In a thrilling finish on Sunday night, the Bulldogs snatched a 15-14 victory over the Cowboys in golden point, thanks to a spectacular field goal from Matt Burton. The Bulldogs were trailing 14-10 with less than a minute left on the clock when Josh Addo-Carr scored a try, forcing the game into golden point.
The game-changing moment came when Burton, the brilliant Canterbury five-eighth, stole victory for his side in the final seconds of the first half of golden point. Burton had earlier missed a conversion from the left touchline, with the ball hitting the left upright.
The Bulldogs began their winning play with Burton chipping the ball for Addo-Carr, who then put in a kick over Cowboys fullback Tom Chester. Despite Addo-Carr winning the race for the ball, he was thwarted by a wicked bounce. However, young Canterbury back-rower Jacob Preston, who scored two tries in the game, pounced on the ball, setting up Burton’s heroics.
With the footy tossed to him by Kyle Flanagan from dummy-half, New South Wales State of Origin representative Burton nailed a field goal from behind the 30-metre line and about 10 metres inside the left touchline. The field goal marked the first time the Bulldogs led in the match.
Burton’s winning kick sent the Canterbury fans at Stadium Australia into a frenzy as he took off on a celebratory run with his arms raised. Fittingly, club legend Josh Reynolds, playing his first game for the Bulldogs since 2017, was the first to embrace him.
Fox League’s Cooper Cronk praised Burton’s performance, saying, “Matt Burton with the golden left boot has absolutely come out with a clutch play here to win it for the Dogs. Outstanding.”
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo expressed pride in his team during the post-match press conference, commending their tenacity and grit. The win came despite the loss of forward Raymond Faitala-Mariner to a head injury just two minutes into the game and forward Jayden Okunbor’s sin-binning for a hip-drop tackle.
The victory sees the Bulldogs climb to eighth place on the ladder after round five, while the Cowboys, who reached the preliminary finals in 2022, are now in 14th place. The Bulldogs will face the Rabbitohs in their traditional Good Friday match at Stadium Australia, while the Cowboys will take on the Dolphins in Townsville on Friday night.
