It may not have been the flashiest of wins but boy was it gutsy.
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs made a big recruitment splash ahead of the 2022 season, with Melbourne Storm winger Josh Addo-Carr a headline addition.
While so much is made of Addo-Carr’s speed and finesse out wide, an underrated strength of his game is the 26-year-old’s leadership.
And that was on full display late in the first half of the 6-4 win over the North Queensland Cowboys on Sunday night.
Having successfully won a challenge to win the ball back for the Bulldogs, a fired-up Addo-Carr quickly turned to his teammates with a quick wake-up call.
So much is made of the Storm culture — the winning drive and mentality that Craig Bellamy instils into every player that comes through the system, regardless of their status in the game.
Addo-Carr has delivered that to Belmore and Sunday was just the latest example, with the winger also bringing the intensity in a trial match against the Cronulla Sharks.
In that instance, when fellow new recruit Brent Naden appeared to score what would have been the side’s second try, Addo-Carr urged his new teammates to rush in and celebrate.
The on-field chemistry and combinations may take time to build, but the hope for Bulldogs fans is that the early signs from Addo-Carr hint at a broader culture change at the club.
If Sunday’s performance is anything to go by there is plenty of reasons for promise at Belmore, with coach Trent Barrett labelling the win “unbelievable” post-game.
“It was an extremely courageous effort. It was unbelievable really what they did,” he said.
“It’s always a tough trip to come to Townsville, but to go through what we had - we had five HIAs and ran out of reserves, had blokes playing out of position, used our 18th man.
“To be able to hang on and get a win is great for us, great for the players and I’m extremely proud of them. I think they showed it [galvanised them]. They didn’t give up.”
Addo-Carr admitted it was an “ugly game” when speaking with Fox League but given the adversity the Bulldogs played under, it might have been exactly what they needed.
“That was a tough game,” he said.
“We hung in there and I’m just glad to get the two points. This game will give us a lot of confidence, these boys needed it.”
Source: foxsports.com.au