2 hours ago
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No one at Canterbury was enamoured with Bronson Xerri’s initial reaction to getting dropped. His second one was much better.
Playing at left centre, his penance for sulking after being shifted to right centre in the top grade, Xerri scored with his first touch in NSW Cup on Saturday afternoon. It was one of several impressive involvements in front of a tiny crowd at Raiders Belconnen that included Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould, who flew in especially for the occasion.
When Xerri scored in the 10th minute, he did so in front of a hill that was occupied by seven spectators. It was a far cry from the bright lights of Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, the scene of Xerri’s previous appearance in the blue and white this season.
Xerri was marking up on another surprising NRL omission. There was no room for Kiwi international Matt Timoko in Ricky Stuart’s top Raiders side, leaving two top-quality three-quarters to go at it. The Bulldog had the slightly better of it, thanks largely to the amount of early possession in a side steered expertly by Canterbury halfback Sean O’Sullivan.
On a couple of occasions, Xerri pushed a pass that missed its mark, resulting in a turnover. But at this level, even after an off-season cruelled by injury, he was clearly a class above.
Try aside, Xerri made a handful of incisive runs, though there were times he struggled to get into the game.
Of more concern for Canterbury coach Cameron Ciraldo would be the little effort areas that will dictate when he will return to first grade. This was a solid performance, but Enari Tuala can consider himself stiff if replaced after holding his own against better opposition on Thursday night.
If he needs inspiration, Xerri should look to Bailey Simonsson. It appeared Simonsson’s time at Parramatta was over after a falling out with the coach, a blow-up that occurred when Dylan Brown was preferred to him in the centres.
But Simonsson showed great maturity in acknowledging the problem was staring him in the mirror, and is now part of the Eels’ first-grade backline.
Getting dumped and being portrayed as a dummy-spitter is a sobering experience. But Xerri has come back from much bigger setbacks than that.
