Christchurch Bulldogs 19.14.128 defeated Mid-Canterbury Eagles 6.3.39
Humid north-westerley conditions greeted the teams in the early game this week and the Bulldogs took full advantage of the breeze in the first quarter slamming home 8 goals to nothing to go into the first break with a 50 point buffer over their country rivals. The Doctor was giving young George Whitehead a lesson in ruckwork and new 6'3" midfielder Sam Steele was bullocking his way through packs and bombing it long to the goalsquare where new youthful full forward Keating was using his opponent as a stepladder while goalsneak Jacky was sweeping up the crumbs. Dan Hastings was lively across half forward and BIG ZOOTS was leading the way from the pivotal centre-half-forward position.
2nd quarter saw the Bulldogs lapse into a worrying slumber and allow the hard-running Eagles to get a sniff. The backline were under immense pressure during the quarter but they stood firm despite several miracle goals from the Eagles. It took a courageous run through a pack of 3 opponents by Marcus Balchin to snare a goal to settle the boys just prior to halftime.
Third quarter and the boys were a little slow but kept the scoreboard ticking over with new pup Rowan slotting one through and the Doc taking a couple of telling marks and kicking truly. Spoons & Craig were repelling attacking forays by the Eagles and Becky did his usual trick of get the ball, run away from his opponent, deliver to a team-mate & repeat steps a thru c. Coach Langridge imposed himself on the game during the quarter and with his charging runs and deafening direction & leadership.
In what is possibly the best ever quarter played by the Bulldogs the team kicked another 8 goals and ran in numbers, shared the ball around and brought their team-mates into the play. Dave Hume, Javier Balcazar and again the Doc got amongst the goals while the coach kept the Eagles in the game by kicking 3 points.
Special thanks go to Christmas for his bench-coaching skills. WOOF.
Last Modified on 14/12/2008 08:19