The Bulldogs eased the pressure on coach Des Hasler by notching their first win of the season, downing the Warriors 24-12 in the first ever NRL match to be played in Dunedin.
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Hasler's side were staring down the barrel of an 0-3 start to the year – a situation that would have verged on the intolerable for their success-starved fans.
Two points on the table is crucial for the Canterbury side, but their attacking merits were not convincing for those that watched on – only their defence, led by Gulgong’s Josh Jackson, had any teeth.
The result snapped a six-game losing streak for the Dogs, who had lost four on the trot in the back end of the 2016 season.
The first twenty minutes were all the Warriors as they dominated both possesion and territory, but couldn’t find a way past the Bulldogs’ line.
The best opportunity to mark the board came from Shaun Johnson’s kick-option that almost found Ken Maumalo in the in-goal area, but to no avail.
Bodene Thompson opened the scoring for the Warriors, but it was much-questioned half Moses Mbye that answered back, finding a space in the defensive line to scoot through and score.
The Bulldogs then went into the sheds 10-6 at half time off the back of a Brett Morris run, disappointing many of the Warriors fans in the crowd.
The Warriors found the lead again in the second half off the back of a Johnson try that he then added the extras to, but some fancy tricks from Brett Morris put Marcelo Montoya in for his first ever NRL try, and on his debut.
Morris finished the game with another try to put the contest out of question for the Bulldogs, and pocket them their first win of 2017.
Notably, Rugby League Weekly praised Josh Jackson for his defensive prowess as the Gulgong-born forward put in another strong shift for the blue-and-whites to secure them the win.