Canterbury survive comeback scare to win game of the season

Canterbury have held off a fast finishing Canberra side to record a thrilling 41-34 win in a bizarre afternoon at GIO Stadium in Canberra.

In a game where 13 tries and 75 points were scored it didn't appear like this would be a close game or be up there as one of the games of the season for 2015. Canterbury hit the ground running, opening the scoring through Michael Lichaa who recovered a loose ball to burrow his way to the line, after a smart piece of running football from embattled half Josh Reynolds. Less than a minute later Canterbury scored again through Curtis Rona who slid through some lazy Canberra defence after some good movement that included Josh Reynolds and Tony Williams. Canberra had foolishly kicked the ball out on the full to give the Bulldogs the great field position, after 5 minutes it was already 12-0.

Josh Reynolds imprinted his name on the game with a strong run to hold off three Canberra players on his way to the line and a 18-0 lead for the Dogs of War. Canberra were all at sea and didn't appear to have turned up at ll. It got worse as a loose ball was set upon by Moses Mbye who broke through the Raiders brittle defensive line to send Reynolds over for his second try of the afternoon. A penalty goal less than 5 minutes later via the boot of Moses Mbye made it 26-0 and the Raiders looked as good as gone. However they proceeded to bag three tries in the space of 10 minutes through Sisa Waqa, Shaun Fensom and Josh Papalii after some enterprising play from halves Blake Austin and young Mitch Cornish. At the half time interval it was 26-16 and the Dogs were looking over their shoulders.

The second half picked up where the first half left off after a stagnant first 10 minutes.

Blake Austin worked his way through some lacklustre Dogs defence on 52 minutes, after a smart offload by Frank Paul Nu'uausala. Croker's goal made it 26-22 and it was game on. A costly error a few sets later set the Raiders charge back as Frank Pritchard steamed onto a lovely short ball by hooker Michael Lichaa and crossed outwide, Mbye unsuccessful conversion left the score at 30-22. The Raiders wouldn't go away though and scored through young half Mitch Cornish who planted down just inside the in goal area after a nice grubber kick by Josh Hodgson, Croker closed the gap to two with his goal and again the Dogs were under pressure.

Corey Thompson crossed for the Dogs 6th try in another nice move from Josh Reynold's who was everywhere in attatck for the Canterbury side. Canterbury took the lead out to 34-28 but again Mbye missed the conversion.

Canberra threw everything at Canterbury in the last 15 and were eventually rewarded when Sisa Waqa showed too much strength for the tiring Canterbury defence and crashed over in the corner, Croker kept his nerve to tie proceedings up at 34-34 with less than 5 minutes left. The momntum was all Canberra but in the last 5 minutes they couldn't take advantage of their good field position, Blake Austin had a field goal waved away and it seemed fitting that te best on ground Josh Reynold's would have one of the final say in the game. From 35 metres out and on the right touchline, he received the ball from Michael Lichaa and hooked his low drop kick all the way over the black dot to give the Dogs the lead with only 30 seconds left.

From the ensuing kick off, Canberra over ran the ball and Frank Pritchard found Moses Mbye who put the icing on the cake with a 50 metre try and goal. This gave Canterbury a thrilling, yet deserved 41-34 win in cold conditions in the nations capital.

Canberra can feel aggrieved but at the end of the day they were unable to hold Canterbury out and their defence will need to improve in coming weeks if they want to keep in touch with the top 8, while the Bulldogs will be very happy for recording just their 2nd win in their last 7 games.

The Raiders are back at home on Saturday to host the Broncos, while the Bulldogs enjoy a full fortnight's break before hosting the Dragons on Queen's Birthday Monday afternoon at ANZ Stadium.

