Glory days not far away for Rabbitohs
Roar Guru By Alan Nicolea, 10 Aug 2009 Alan Nicolea is a Roar Guru
After the Sea Eagles costly 19-18 loss against the Wests Tigers last Monday night, many were expecting Manly to vent out their frustration by comprehensively defeating the South Sydney Rabbitohs at home on Saturday to consolidate their position in the top eight.
It certainly looked that way in the opening ten minutes of the match against the Rabbitohs.
As if they were fired from a cannon, the Sea Eagles raced out to a twelve nil lead courtesy of tries to Tony Williams and Anthony Watmough.
Indeed the home side could have been eighteen points in front, after Jamie Lyon swooped on a cross field bomb to score under the posts early in the first half.
The video referee however disallowed the try, ruling that Tony Williams knocked on when contesting the football in mid-air.
Despite the try not being awarded, it seemed a formality that the Rabbitohs would spend the majority of their time standing behind the goal posts such was Manly’s great start.
But as is often the case in the NRL, a twelve point lead against any opposition is a very dangerous one to have.
Indeed the Rabbitohs themselves possessed such a start against the Bulldogs last week, only to be run down by the premiership heavyweights.
This time though, it was Manly that fell into the twelve point trap that seemingly makes most teams lower their intensity after they have scored two tries.
Playing for their season, the Rabbitohs were good enough to take advantage of the Sea Eagles lapse in concentration to score 22 unanswered points for the remainder of the first half to end up leading 22-12 at the interval.
Rabbitohs players Nathan Merrit, Fetuli Talanoa, Chris McQueen and Beau Champion were each the beneficiaries of the superb effort and skill of players John Sutton, Issac Luke, Luke Stuart, David Faalogo and Roy Asotasi.
Although the likes of Sutton and Luke will be commended for their organisational skills, it was South Sydney’s forward pack that steered Jason Taylor’s men out of trouble.
Prop Luke Stuart was simply outstanding upfront, making 20 hit-ups for 169 metres, the most out of any player on the paddock.
He also contributed substantially in defence, registering 23 tackles.
Indeed Stuart was handed the task of leading South Sydney’s pack, considering captain Roy Asotasi succumbed to a season ending injury.
Thankfully for Stuart, his immense effort was well supported by Kiwi backrower David Faalago, who made 126 metres with the ball in hand.
Rising star Eddy Pettybourne also contributed to the Rabbitohs cause, making his presence felt in defence with 25 tackles – the most out of any South Sydney player.
Although some players made their presence felt more than others, it was a team effort across the board that allowed the Rabbitohs to garner an impressive 36-22 victory that now places the Redfern based club just one point shy of a place in the top eight.
Coach Jason Taylor would have been proud to see his chargers give the reigning premiers a lesson on how to maintain their composure when defending a reasonable lead.
And if the Rabbitohs can master that component of their game, it will go along way to making South Sydney a respected premiership force once again after many years at the root of the ladder.
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August 10th 2009 @ 11:15am
Bill said | August 10th 2009 @ 11:15am | Report comment
Soak it up Bunnies supporters – that is your “grand final win” for season ’09!
August 10th 2009 @ 12:36pm
Phil Coorey said | August 10th 2009 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
Issac Luke has to get more game time or they will win jack – he is the best player in the team.
August 10th 2009 @ 12:43pm
alan nicolea said | August 10th 2009 @ 12:43pm | Report comment
Phil
Indeed Issac Luke is a genuine game-breaker and was one of the main reasons why the Rabbitohs were able to pull off the upset against Manly. No doubt his game will fully evolve next season when he becomes South’s leading hooker when Craig Wing departs to Japan. He probably already is South’s leading hooker anyway.
August 10th 2009 @ 2:02pm
Tom Alexander. said | August 10th 2009 @ 2:02pm | Report comment
They got right up in Manly’s faces, something Manly are usually taskmasters at doing. Pity they couldn’t get big Dave Taylor across early with Asotasi now gone for the rest of the season. They really need someone of that calibre to back up Stuart and Crocker over the coming weeks, just to give them that extra muscle and go forward in attack at times. The Broncos must be secretly ruing their lack of urgency with regards to re-signing Taylor, who is only now with more game time, starting to show his promise. they put all their eggs in the one basket with Folau, and a few others, unfortunately they all got scrambled.
