Canterbury’s first loss of the season had coach Cameron Ciraldo “filthy” on one hand but also convinced his side had the right DNA to rebound.
The ladder-leading Bulldogs crumbled in the first half of their 42-18 loss to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night after falling behind 34-0 at halftime.
Of further concern was forward Sitili Tupouniua being put on report twice, once for a shoulder charge and the second time for lifting his knees while in possession, with Broncos second-rower Brendan Piakura the victim both times.
Winger Marcelo Montoya was also booked twice, the second time for a high shot on Piakura.
Five-eighth Matt Burton was put on report for a high shot on hooker Billy Walters while prop Josh Curran also fell foul for a wallop to the chin of Payne Haas.
Tupouniua, Montoya and Curran were all sin-binned once.
In the second half, the Bulldogs showed the fighting spirit they are known for.
Ciraldo said his side were “humbled” in the first half when errors, penalties, seven-tackle sets and binnings proved costly.
“It was a comedy of errors but we will walk away with plenty of lessons from tonight,” he said.
“Number one, we are not good enough to be beaten at the laws of the game like that.
“Number two, we are not good enough to play as individuals. We played as a team in the second half and started to look like the Bulldogs again.
“Number three, we never give up. I know teams get ahead on the scoreboard like that and don’t come out with the same intensity, which is probably part of the story of the Broncos tonight, but we attacked the second half and scored 18 points.
“I am really proud of the second half and filthy at the first half.”
The Bulldogs, after six wins to start the season, had “two or three” players off their game in the middle of the park, the coach said.
Ciraldo was non-committal when asked if the sin-binnings were too harsh
“I don’t know. There was so much going on tonight and no flow to the game,” he said.
“It was one of those games that was hard to watch to be honest. It was a ball-ache to watch for me so I am sure everyone else felt the same. I put that down to us trying too hard.
“We have been pretty disciplined for long periods so we can fix it.
“I didn’t think we had to lose a game to need that sort of lesson. We prepared really well. You just can’t do that to a team like the Broncos.”
Ipswich should be next expansion team: Ikin
The rugby league heartland of Ipswich and its western environs are ripe for the NRL to insert a 20th NRL side insists QRL
The Australian Rugby League Commission has agreed in principle to a revised proposal from the Western Australia government for an NRL team in Perth in 2027 which will resurrect, in an affiliation, foundation club North Sydney Bears.
PNG will be the 19th team in 2028.
When the former Western Corridor bid, now known as the Jets, was forged 18 years ago, former NRL boss David Gallop toured the region and said the game had to go “where the fish are biting”.
The rugby league heartland produced the Walters brothers, Allan Langer and further to the west the likes of Shane Webcke, Steve Price and Darren Lockyer.
The Jets, slated to be based in Ipswich but with an affiliation with Newtown Jets, has Ikin’s backing as the next franchise.
“(PNG) gets us to 19 teams so it makes sense that we get to 20 to fully realise the broadcast rights opportunity,” Ikin said.
“Then you can have 10 games and maybe the chance to split up into conferences and do some good things with the draw.
“That (western corridor) region has such a rich rugby league history and from a population perspective is one of the fastest growing in the country, and it is rugby league mad.
“The AFL are out there with an elite presence (at the Brisbane Lions’ home base in Springfield) and we are not.
“It makes sense to me that once you get through the logistically challenged franchises in PNG and Perth then you can potentially bolt on and make team number 20 something you could switch on really quick.”
The final North Sydney Bears squad in 1999.
The Queensland boss hailed the return of a Perth-based side for the first time since 1997 and the return of the Bears who he played for before in their last season in the NRL in 1999.
“Anyone who loves the game and there’s lots of us, we want more people to love the game the way we do,” he said.
“So taking the game we love back to the other side of the country and giving them another chance to see the best version of what we do in the NRL can only be good for rugby league.
“If Super League taught us anything it is that history counts,” Ikin added
“It can’t be manufactured. The Bears survived for a long time at the top end of the game and continued to exist while not being afforded the opportunity.
“It is a credit to all the people that kept it alive and going … and to see the history that all those good people believed in re-emerge in the elite version of what we do is magnificent.”
The Ipswich-based Jets bid would also add the romantic notion of revitalising foundation club Newtown Jets. “Who doesn’t like a bit of romance in rugby league? To have that brand in the elite national competition would be special,” Ikin said.
“In that western region effectively you will drag in Brisbane central like the (Brisbane) Tigers, the Ipswich Jets as another pathways club and the Western Clydesdales out there in Toowoomba.
“The road that connects the two most-western of those pathways clubs is called Darren Lockyer Way. If that doesn’t make sense from a rugby league perspective I don’t know what will.”