Match Details

Canberra Raiders 34 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 41
Venue: GIO Stadium
Crowd: 12,221
Halftime Score: Canberra Raiders 16 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 26

CANBERRA RAIDERS (34)
Tries: Sisa Waqa (2), Shaun Fensom, Josh Papalii, Blake Austin, Mitchell Cornish
Conversions: Jarrod Croker (5/6)

CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS (41)
Tries: Michael Lichaa, Moses Mbye, Curtis Rona, Josh Reynolds (2), Frank Pritchard, Corey Thompson
Field Goals: Josh Reynolds (1/1)
Conversions: Moses Mbye (5/7)
Penalty Goals: Moses Mbye (1/1)

LeagueUnlimited.com Players of the Match:

3 points - Josh Reynolds
2 points - Blake Austin
1 point - Moses Mbye

LeagueUnlimited.com Live Commentary

Good Afternoon! Welcome to sunny Canberra for this very important Round 11 clash between Canberra at Canterbury at GIO Stadium. The late changes include Jack Wighton being ruled out, Jordan Rapana replaces him and Jeremy Hawkins comes onto the wing.
For the Dogs, Chase Stanley and James Graham are both out, Kaisaino starts for Graham and Curtis Rona shifts int the centres from the wing and Tyrone Phillips moves on to the wing for his debut game. Big bopper Danny Fualolo moves onto the bench in jersey #19.

A very important game for both clubs as Canberra were brought crashing back to earth last week at the Hands of St George, where their defence was off big time.
Canterbury have been on struggle street for several weeks and want to get the win to keep in touch with the top 8. No James Graham as well as missing Trent Hodkinson will be tough to over come, can they grab the 2 points?

Blake Austin has been in superb form so far in 2015, some have touted him as the buy of the season with his stirling performances in the middle of the park. His running game will be very important today and if Canterbury leave any gaps in the ruck then he will expose them.

Huge day for Josh Reynolds. The media has been badgering him for weeks with his poor form as well as Immortal Andrew Johns having a dig. Will this plus his exclusion from the State Of Origin Team fire him up for a big performance today?

Only about 10 mins away from kickoff here, both sides have finished their warmups and moved back inside the sheds.
Should be a cracking game between these two clubs. Lots of history (1994 Grand Final) springs to mind. So I expect a lot of desperation as well as a physical battle up front, both sides have some big boys! Should be a cracker!

Here come both clubs onto the field, kick off is imminent!

Canberra have the ball from the kick off.

1: Strong opening set from the raiders, 50m in the set and Cornish dinks in a little grubber that dribbles into touch.

2: We're going upstairs for a possible try! Ref has ruled no try though

2: TRY CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Scored by Michael Lichaa. Kick to come.
No knock on here! Reynolds takes on the line, feeds inside to Williams who breaks through, passes to Lichaa but comes off the knee, he regathers at the 10m line and then gets low to burrow his way to the line! TRY!

2: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Conversion attempt by Moses Mbye successful.
Straight between the posts! 6-0

3: Canberra are offside from the kick off! Sisa waqa the culprit! Raiders off to a poor start

5: TRY CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Scored by Curtis Rona. Kick to come.
Bang Bang! Curtis Rona crashes over on the right hand side after some lovely ball movement all the way fro, the left hand side. Raiders defence was backing away and Rona collected the ball from Williams and slid his way in!

6: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Conversion attempt by Moses Mbye successful.
Sends this one over as well and keep his 100% record. What a start by the Dogs! 12-0

6: Canberra really on the back foot, Canterbury all over them at the moment

7: Rapana gets the ball back from Canterbury, collects the ball high and runs it out 15m out from his own line.

8: Far out Canberra! Austin drops it behind himself on the last, then tries to pick it up but only proceeds to kick it backwards 10m! He is then stripped 1 on 1, Dogs ball 40m out!

8: TRY CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Scored by Josh Reynolds. Kick to come.
It's that man Josh Reynolds! Takes on the line and strolls through despite the attention of three would be defenders, great strength by him there, 16-0! They're here to play today the Dogs!

10: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Conversion attempt by Moses Mbye successful.
No mistake from the Noosa native!