August 10th 2009 @ 2:10pm
alan nicolea said | August 10th 2009 @ 2:10pm | Report comment
Tom
Indeed Taylor would have been the perfect replacement for Asotasi. Regardless, the two will line-up next season anyway in what will no doubt be a formidable frontrow combination. Despite Asotasi’s injury however, credit must be given to the likes of Faalogo, Stuart and Pettybourne. Those guys really responded well to his absence and each had outstanding games against Manly.
August 10th 2009 @ 5:19pm
Bill said | August 10th 2009 @ 5:19pm | Report comment
Damn no one responded to my baiting….
Let’s face it current form suggests only potentially the Eels will give the comp a shake from a final standing position of 7th or 8th.
August 10th 2009 @ 5:24pm
AndyRoo said | August 10th 2009 @ 5:24pm | Report comment
7th and 8th have to play St George, Bulldogs or Storm….. I dont fancy any of the contenders for those last two spots to overcome those teams away from home.
August 10th 2009 @ 6:15pm
alan nicolea said | August 10th 2009 @ 6:15pm | Report comment
AndyRoo
Judging from your comments, the Warriors must have been no chance in your book last season against the Storm. Once a team is in the finals, anything is possible. If the Eels came seventh and played the bulldogs, at this stage it would be an even money bet, considering how good the Eels are going. If the Tigers were to come sixth and play the Titans, i would fancy their chances also.
August 10th 2009 @ 6:31pm
Mick from Giralang said | August 10th 2009 @ 6:31pm | Report comment
Alan, the thing that struck me about Souths against Manly was their composure under pressure. They’ve always been a joy to watch when in an attacking frame of mind. But I’ve tended to dismiss them as genuine contenders because they’ve lacked concentration at critical points in matches and seemed unable to adapt their play to an arm-wrestle when required. Lately, I”m seeing a transformation, with far more steel and mental toughness in the Souths’ make-up. I still think they’re too far down the ladder to be premiership material this year, especially without Asotasi. But next year, if they can maintain the consistency they’ve shown in the second half of this year, I think they’ll be a real threat. And what a treat it is to watch Sandow when his confidence is up!
August 10th 2009 @ 6:36pm
sportsfanslife.com said | August 10th 2009 @ 6:36pm | Report comment
I don’t get the two hooker thing that seems to be sweeping the NRL the past season or so. Hooker is one position that you should get 80mins from, no point in using an interchange on replacing what should be the fittest player in your team when you need that for other forwards. For this reason the fact that Luke and Wing seem to be wrestling for time and trying to play the same position (granted they have differing strengths) seems a little skew-if to me. Wing can play half or 5/8, Sutton can play lock, which wouldn’t be a whole lot different to the role he is currently playing in the team. Souths look a much better team when Sandow, Luke, Wing and Sutton are all on the field at once. The longer that can be in effect, surely the better the team should go in theory….they look good the Bunnies, shame about Asotasi’s injury, they will lose a lot of go forward, direction, and leadership with his absence.
All in all, this really is moot, as surely you can attest Alan, as we both know the Tigers will be making the eight, now don’t we?
August 10th 2009 @ 7:02pm
MyGeneration said | August 10th 2009 @ 7:02pm | Report comment
The combination of Ballin and L’estrange has worked pretty well for Manly the last couple of years. Neither of them is great, but they have different skills and give the the opposition something else to think about. Whereas Melbourne would never think of giving Cameron Smith a rest unless the game was well in hand. It’s horse for courses, but agree that I can’t see a lot of sense in the way Souths do it, as Wing is so versatile. I don’t think JT is as versatile in his thinking.
August 10th 2009 @ 7:34pm
Mick from Giralang said | August 10th 2009 @ 7:34pm | Report comment
Agree MyGen, the two hooker thingy is working for Canberra, with tongue starting the match and then either Buttriss or young Waddell coming on when the forwards have softened up a bit. A coach will make that call according to his cattle. But if you’ve got a hooker who can stay the distance, I think it’s a definite advantage.