Belief is building at the Bulldogs that the club are on the brink of something special, and they made a statement with their big Round 21 win over the Broncos.
Having garnered praise for their improved defence this season – they are currently the second best defensive side behind the Panthers – in Brisbane, they switched their focus to attack, with halfback Toby Sexton playing a key role in sparking the 41-16 result.
“We've spent a lot of time this year on our defence and our transition, which is our kicking and last tackle options, and our attack in some ways was the last priority and we feel like in this competition, if we want to go far; our attack’s the next thing that's got to click,” Sexton said.
“If that clicks, well, then we're starting to become a genuine contender in the NRL.
“It's just combinations take time and it's not going to happen straight away, but we're banking heaps of reps that training and it's starting to come out of the game slowly.
“To come out in front of 52,000 fans, a lot of them were Broncos and to put in a performance like that was a massive step in the right direction for us as a side.
“I think every game moving forward is a finals-type kind of game.
“We are coming up against opponents that are around us on the ladder and fighting for a top eight and to win that game today is a really good step in the right direction for us.”
Triple for Tracey
Coming to the club from the Titans via a mid-season transfer last year, Sexton played seven games for his new side, but was made to work hard for his spot this year, working his way back into the starting halfback role with strong performances in NSW Cup.
“I spent a long period of the year, 11 games, in reserve grade, a long period of time for me to go back and work on my game without that added pressure of the wins and losses each week,” Sexton said.
“I came into the NRL side and slowly found my way. It's taken me a little while, but Ciro [coach Cameron Ciraldo] and Reed [Mahoney] and the whole staff and playing group show a lot of confidence in me.
“That's just the role I've got to play. I've got to try to be a leader in the team and direct the boys around and if I can do that well, we saw today that the strike we have got off the back with Burto and Connor [fullback Connor Tracey] ,it's just crazy.”
Sexton said he’d been working on developing his short kicking game with the support of the coaching staff, which had helped his combination with five-eighth Matt Burton continue to grow.
“The whole coaching staff right from Jason Taylor, Chad Randall, Luke Vella, Ciro obviously plays a big part as well, all the coaching staff put a lot of time in me and they're willing to help me in any way possible,” Sexton said.
“I feel like that short game is something I can add to my game and can really help our team out in adding another attack weapon to our team.
“I'm just probably fortunate some of them are starting to come off in the games.
“(Burton is) a special talent and I got to play a bit with him last year and I kind of got to watch for him for the first 11 rounds.
“He's someone that I really enjoy playing with … and he's doing all his effort areas really well at the moment.
“His long kicking game’s just something I've never experienced before and it probably takes a lot of pressure off me as well being a seven, I don't have to worry about it too much and Connor can just complement him when it happens, but he's a special talent.”
This week, the Bulldogs host fellow Round 21 winners the Raiders at Belmore, with Sexton looking forward to the clash at the celebrated venue.
“It's going to be pretty cool; I got to play there last year and we weren't going that great and they nearly sold it out,” Sexton said.
“I think we're playing alright footy at the moment, so Sunday arvo at Belmore at four o'clock, it's not going to get much better than that.”
Match: Bulldogs v Raiders
Round 22 -
home Team
Bulldogs
6th Position
away Team
Raiders
10th Position
Venue: Belmore Sports Ground, Sydney
