Burton field goal seals Bulldogs’ NRL win over Cowboys

Jasper Bruce | April 2, 2023

A Matt Burton field goal has given Canterbury a 15-14 come-from-behind NRL win over North Queensland in extra time at Accor Stadium.

Burton’s kicking game and a line break from Josh Addo-Carr put the Bulldogs in position to take one shot at field goal before the first period of extra time expired on Sunday night.

The premiership winner needed only one chance, clinching the result from just outside 30 metres and helping the Bulldogs celebrate Josh Reynolds’ homecoming in style.

The Cowboys maintained a slim lead for most of the match and enjoyed the better of first-half chances.

When fill-in fullback Tom Chester crashed over in the 59th minute, the Cowboys’ 14-6 lead looked as though it could have been a match-winning one given the tight nature of the game and the greasy conditions.

On their way back into the game, the Bulldogs needed to overcome injuries to Raymond Faitala-Mariner (concussion), Franklin Pele (arm) and Max King (eye).

Rookie Jacob Preston had the best night of his young career and finished with two tries, the second of which was scored after he had the webbing of his hand stitched up.

But it wasn’t until Addo-Carr sailed over on the left in the final 45 seconds that the Bulldogs were able to level the scores, having remained on the attack for the final 10 minutes.

Burton’s conversion attempt struck the upright and the game went to extra time.

Fan favourite Reynolds entered the game in the 54th minute for his first match for the Bulldogs since leaving to join the Wests Tigers for the 2018 season.

His role in the middle was a far-cry from the five-eighth spot for which he is best remembered by Bulldogs fans, but he brought much-needed energy when the chips were down and finished with 19 tackles.

Jayden Okunbor can expect scrutiny from the match review committee for a hip-drop tackle on Jason Taumalolo that sent the Bulldogs utility to the sin bin in the first half, while teammate Raymond Faitala-Mariner failed his head injury assessment and is set to miss round six.

Taumalolo managed to finish the game despite initially appearing to have hurt his ankle in Okunbor’s tackle.

Pele will go for scans after suffering a suspected forearm fracture in the second half.