NRL: Bulldogs sting late to grab win

Josh Reynolds of the Bulldogs is congratulated by his team mates after scoring a try. Photo / Getty Images

Penrith Panthers 22
Canterbury Bulldogs 14

Michael Gordon's NRL season is in jeopardy after the Penrith pointscoring ace suffered a suspected broken fibula in his side's dramatic 22-14 opening-round loss to Canterbury at Centrebet Stadium.

Gordon - playing his first game since undergoing a knee reconstruction in May last year - was taken to hospital after limping from the field midway through the first half, his departure sparking a Penrith capitulation after they surrendered an early 12-0 lead.

The Bulldogs, too, might have paid a costly price for their win, with Frank Pritchard put on report after he had seemingly handed his side the win 12 minutes from time.

Pritchard flattened David Simmons with a bellringer before picking up the scraps and racing away to score with his side trailing 14-12, but the Kiwi international was called back and put on report after replays showed his shoulder had come in contact with Simmons' head.

The incident was eerily similar to the one which cost Pritchard a suspension last year when he hit Cronulla pivot Wade Graham, and he faces a nervous wait for the match review committee's findings.

New Canterbury coach Des Hasler's frustrations were tempered somewhat when a sweet Pritchard short ball put Josh Morris in with what proved to be the match-winner four minutes later before Bryson Goodwin crossed in the dying minutes.

It was hardly the type of performance that would have excited Hasler, however, the Bulldogs struggling with discipline and handling issues.

Penrith went up 12-0 via tries to Travis Burns and Michael Jennings - the second a positive sign for Panthers' fans after Jennings had to wait until round 13 to score his one and only four-pointer in 2011.

The Bulldogs couldn't get anything going, and it was against the run of play that they halved the deficit when Josh Reynolds crossed in the 32nd minute.

It became even worse for the home side when last year's leading tryscorer Ben Barba opened his 2012 account, backing up a long-range Corey Payne bust six minutes after the restart.

Barba almost went from hero to villain moments later when he spilled a bomb near his own line, only for Lachlan Coote to spill the bouncing ball with the line wide open.

Penrith edged ahead when Luke Walsh added a penalty goal just before the hour, but it wasn't enough in the end.

CANTERBURY 22 (B Barba B Goodwin J Morris J Reynolds tries S Turner 3 goals) bt PENRITH 14 (T Burns M Jennings tries M Gordon 2 L Walsh goals) at Centrebet Stadium. Referee: Jason Robinson, Phil Haines. Crowd: 9,385.