Brian Kelly found himself in a confusing situation during a recent match when he was sent to the sin bin after being penalised for offside twice in quick succession at the scrum. Following his initial offside call, the Bulldogs chose to reset the scrum, but when Kelly was flagged a second time, referee Todd Smith had no choice but to enforce a penalty by sending him off.
This decision left several Titans players perplexed until Smith clarified the reasoning behind his ruling. The timing of Kelly’s sin bin was particularly unfortunate as it came right after the Titans scored through Phillip Sami, which had brought them back into the game. Despite the setback of losing Kelly, the Bulldogs maintained control and ultimately triumphed with a score of 38-18.
Kelly’s troubles didn’t end with the sin bin incident; he also struggled with his kicking throughout the match, missing his first three conversion attempts, which led to commentary from Andrew Voss, who jokingly remarked that he “couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn” after his third unsuccessful kick. Kelly finally managed to convert one successfully but his performance was overshadowed by the earlier misses.
Adding to the Titans’ woes, Chris Randall received a sin bin penalty himself with just under ten minutes remaining for a professional foul against Bronson Xerri, further hindering the team’s attempts at a comeback. They had briefly shown promise, scoring two consecutive tries, but the setbacks proved detrimental.
In a bizarre twist, with just four minutes left, another Bulldogs player, Jacob Preston, was also sent off for a crusher tackle on Tino Fa’asuamaleaui, leaving the Bulldogs facing their own nervous moments as they navigated the end of the match.