Flanagan in line for another NRL recall as Barrett seethes at bunker

By Adam PengillyUpdated August 15, 2021 â€" 7.02pmfirst published at 4.04pm

Exiled halfback Kyle Flanagan is poised for another NRL recall while Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett fumed at a decision to rob his side of a second-half try as Canterbury were all but condemned to the wooden spoon.

Barrett’s high-profile signing is favoured to get another chance in the Bulldogs No.7 jersey after Jake Averillo suffered a suspected broken hand in the Warriors’ scrappy 24-10 win at Moreton Daily Stadium on Sunday.

It kept the finals dream alive for Nathan Brown’s nomads, which are just two points off eighth-placed Gold Coast with three games left in the regular season.

But Barrett couldn’t hide his frustration with a decision to penalise back-up hooker Sione Katoa for a high shot on Edward Kosi after he had fumbled the ball near his line in the second half.

The Bulldogs, trailing by 12 points at the time, retrieved it and thought they had scored on the same play, only for the NRL bunker to advise referee Peter Gough to penalise Katoa and put him on report.

“A Warriors player makes an error, it wasn’t a high tackle, and it wasn’t late, and we get a try taken off us,” Barrett lamented. “I’ve had a look at it again, and he didn’t hit him in the head. That’s frustrating. It was 9-2 penalties again. I just don’t understand.

Adam Elliott is held over the line in the Bulldogs’ loss to the Warriors.Credit:Getty

“There’s things in the game we need to do better â€" I’m certainly not hiding that fact â€" but it’s happened all year and it’s happened again today.”

Katoa was placed on report for a second time shortly after the incident as teenage whizkid Reece Walsh sealed the result with a second-half try and 42-metre penalty goal.

The exit of the Warriors’ captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to start his rugby union career early - coupled with the departure of Leeson Ah Mau - was meant to signal the end of the club’s finals hopes. But someone forgot to tell the players who stayed behind.

Given their inferior points differential, the Warriors will probably have to win their remaining three games - against the Broncos, Raiders and Titans - to be a chance. But stranger things have happened this season.

“To win three [in a row] is pleasing, even though we weren’t quite as good as we would have liked to have been,” Brown said. “For us it’s about plodding on each week.

“We’ve had a lot of missed games with injuries and blokes going home, as bad as that’s been it’s also a positive with our younger blokes getting to play a lot. We certainly feel we’re progressing.”

The Bulldogs were forced to borrow Canberra forwards Ryan James and Corey Horsburgh on two-week loans to field a competitive side given suspensions to props Luke Thompson, Jack Hetherington and Dylan Napa.

James, in particular, was a standout, but was also placed on report for a late challenge on Chanel Harris-Tavita as he kicked downfield. Barrett said the veteran forward “had nothing to worry about”.

Warriors back-rower Josh Curran found notoriety for tripping over and headfirst into a sanitiser dispenser last week, but he was making waves for all the right reasons with his best display in the NRL.

“Why it’s happening for him now, it probably shows [that] as people get a little bit older they mature, and we shouldn’t put too much expectation on them when they’re young,” Brown said. “He was probably the best player on the field by a fair margin.”

Bulldogs winger Jayden Okunbor, originally named as 18th man but a last-minute inclusion because of Corey Allan’s injury, dragged his side back to within six points at half-time.

NEW ZEALAND WARRIORS 24 (Josh Curran, Jazz Tevaga, Edward Kosi, Reece Walsh tries; Walsh 4 goals) defeated CANTERBURY-BANKSTOWN BULLDOGS 10 (Aaron Schoupp, Jayden Okunbor tries; Jake Averillo goal) at Moreton Daily Stadium. Referee: Peter Gough.

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Adam Pengilly is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.

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