The Christchurch Bulldogs have won back to back Premierships in the Canterbury AFL after defeating the Eastern Blues at Northwood Park in Christchurch on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs had gone through the regular season undefeated while the Blues win over the University Cougars in the Preliminary final gave them a shot at knocking over the defending premiers.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a fast start with New Zealand representative Kyle Smith getting the first centre clearance and provided a lovely pass into the arms of Wayne Sullivan.
Inaccuracy early on affected the Dogs on the scoreboard but the Blues found it much tougher to get the ball outside their own 50 with big Brad Mavor providing great defensive pressure.
The defending premiers started the second quarter with a five goal lead and Brad Mavor found himself in the centre of the play again and showed the intent of the Dog’s final footy plan with a “monster” tackle in the forward line to earn himself a rare goal.
Goals were few and far between for the Blues as Niki Dow Medal (Best on Ground) winner Adam Clarke repelled most attacks coming south. Along with his defensive efforts, Clarke had a dominant game drifting off half back to float into the forward line and cut off loose balls coming out from the Blues defence and managed to snare a couple of goals to cap off a great performance.
A four goal final term sealed the premiership for the Bulldogs as they were crowned back to back Premiers and looking for the first three –peat since the four team competition started.
Congratulations to the Bulldogs who out trained and out played every other team in 2017. The camaraderie within the club is very infectious and they have created a high bench mark for the other clubs to follow.
Full Time:
Christchurch Bulldogs 15.22: 112 def. Eastern Blues 2.1: 13
Best players:
Bulldogs: Clarke, Van Gruting, Hayes, Mushy, Stevie
Blues: Aaron, Bowden, Howlett, Hogan, Quinto
