Despite making a ton of errors that could have proved costly, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have found a way to win, winning 2 games on the trot after defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons 34-24 at ANZ Stadium last night.
Still managing to score points when it mattered, Souths were led in attack by the structure and composure of Adam Reynolds who laid on several try assist with the boot.
Though it did not go all Souths way, as errors galore allowed the Dragons back into the game at various points and gave them numerous opportunities to score.
The Dragons capitalised on some of those opportunities, but failed to do so on others.
The affair was an overall scrappy one in numerous ways, with the Souths forwards – namely the Burgess trio – just unable to hold onto the ball.
Conversely, the Dragons made fewer errors than their counterparts but their execution let them down.
The game went back and forth as Jake Marketo opened the scoring for the visitors before a runaway Tim Lafai try had the Dragons up 10-12.
Looking somewhat down and out, Souths rallied back and were able to go into the break leading 14-12 on the back of a cut-out pass from Greg Inglis for a Dane Nielsen try.
They took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Cody Walker, who was filling in on the wing, found himself inside, before grubbering for himself and winning the race to the ball.
Both teams then had their chances in the second half, with both scoring points and ultimately, Souths managed to hold out the Dragons for longer periods and hold on for their second straight win.
The news may not be good for Dragons fans and NSW fans, with Josh Dugan injuring his arm in a nasty in-goal collision.
With a lot of criticism on Souths captain Greg Inglis and his start to the season, Souths coach Michael Maguire believes he is now playing a lot better.
“He’s been great over the last few weeks. Obviously came off the back of the jaw and he’s starting to build his game now,” Maguire said.
“You can see the boys get a lot of confidence when he’s up over the ad[vantage] line and kicking like he is, he builds a lot of pressure on the opposition when he kicks the way he does.”
As for Dugan’s injury, the full extent of it is not yet known but coach Paul McGregor did not seem too concerned that it would keep him out for long.
“He’s wrapped up there in ice. He’s a resilient bugger, he’ll be back. He’ll be okay,” McGregor said.
“He finished the game. I just asked him then and he’s just in ice, precautionary but I’m sure he’ll be okay. A couple of bigger games coming up.”
Some moments in the game could have gone the other way, with several decisions criticised by McGregor.
“Like, [they] dropped the ball cold and [we were] penalised for a strip. Duges got the ball down and then [dragged] over the sideline,” McGregor said.
“There’s a few things in that game that I wasn’t real happy about and I’ll be letting them know.”
Player of the Game:
3. Cody Walker
2. Tim Lafai
1. Adam Reynolds
South Sydney Rabbitohs 34 (Goodwin 2, Nielsen, Walker, Turner, Carter tries; Reynolds 5 goals) defeated St George Illawarra Dragons 24 (Marketo, Lafai, Faifai Loa, Matthews tries; Widdop 4 goals) at ANZ Stadium. Half time: Rabbitohs 14-12. Crowd: 12,054.