In the NRL, absence often makes the heart grow fonder. Canterbury play just two games a year at Belmore Sportsground, and those dates are circled on the calendar by eager Bulldogs fans at the start of the season.
On Sunday, at the end of a pulsating 22-18 victory over the Raiders at their spiritual home which took them another step closer to finals football, coach Cameron Ciraldo sat down in the cramped Sydney Olympic Football Club office commandeered for the press conference and spoke of the club’s pride in playing at Belmore.
“It was an awesome day for our club and for our team,” Ciraldo said. “The energy and the excitement from the game when we arrived here today … is probably something we haven’t seen before and something we won’t forget any time soon.
“So these days when we get to play at Belmore are really …