It was a tough day at the office for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, outclassed 44-0 by the Melbourne Storm at Aami Park.
Ryan Papenhuyzen scored four of Melbourne's eight tries, as they enjoyed a return to form following last week's loss to the Parramatta Eels.
Bulldogs captain Josh Jackson was less than impressed with his team's performance, admitting the players need more time to find solutions to their disjointedness.
"I think there is a little bit of [frustration]," Jackson said.
"Just with the patience that we're showing - I think we're trying to score off of every play.
"We need to build our sets and be a little bit more patient, particularly against a team like Melbourne.
"It takes more than one or two plays to beat them. So there was certainly a sense of [frustration].
"And I think just a little bit of a lack of cohesion ... we always knew it was going to take a little bit of time [to develop together].
"There were a couple of minor changes to the team as well this week, so I think that's a factor as well.
"But defensively, we're embarrassed by that [performance]."
Ryan Papenhuyzen is running RIOT! ⚡#NRLStormBulldogs pic.twitter.com/8dk86XPlct
— NRL (@NRL) April 3, 2022
Despite the lopsided scoreboard, the visiting side had 52% of the possession but ultimately failed to make a dent in the Storm's defensive line.
Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett was particularly disappointed by his team's attacking efforts, notably when presented with multiple opportunities in the first half.
"I felt we struggled with our execution," Barrett said.
"We got a lot of [the ball] early in the game, and we needed to come away with something there.
"If you don't score, you need to build pressure, and we couldn't do either.
"Second half exactly the same. We gifted them two tries when we were attacking, and then the other one, we kicked it dead.
"You can't do that against good teams."