10: 11 missed tackles by the Raiders in 10 mins, dear oh dear

12: Canberra have it all to do don't they? They bring the ball up over halfway and Austin thumps the ball downfield

13: Lots of metres on offer for the Dogs, Lichaa and Reynolds eating it up at the moment

14: We're going upstairs again folks, possible try to Josh Reynolds...

14: TRY CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Scored by Josh Reynolds. Kick to come.
Pritchard takes a hit up and appears to have the ball stripped, it rolls backwards and is scooped up by Mbye who races downfield and draws Rapana before passing to Reynolds who has a double!

14: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Conversion attempt by Moses Mbye successful.
4 from 4 from MBye

14: Huge break from Phillips from the kick off! 50 metres and beats three players! Canberra in all sorts, Dogs 10m out

17: Penalty to the Dogs 10m right in front, they'll take the shot at goal

17: SUCCESSFUL PENALTY GOAL CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Penalty goal attempt by Moses Mbye successful.
5th goal of the afternoon. This is getting embarrassing for the Raiders, could be a cricket score if things don't change

19: Its only been 19 mins as well folks, better than a point a minute...

20: UNFORCED ERROR CANBERRA RAIDERS
Josh Hodgson makes an unforced error.
Hidgson knocks it on from the play the ball! Dogs 20 m out

20: UNFORCED ERROR CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Sam Kasiano makes an unforced error.
Kaisiano returns the favour and then gives away a penalty, big relief for the green machine!

21: Penalty to Canberra, Reynolds is on report too. It is for taking Croker out in the contest in the air

21: Canberra deep on the attack, a try here would be very very handy

22: Boyd is desperately close to the line but loses it 1m out! Tragedy for the big man as he loses the ball

24: 19 missed tackles to Canberra and only 1 to the bulldogs

25: Penalty to Canberra coming out from their own end, gives them a piggy back up the field

26: Good set from Canberra but Cornish's grubber kick is just a touch too heavy and it goes dead, despite the best efforts of Jarod Croker

28: Close! Canterbury nearly have their 5th try but Reynold's pass is forward to Thompson, there were no Raiders defenders for miles! Lucky

29: Just a break here as Rapana has hurt his ankle, twisted badly in the tackle

30: Rapana has left the field, he looks in some pain.

30: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Sisa Waqa. Kick to come.
Lovely individual try from Sisa Waqa, Austin sprints thru a gap, passes to Waqa who throws a dummy and holds off two defenders on his way to the corner! Canberra are on the board!

31: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker unsuccessful.
No good, hits the upright, score stays 26-4

31: Sisa Waqa is playing fullback now with Rapana off injured

34: Canberra would love another try before half time, they are playing a lot more positively now

36: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Shaun Fensom. Kick to come.
They're coming Canberra!! Croker dinks in a lovely little chip kick insode that gets a great bounce, Fensom scoops it up and dives next to the sticks! 26-10

36: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
No mistake from in front, 26-10!

37: Bulldogs are falling asleep here and Canberra have their tales up

38: Great chip kick by Austin but doesn't get the bounce he wants, the Dogs survive

40: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Josh Papalii. Kick to come.
Oh Boy! Last play of the half and they've scored again! Austin kicks high and to the corner, dropped by the Dogs and picked up by Papalii and he slides over!

40: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Croker sends it over and all of a sudden it's 26-16! three tries in the last 10 mins by the Green Machine!

40: What a wonderful half of attacking footy. Canterbury started like a steam train and got out to a 26-0 lead inside 20 mins, however Canberra have flexed their attacking muscle in the last 10 mins, running in three tries and reduced the deficit to 10 points. They have all the momentum too. Should be a thrilling second half

40: We're back for the second half guys and gals

41: Good opening set by Canterbury, 60 m from their set and a smart kick from Reynolds, sees Canberra 10m out form their own goal line

44: A bit to and fro at the moment.

