The Canterbury Bulldogs are counting the cost of their Thursday night loss to the Brisbane Broncos, with three players receiving suspensions out of a chaotic evening at Suncorp Stadium.
A trio of Bulldogs – Josh Curran, Sitili Tupouniua and Marcelo Montoya – were sent to the sin bin during the club’s streak-ending 42-18 loss; while several others were lucky to escape the same fate.
Curran was marched in the 10th minute after a high shoulder to the head of Payne Haas.
Making matters worse, Tupouniua was then sent for 10 with the score at 34-0 late in the first half, after high contact on Brendan Piakura.
Montoya was unluckier, sin-binned in a controversial second half incident in which Piakura fell into his shoulder after a Viliame Kikau tackle.
Things could have been even worse, with Matt Burton staying on the field after a high hit on Billy Walters late in the first half that would have reduced the Bulldogs to 11 men; while Tupouniua was extremely fortunate to avoid being sin-binned for a second time after a raised knee collected Piakura during a tackle.
Broncos captain Adam Reynolds was heard on the referee mic insisting to Gerard Sutton that Tupouniua be sent off.
“That’s a send-off, mate – what’s the game come to?” he said.
“We give a little bump … and it’s 10 in the bin.”
The Dogs have paid a heavy price for the night of ill discipline, with a combined 13 weeks’ suspension doled out to Curran, Tupouniua and Burton for their acts.
Burton was hit with a Grade 2 careless high tackle charge to earn a two-week ban that he can have downgraded to one with an early plea, while Curran received a hefty four-match sanction that can be reduced to three for his Grade 2 shoulder charge.
Tupouniua was hardest hit, copping two suspensions for his twin acts – a four-game ban that can come down to three for his shoulder charge, and a three-game sanction down to two for his high knee in Piakura.
All up, he will spend at least five weeks on the sidelines unless the Bulldogs can successfully challenge one or both of his bans.
Montoya was the only sin-binned Bulldog spared.
Speaking after the match, Dogs coach Cameron Ciraldo lamented his side’s ill discipline, describing the frequent sin-binnings as a “ball-ache”.
“It was a comedy of errors but we will walk away with plenty of lessons,” he said.
“Number one, we are not good enough to be beaten at the laws of the game like that.
“Number two, we are not good enough to play as individuals. We played as a team in the second half and started to look like the Bulldogs again.
“Number three, we never give up … we attacked the second half and scored 18 points.
“I am really proud of the second half and filthy at the first half.”
Broncos celebrate Xavier Willison’s try. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
“We’ve been pretty disciplined so we’ll fix that pretty quickly.”
The Bulldogs’ loss was their first of the season after a 6-0 start, but they remain comfortably clear atop the NRL ladder.
They face the Gold Coast Titans in Magic Round weekend, while they are set to be without Curran for further matches against the Raiders in Canberra and the Sydney Roosters, and Tupouniua for clashes with the Dolphins and Parramatta Eels.
A five-game ban would leave Tupouniua unable to represent the club until after King’s Birthday.
Bailey Hayward looks set to replace Burton in the halves for the Bulldogs’ Magic Round clash with mercurial Gold Coast, while Daniel Suluka-Fifita and Kurtis Morrin appear leading candidates to join the forward pack.
Burton should return for the ensuing tough road trip to Canberra, while Curran is on track to return against the Sydney Roosters in round 11.
