In the annual Good Friday clash, the Rabbitohs left it late to record a 20-16 victory over the Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium.
MATCH DETAILS
Just 5 minutes into the game the Dogs found themselves a man down as their gun fullback Moses Mbye suffered a nasty head knock attempting to stop a try which ruled him out for the game. It hardly halted their momentum as a minute later, a kick from Marshall-King went up and was batted back by Brett Morris to his brother Josh who crossed for the first try.
A rampaging effort from Sam Burgess was deemed invalid due to an obstruction, denying the Souths their first try. The Dogs added to their tally in the 23rd minute as some slick work from Will Hopoate down the short side saw the Morris twins combine again for Josh’s 2nd try. Foran’s subsequent conversion was one of the worst in NRL history as the Dogs shot out to a 12-0 lead.
Approaching half-time the Souths hit back via Greg Inglis although there was some controversy over Josh Jackson not being allowed to take his spot in the defensive line before play resumed and thus giving Inglis some extra space to work with.
The 2nd half was a sloppy affair with the Souths mounting some incredibly pedestrian attack on the Dogs defence whilst the Dogs themselves kept making errors and giving away penalties. Braidon Burns crossed in the left corner in the 52nd minute while the scoreboard went mostly unchanged before a frantic final 6 minutes.
Hymel Hunt pounced on a grubber to make it a 14-16 scoreline and from the ensuing set afterwards, some good lead-up work from John Sutton put Cameron Murray into a gap who barged over for the winning try.
FOUR POINTERS
Penalties, penalties, penalties
In what has unfortunately become too much of a talking point from both games on Friday, the amount of penalties being blown prevented the match from ever gaining any real momentum.
24 penalties were blown for the match, Sam Burgess was placed on report for raising his forearm on a hit-up which struck Josh Morris’ throat and the aforementioned mishap with Josh Jackson all made for a game where the whistle was king.
The onus is on the players to start following the rules and preventing these games from becoming the norm. If they don’t and they try to test the patience of those in charge then Rugby League fans could be in for a torrid time as the quality of games suffer for it.
Bulldogs injury strife
Losing Moses Mbye early was a huge blow for the Dogs and it didn’t get any better as they lost big minute forward Aiden Tolman to a syndesmosis injury in the 27th minute. Mbye should be right to go but Tolman could be out for a while depending on the grading.
With just a two man bench for over half the game the Dogs were up against it with forwards like David Klemmer having to play much longer than usual. They kept the game competitive for a long time but it was telling that they lost a lot of attacking steam in the second half.
Souths attack may need some work
A three try performance in the second half including two in the space of two minutes in the last 6 doesn’t sound like the Rabbitohs attack was in dire straits but there were some less than thrilling signs for their attack.
With a 14-10 penalty count their way and the Dogs committing 7 errors in the second half, the scoreline could probably have been a lot higher but the Rabbitohs ran a lot of out the back, block plays which were easily read and shut down by the Dogs defence. In the end, fatigue took it’s toll and they were able to capitalise but for the majority of the match, there was a lot of improvement to be made.
Kieran Foran’s conversion attempt one for the ages
Foran’s attempt at goal from right in front of the posts had to be seen to be believed. After converting a sideline goal in ugly fashion in his first attempt, it seemed like an easy kick in comparison but nothing is ever guaranteed. Rugby League’s lowlights can be as entertaining as it’s highlights and Foran provided one that’ll follow him until the end of his career.
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WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
“I got there in the end but missed the tackle. I probably should have made the tackle but I would like to have been set when they tapped the ball.” – Bulldogs captain Josh Jackson on the referee calling play back on before he had got back to his line in defence.
”When we were down six points with seven and a half minutes to go, that was a game scenario that we’ve practised at training numerous times during the preseason.ย The boys were talking about it on the field, that this was a training scenario. We were really confident that we could at least give ourselves a chance and we did.” – Rabbitohs coach Anthony Seibold on how they were able to mount a late charge
THE RESULT
Rabbitohs- 20
Tries:ย Greg Inglis (34m), Braidon Burns (52m), Hymel Hunt (74m), Cameron Murray (76m)
Goals: Adam Doueihi 2/4
Bulldogs- 16
Tries:ย Josh Morris (6m, 22m)
Goals:ย Kieran Foran 4/5
