Now firmly in place as the first-choice fullback for the Bulldogs, Connor Tracey is reaping the rewards of consistency, highlighted by a career first hat-trick in the win over the Broncos.
Tracey also contributed with three try assists as the visitors put on an attacking masterclass to end a five-game losing streak against the Broncos, beating Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium for the first time since 2015.
“It was a pretty cool experience; I have never played at Suncorp when it's been a full stadium, so that was a good experience and we were able to do what we planned to do," Tracey said.
“We have been working on our attack, we had a few boys back this week to work on some things and they (Broncos) have a tight defensive line … so a bit of work went into getting around that.
“It was good to work on it during the week and it came off a few times tonight.
“(In most of our games), defence always keeps us in it.
“We're a new team, so working on our combinations and things, it was going to take time, but I feel like over the last few weeks, we're always working hard at training, so it's going to come out and tonight we were able to score a few points, which was good fun.”
Match: Broncos v Bulldogs
Round 21 -
home Team
Broncos
12th Position
away Team
Bulldogs
7th Position
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
The fact the side were able to do it without their inspirational skipper Stephen Crichton who was ruled out with a neck injury made the 41-16 result even more satisfying for the Bulldogs, with Jacob Kiraz moving into the centres and Jeral Skelton making the most of his late call-up, scoring a try and making 304 metres.
"Jeral’s a beast, 300 metres as well; it's pretty handy to have that sort of depth in our squad, we’ve got players who can come in and do a job and we've done that a few times this year,” Tracey told NRL.com.
“We went down to Melbourne as well with a few players out.
“It's pretty pleasing that whoever comes in is doing the job.”
Triple for Tracey
One of the new recruits for this season, Tracey started the season as the team’s replacement player in Round 1 before featuring in wing five games on the wing. After being picked at fullback in Round 7, he hasn’t looked back and said he had “loved” being able to work on improving his game.
“I have enjoyed working on combinations with all the boys and playing in the same position has really helped my game.
“Just like everyone in that (dressing) room, we're trying to get better each day and we're looking forward to finishing off the season strong.”
Next week, the Bulldogs take on the Raiders at Belmore Sports Ground to close the round, with Tracey keen to get back to the club’s heartland.
“I can't wait. We’ve played one game at Belmore, so getting back there, it's going to be pretty cool,” Tracey said.
“I'm sure our fans will pack it out.
“They're some of the best fans in the league, so I'm already looking forward to that.
“Our fans, they definitely get around us and they love when we win, so it's definitely added motivation and it's cool to see people happy when we win, it’s awesome.”
