Canterbury have launched Cameron Ciraldo's tenure at the Bulldogs in promising fashion with a 34-18 victory over the Raiders in Moruya on Sunday.
The Bulldogs ran in four tries to set up a 22-6 lead in a near flawless first 40 minutes with new recruit Reed Mahoney needing only a quarter of the game to prove he'll change the side's attacking woes in 2023.
Mahoney's influence around the ruck was evident for the Bulldogs in a 25-minute stint as he got his forwards motoring and linked well with Josh Reynolds and Kyle Flanagan to set up a 16-0 lead against an error-riddled Raiders outfit.
Mahoney sent Paul Alamoti over the line with a long cut-out pass from close range while Flanagan looked more composed and willing to threaten the line alongside the former Eel.
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Reynolds, who made an official return to the field in blue and white after 876 days, gave enough in the game to suggest he'll provide plenty of use to the squad in 2023 after a recent upgrade to the top 30 squad.
Former Raider Ryan Sutton got Canterbury's third try of the afternoon but failed to finish the match after copping a head knock. Another new recruit, Franklin Pele, showed some fancy footwork to send Jacob Preston over on the left edge.
Tries to Brad Schneider, Elijah Anderson and James Schiller got the Raiders back to within range before there were concerns for fullback Xavier Savage after he copped a knock to the jaw during a backline movement.
Okunbor opens the scoring at Moruya
Canterbury extended their lead through Blake Wilson but the deficit was quickly narrowed to 10 via a Raiders try through Mitchell Spencer.
In a positive, Raiders veteran Jarrod Croker made a successful return to the field following shoulder surgery last year. He was a bit rusty with the ball in hand but will be better for the 60-minute stint ahead of possible Round 1 selection.
The battle of who will start at dummy half for Ricky Stuart in the opening round of the Telstra Premiership remains undecided after new recruit Danny Levi and Zac Woolford were limited in opportunities while Tom Starling was rested.
Match snapshot
- Cameron Ciraldo rolled out new recruits Reed Mahoney, Ryan Sutton, Franklin Pele and Andrew Davey for the match with Mahoney starring early with two try assists.
- Raiders fullback Xavier Savage had an unfortunate afternoon littered with collisions. He passed a HIA early in the game after copping an accidental knee from Josh Reynolds before suffering a jaw injury in the second half.
- Bulldogs prop Ryan Sutton suffered a head knock in his first appearance for his new club and did not return.
- Young Raiders prop Loghan Lewis was placed on report for a lifting tackle on Corey Waddell in the 32nd minute.
- The Bulldogs activated two Pre-season Challenge bonus points through tries scored and line breaks.
- Canterbury completed at 92 per cent for the match with Canberra's error count compounding the Bulldogs' perfect first half.
- Braidon Burns started at fullback for the Bulldogs, churning out 150 metres in the win.
Schiller runs the length
Play of the game
Franklin Pele hasn't received much fanfare since arriving to Belmore but his first stint in blue and white looked promising with his footwork to help set up Canterbury's fourth through Jacob Preston a sign of things to come.
He then backed it up to set up Brandon Clarke with a bumper run and churned out over 120 metres overall in a performance that could see him forced his way into Cameron Ciraldo's Round 1 line-up.
Preston scores a well deserved try
What they said
"I really liked it, I liked how they wanted to defend their line. I think they were just excited to get out there and play. We put our own systems in place and just tried to put some standards around what we were doing and to the boys' credit, they’ve really bought in it. It's only a trial so we're back on again next week." - Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo.
Ciraldo: Josh Reynolds will play a part in 2023
"It was good to be back, it’s been a rough 12-18 months for me, and my focus personally was to get out there, have fun and get involved in the game. It’s been tough, I came back last year and had my shoulder and knees done and had a couple of kilos to lose. But I had a good period before and after Christmas and getting here was my goal. It was a typical trial where if someone lost the ball we were on the back foot and had to defend for most of the game, and that was us. We had some young kids try and get some experience and we’ll benefit from that going forward." - Raiders captain Jarrod Croker.
What's next
Both sides will head to Belmore Sports Ground next Sunday as part of a double-header that is expected to attract a solid crowd a fortnight before Round 1.
It all starts with the Raiders taking on Wests Tigers before Canterbury hosting the Sharks.
Bulldogs recruit Viliame Kikau is expected to turn out for his first game in blue and white while the Raiders will roll out their big guns including Josh Papali'i, Jack Wighton and Joseph Tapine.