in the second half. We have to address what happened in the second half.”
It was the fourth heavy loss for the Dragons this year after conceding massive scores to the Roosters (60 points), Cowboys (46) and Dolphins (38) in the first 12 rounds of the season.
Lomax was lucky not be sat down for second stint when, within 30 seconds of returning to the field, he tackled Jake Turpin in the air chasing a Ben Hunt kick.
“I think we’ve been building to that,” Ciraldo said. “We had a couple of tough losses, but within those losses we were doing a lot of things right. I thought the second half it clicked for us.
“We played with a bit of freedom once we got going in the second half. We’ve got some class players and we were able to get them the ball.”
9.47pm on May 23, 2024
Pengilly: View from the ground at full-time
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9.44pm on May 23, 2024
Try: Icing on the cake for the Dogs
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Jacob Kiraz gets a second. The Bulldogs go after the Dragons’ left edge defence again and it pays off again. That’s seven tries in the second half for the Dogs.
And that’s full-time. Who saw that coming at half-time? The Bulldogs scored 38 points in the second half and held the Dragons scoreless.
Bulldogs 44 Dragons 12
Jacob Kiraz dives over the Bulldogs.Getty
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9.36pm on May 23, 2024
Try: Six second-half tries for the Dogs!
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This is getting ridiculous. The Bulldogs go back to their favoured right-side attack and Connor Tracey puts a nice kick over the Dragons’ defensive line and it’s a straight foot race which Stephen Crichton wins with ease to ground the ball for the try.
Bulldogs 40 Dragons 12
9.32pm on May 23, 2024
Try: Bulldogs scoring tries for fun
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The 12 Dragons players on the field are out on their feet and the Bulldogs show no mercy this time. This one comes down the left side of the field for them. The Bulldogs throw the ball around freely before it ends up in the hands of Matt Burton, who crosses. The Dogs had zero line breaks in the first half; they’ve had seven in the second half.
It looked like the Dogs were in again but Bronson Xerri is ruled by the bunker to have knocked the ball on when attempting to ground the ball for a try. But Zac Lomax is ruled to have pulled back Xerri in the build up so he’s sent off. That’s tough for the Dragon who were already short-handed with Bird and Sele out injured for the night. This could be a tough last 15 minutes for Dragons fans to watch.
Bulldogs kick the penalty goal rather than pressing for another try with the Dragons on their knees.
Bulldogs 30 Dragons 12
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9.22pm on May 23, 2024
Try: Bulldogs stretch their lead
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That’s four second-half tries for the Bulldogs. Some smart dummy-half work from Reed Mahoney who fires out a pass from right on the Dragons’ try-line to Jacob Preston who falls over the line. The Dragons are in all sorts of trouble on their left-side defence.
Bulldogs 28 Dragons 12
9.18pm on May 23, 2024
Pengilly: View from the ground
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9.17pm on May 23, 2024
Try: Bulldogs can’t stop scoring
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The Bulldogs’ right-side attack is ripping through the Dragons now. This time it’s Jacob Kiraz that goes over after some nifty work from Stephen Crichton. That’s 18 points in 18 minutes for the Bulldogs.
Bulldogs 24 Dragons 12
Jacob Kiraz is too strong for Mikaele Ravalawa and goes over for the try.NRL Photos
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9.12pm on May 23, 2024
Try: Salmon scores again to give Dogs the lead
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The Bulldogs lead for the first time tonight. Jaeman Salmon goes over again after some slick backline passes and some poor Dragons’ defence again. Since Jack Bird went off, the Dragons have looked out of sorts in defence. The Bulldogs have turned this game around in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.