A spectacular second half has powered the Bulldogs to a season-saving victory over the sloppy Storm, but it’s come at a cost with star forward Jacob Preston set for a stint on the sidelines after he suffered a suspected broken forearm.
The Bulldogs have been in freefall ever since their stunning upset win over the Panthers, but they snapped their five-match losing streak in style with the blue and whites coming from behind to win 30-20 at Accor Stadium.
The home fans must’ve been worried when the Bulldogs walked off the field at half-time down 18-6, but they looked like a completely different side after the break with Bronson Xerri and Matt Burton unstoppable with the ball.
Xerri had his best game in first grade with 226 metres and 13 tackles busts, while Burton ran for 198 metres and had nine tackle busts as they destroyed the Storm’s right-edge defence.
Lachlan Galvin showed he can be the club’s long-term halfback with a couple of lovely passes to set up tries, but they didn’t have to do much to win it with a Will Warbrick error leading to the Jethro Rinakama sealer with eight minutes to play.
The win eases some of the pressure on a team that has looked lost in attack, but there’s still a long way to go given they were against a depleted Storm side that still managed to push them all the way.
INJURY BLOW
The win came at a huge cost with Preston suffering a broken forearm just 12 minutes into Friday’s showdown.
Preston was forced from the field early in the first half after making a tackle on Warbrick and is expected to miss several weeks in yet another blow for Canterbury who are already without Viliame Kikau (torn pec) and will need to find another edge forward to help them during the Origin period.
Fullback Connor Tracey was a late scratching and is expected to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury, but there was a silver lining with Jacob Kiraz returning and barging over to clinch the two points with a powerful try at the death.
It was a good moment for Kiraz who conceded a try earlier in the night after he desperately tried to prevent a Jahrome Hughes 40/20, only for him to bat the ball back inside for Moses Leo to score.
Rookie Jack Underhill could earn some more minutes with Preston sidelined, with the cult hero smashing Alec MacDonald and then coming up with a crucial charge down and recovery with the game on the line.
HISTORY REPEATS
Melbourne’s inability to close out contests came back to haunt them as they squandered a 12-point half-time lead to undo their recent good work.
Players will be having nightmares of last year’s grand final when they blew a double-digit lead against the Broncos, with the Storm again unable to finish things off when they looked set to make it three wins on the trot.
Melbourne completed just 50 per cent of their sets in the second half, with two of the errors leading directly to Canterbury tries.
They started the night so well with Moses Leo bagging a first-half double, but they desperately missed Origin stars Cameron Munster and Harry Grant who would have provided an attacking spark.
The loss leaves their finals hopes hanging by a thread, with the Storm set to be without Shawn Blore next week after he failed a head injury assessment at half-time.
Originally published as Injury carnage: Bulldogs lose superstar forward to broken arm but storm home to snap horror losing streak