48: Cornish with a nice break down the left hand side, great tackle by Williams to bring him down!

48: Line drop out for Canterbury here, great defence from Canberra and a smart kick from Cornish

50: Canberra searching for a try, they get a penalty to help their cause 5m out

52: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Blake Austin. Kick to come.
TRY TIME! Blake Austin crashes through the defence to score out wide. Nice offload by Nuuausala and Austin scoots over! 26-20!

52: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
It's a good strike and 26-22 now! What a turnaround!

53: Canberra have come from the dead! This is phenomenal! Can they keep it going?

54: Big 10 mins coming up for Canterbury, they need points badly

55: UNFORCED ERROR CANBERRA RAIDERS
Paul Vaughan makes an unforced error.
Error by Vaughan and this gives Canterbury an opening on halfway!

56: TRY CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Scored by Frank Pritchard. Kick to come.
Nice move from Canterbury here with Lichaa putting Pritchard through a gaping hole and the big man sprints to the line and the Doggies get that try!

57: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Conversion attempt by Moses Mbye unsuccessful.
Mbye pushes it away to the left, no good

57: UNFORCED ERROR CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Sam Kasiano makes an unforced error.
Big error by Kaisiano! Raiders 20m out!

58: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Mitchell Cornish. Kick to come.
This is a crazy game! Canberra have scored again! Hodgson with a little grubber and Cornish has grounded it! Great play from the Raiders! What a topsy turvy game!

60: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Croker converts and its a two pint ball game!!

61: UNFORCED ERROR CANBERRA RAIDERS
Jeremy Hawkins makes an unforced error.
Error by Hwkins only 30m out from their own end, trying to be too expansive but it has backfired

62: TRY CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Scored by Corey Thompson. Kick to come.
Thompson keeps his feet inside the touchline and plants it down, terrible defence by Canberra again

63: UNSUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Conversion attempt by Moses Mbye unsuccessful.
Kick is a shocker by Mbye and is very far to the left, 34-28

65: 15 mins left and it could go down to the wire me thinks, so many points being scored

68: Can Austin spark something else for the Raiders?

69: Canterbury in front by 6 with 10 mins to go, can the Dogs hang on?

72: Some great defence by Canberra! Only 20 m from this dogs set!

72: Raiders now, 35m out, on the attack! Is this it?

74: TRY CANBERRA RAIDERS
Scored by Sisa Waqa. Kick to come.
Waqa! Takes on the line and the tired Dogs defence can't stop him! Takes two defenders and slams it down in the corner! Big kick coming up!

74: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANBERRA RAIDERS
Conversion attempt by Jarrod Croker successful.
Croker nails it!! 34-34! What a game!

75: Momentum is with the Green Machine, can the home crowd bring them home??

76: Austin goes for the field goal but just misses! That hurts!

76: Can the dogs steal this, they're 45m out

76: Mbye kicks it dead after pressure by canberra! 7 tackles for the Raiders

78: 90 seconds left! Canterbury have the ball

78: 50 m out, 4th tackle

79: SUCCESSFUL FIELD GOAL CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Field goal attempt by Josh Reynolds successful.
Reynold's has kicked it from out wide!!! 35-34! What a kick

80: TRY CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Scored by Moses Mbye. Kick to come.
Go for the short kick off, it fails, they have all over run it the Raiders, Pritchard picks it up and feeds Mbye who races 50 metres to the line! What a remarkable game!

80: SUCCESSFUL CONVERSION CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS
Conversion attempt by Moses Mbye successful.
Mbye puts the icing on the cake! 41-34 at full time

80: 75 points, 13 tries and some breathless fans including myself! What a crazy game. Canterbury raced to a 26-0 lead before letting Canberra get it back to 34-34. Josh Reynolds nailed the match winning field goal from a bizarre angle and then Mbye put the icing on the cake at the end with his run away try. Game of the season?