Full of bark but unlucky

It was a tough start for the Bulldogs with Poasa Faamausili out of the game after clashing heads in the opening hit-up.
Then the Sharks lost a man and the Bulldogs capitalised when Viliame Kikau crashed over but the try was denied.
Come the 13th minute and the Bulldogs had their reward when Drew Hutchison found Blake Taaffe who sent Blake Wilson over. Matt Burton’s conversion made it 6-0.
With 16 minutes to play in the half, the Sharks went in before a sweeping move looked to have delivered Wilson a second of the night in the 33rd minute but replays showed he put his boot on the sideline before launching himself at the line.
The Bulldogs opened the second term with all the ball but Kikau was denied what would have been a trysaver.
The Sharks hit the front in the 56th minute and then iced the win ahead of a field goal in the dying seconds to make it 25-6.
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo said he couldn’t ask for any more preparation and commitment from his team.
“To lose Poasa on the first play of the game, I thought we defended really well, especially around the goal line,” he said.
“I thought Burto had one of his best games, his mindset around running the ball was really good. I also thought Kikau had his best game in a Bulldogs jersey so there are some really good signs there.”
The Bulldogs next welcome the Titans to Belmore Sports Ground from 3pm on Saturday.
Other results: Knock On Effect NSW Cup, Jets 28 d Bulldogs 16; Jersey Flegg Cup, Bulldogs 34 d Sharks 8; UNE Harold Matthews Cup, Bulldogs 46 d Tigers 0; UNE SG Ball Cup, Bulldogs 42 d Tigers 6; Westpac Tarsha Gale Cup, Bulldogs 30 d Tigers 4; and Westpac Lisa Fiaola Cup, Bulldogs 36 d Tigers 8.