Cantebury Bulldogs

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All news related to Cantebury here.

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Doggies doing their part fro the community.

www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/sport/nrl/story/0,26799,24993646-5006066,00.html

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This is an interesting read.

www.leaguehq.com.au/articles/2009/03/13/1236919566414.html

I wonder who the player is?

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www.leaguehq.com.au/news/lhqmatchreport/hazem-creates-history/2009/03/14/1236919634816.html

El Masri passes magic mark
Adrian Proszenko | March 15, 2009

Bulldogs 34 Sea Eagles 12

Enough about Brett Stewart.

There was proof last night that you don't have to be in an NRL commercial to be a role model.

That a footballer can be a champion on the field for more than a decade without once carrying on like a goose off it. And that, sometimes, nice guys finish first.

Hazem El Masri needed seven points to become the greatest point scorer in rugby league history.

The stage was set. A home crowd of 19,791 braved the teeming rain to witness history. Fireworks had been pre-loaded around ANZ Stadium for the magic moment.

There were plans for a post-match presentation. Commemorative T-shirts were printed.

El Masri was nervous. From all reports, he couldn't hit a barn door at goalkicking practice on Friday.

When kick-off finally came, he dropped the first ball that came his way. An omen, perhaps?

There were other questions too.

How would the Sea Eagles respond to their week from hell?

Would the Bulldogs' recruits and rookie coach be able to lift them off the bottom of the table?

All of the questions were answered by half-time. By then the score was 22-0 and El Masri had the record in the bag. By the time the Bulldogs posted five tries to seal the Arko-Bullfrog Cup, it begged another question - what score would they have posted on a dry track?

El Masri's magic moment came in the 34th minute, a penalty goal right in front. He saluted the crowd even before he slotted it through the posts to surpass the previous record of 2176 held by Andrew Johns. He finished with seven goals from as many attempts, most of them from the sideline, in pouring rain.

"I'm very happy, obviously," El Masri said afterwards. "It would have been a terrible night if I'd missed a few goals, with the weather as well. I'm just ecstatic. The way the boys got together and the win was a big factor as well.

"It was just a great night."

El Masri, born in Tripoli, Lebanon, arrived in Australia as a soccer-loving 10-year-old. At the time, rugby league was the furthest thing from his mind.

"It's hard to imagine," he said.

"I played soccer for eight to 10 years and all of a sudden I'm playing rugby league. The rise to the top was extremely quick.

"It's another 10 years and I still can't believe it. I never thought I'd be in this position. Thank God for what he's given me, obviously."

Jamal Idris also deserves a mention. The kid got a call-up to first-grade last season after his trial HSC exam. Yesterday he was defusing bombs and skittling defenders in a sensational two-try performance.

Bulldogs coach Kevin Moore was also in a buoyant mood after his first-grade debut.

"Maybe I should resign, I've got a 100 per cent record," he quipped.

Opposing coach Des Hasler had less to be happy about. A long-time critic of the two-referees system, he claimed he didn't know which of the two whistleblowers was the main man in charge.

"Two referees - not a fan," he said. "I thought there were too many different interpretations between the two referees tonight."

However, Hasler and skipper Matt Orford refused to blame the dramas engulfing the club for a poor performance.

The last time Manly came to Homebush Bay they produced the biggest victory in grand final history.

Last night they were touched up by the reigning wooden spooners. Football's back.

BULLDOGS 34 (B Goodwin 2 J Idris 2 J Morris tries H El Masri 7 goals) bt MANLY 12 (M Ballin J Lyon tries M Orford 2 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Referee: B Cummins, Brett Suttor. Crowd: 19,791.

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Raining 'Dogs on Cats'
By Ed Jackson
March 21, 2009 12:00am

BULLDOGS 28 PANTHERS 26

HAZEM El Masri's last-gasp conversion sealed a victory for the Bulldogs against Penrith in a dramatic NRL encounter at CUA Stadium.
El Masri converted Ben Roberts' 78th-minute try eight metres inside the touchline to break the Panthers' hearts and maintain the pressure on coach Matt Elliott. The result was a cruel one for the hosts, who had held an eight-point lead at half-time.

Second-rower Trent Waterhouse's second try of the night in the 68th minute had given the Panthers a 26-22 lead and looked set to give them for their first victory of the season.

Trailing 20-12 at half-time, midweek recruit Greg Eastwood capped a fine second-half comeback by when he scored in the 51st minute to put Bulldogs ahead 22-20.

The Kiwi international pounced on a grubber kick from former Brisbane teammate Michael Ennis which had rebounded off the base of the post.

Another former Bronco, David Stagg, scored a crucial try in the first half to keep the Bulldogs in touch and released teenage sensation Jamal Idris to begin the second-half fightback.

The Bulldogs took an early lead through veteran halfback Brett Kimmorley but were pegged back for large parts of the first half as Paul Aiton, Brad Tighe and Waterhouse all scored for the home team.

The Bulldogs endured a horror first half, Ennis twice kicking the ball out on the full from kick-offs and Kimmorley also kicking a ball out on the full just before half-time. Only Josh Morris' tap back from missed bomb which allowed Stagg to score kept the Bulldogs in touch.

Kimmorley's opener came when the Bulldogs spread the ball on the fifth tackle in the seventh minute, Ennis sending centre Morris into the clear before he fed the ball inside to the former Shark.

But it was pretty much all Panthers from then on, with Petero Civoniceva's clever backhand offload in the 12th minute to Aiton levelling scores.

The Panthers then had two try appeals dismissed by the video referee before it was third time lucky for the Panthers when Luke Patten missed a bomb and the ball worked its way to centre Brad Tighe.

He sold Kimmorley a big dummy before dragging two Bulldogs over the line to score. Another missed bomb brought the Bulldogs back into the match when Josh Morris tapped the loose ball back to Stagg with 28 minutes gone.

But, despite fumbling the ball twice, Waterhouse held on to crash over with 30 gone to restore Penrith's eight-point lead going into the break.

After the Bulldogs' early double in the second half, Waterhouse appeared to have sealed victory for the embattled Panthers before Roberts and El Masri's late heroics.

Fulltime
BULLDOGS 28 (G Eastwood J Idris B Kimmorley B Roberts D Stagg tries H El Masri 4 goals) bt PENRITH 26 (T Waterhouse 2 P Aiton B Tighe tries M Gordon 5 goals) at CUA Stadium. Referee: M Cecchin, Chris James. Crowd: 16,846.