Bulldogs get the better of Bathurst rivals CSU once more

BATHURST Bulldogs continue to reign supreme in their Central West Rugby Union rivalry with CSU thanks to a 47-7 win at University Oval on Saturday.

Bulldogs ran in four first half tries and three more after the break against their undersized opposition to extend their winning streak over CSU beyond three years.

As the margin suggests, they were vastly superior in most areas of the game and as expected, Bulldogs' work around the set pieces was impressive.

Repeatedly they forced turnovers in the CSU scrums and line-outs and almost every time the students looked like they were building something promising with ball in hand, Bulldogs upped the ante and drew an error.

On the flipside, CSU actually earned an equal share of territory and possession. They gave a spirited effort for the majority of the contest, but were left to rue a couple of patches in which they gave up tries in rapid succession.

"We didn't play with a lot of structure for long periods in that game and it really showed with our handling," Bulldogs co-coach Shane Cantrill said.

"That's probably the most ball we've dropped all year, nearly as much as the other games put together, though the second grade boys said it was very greasy, so that was probably a factor.

"Our effort was fantastic though, and so was our defence."

The two sides were evenly matched in the first 15 minutes, but on the back of a CSU turnover hooker Mark Donnelley crossed for Bulldogs' first try. It was duly converted by Justin Mobbs.

Bulldogs backed it up from the restart as a couple of quick phases saw them back in their attacking zone. Then from an errant CSU line-out, Peter Fitzsimmons pounced on a loose ball and strolled over for the visitors' second.

Bulldogs again found themselves close to the students' tryline only two minutes later and this time it was Mobbs who gathered an off-load from Josh Lees on the half-volley and dived over. At 21-0, a blow-out looked like a possibility.

However, CSU dug in and thanks to Nick Dutton crashing onto a short ball from Josh Gemmell to score, the hosts pulled back to 21-7.

As they've done so often though, CSU shot themselves in the foot immediately after.

From the kick-off they handed over the ball and Scott Johnston in turn sent Tom Joseph across for the Bulldogs' fourth try.

A 28-7 lead at half-time suggested the game was headed one way, but CSU spent a large portion of the next 25 minutes in good position.

Simple mistakes and lost scrums were costly during that period. If there was any doubt about the result by that point, it was put to bed when Tyler Cook was played into a gap by Chad Ashton for what was effectively the sealer.

Tyson Smith and Tyler Cook both scored for Bulldogs in the dying minutes to stretch the margin and keep their side in the top two on the competition ladder along with Orange City.

Fitzsimmons was the best player on the field by some distance, while Izaak Breen was typically damaging in close and Mobbs at fullback was strong.

Dutton and Backhouse were CSU's best.

"We've played better this season, but I'm still very happy with that result and where it leaves us halfway through the season," Cantrill said.

"When we stuck to structured football we were very good today."

BATHURST BULLDOGS 47 (Tyler Cook 2, Mark Donnelley, Peter Fitzsimmons, Justin Mobbs, Tom Joseph, Tyson Smith tries; Justin Mobbs 5 conversions, Nathan Pearce conversion) defeated CSU 7 (Nick Dutton try; Cam Backhouse conversion)