A gruesome ear injury largeley went unnoticed in the Bulldogs′ dominant 18-6 win over the Warriors on Saturday, with Harry Hayes playing on through the pain.
Hayes was assisted by trainers late in the first half after the top of his ear split open when coming out of a tackle.
The second-rower was seemingly unbothered by his injury as trainers wiped away the blood and taped the area so he could continue playing on.
But Canterbury had to cover the brief absence of star back-rower Viliame Kikau, who was called to undergo a head injury assessment after hitting his head hard in a tackle.
The absence of Kikau did not prove too costly to the hosts, though, holding on to a 12-0 lead until the half-time whistle sounded.
The Warriors, on the other hand, were shellshocked by the dominant display their rivals had put up.
To add to the woes of allowing Stephen Crichton and Jacob Preston over the try line in the first half, the Warriors also lost fullback Taine Tuaupiki to injury.
Tuaupiki hobbled off in the back of play as Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad came on. He was later spotted sitting on the bench in a moon boot.
“That could be his season (over) … there are so many things that can go wrong with the foot,” Penrith great Greg Alexander said on Fox League.
The Bulldogs’ dominance continued into the second half, though Jacob Kiraz was the only player in the blue and white jersey to get over the try line.
A penalty goal awarded due to an illegal strip attempt by Chanel Harris-Tavita in the 71st minute did, however, give the team an extra two points.
But the Warriors managed to get one try on the scoreboard just before the final siren sounded, with Mitch Barnett putting through an unlikely kick for Harris-Tavita to snatch and score.
Earlier, Crichton paid tribute to his newborn baby that was born on Friday night when he darted over to score the opening try of the match in the fifth minute.
The Bulldogs skipper did a rocking the baby gesture after he collected a skillful pass from Kikau and stepped two defenders to find the try line.
The home crowd was back on their feet when Lachlan Galvin and Preston teamed up to send the latter through a gaping hole in the Warriors defence.
“(The Warriors) are just struggling to handle the speed the Dogs are playing with,” Alexander said.
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