Bunnies rebound to beat fickle Canberra

A blast from coach John Lang led to a second half blitz by South Sydney at Canberra Stadium on Sunday as the Rabbitohs laid on four unanswered tries to down the Raiders 26-24.

Down 24-6 at the break following a mistake-riddled 40 minutes, Lang let his charges know just how poor they were and evidently it did the trick.

“I thought we played well for 10 minutes of the first-half and then we were terrible for the next 30,” Lang said.

Winger Nathan Merritt, hooker Issac Luke and then second-rower Dave Taylor all found the try line in the space of 11 minutes, closing the deficit to 24-22 with just 19 minutes remaining.

A try by fullback Rhys Wesser, who’d had a game to forget against Parramatta last week, then edged the visitors ahead by two points in the 68th minute.

“I really think we played well in that second half … obviously Canberra, things started to go wrong for them,” Lang said.

“They are a young, developing side, you go through this heartache.

“Losses like that, they’ll be shattered, but that’s what builds your confidence over the years.”

Canberra went into the match with a good record recent record against Souths, having won the last four clashes between the clubs, and keeping them winless in the national capital since 2005.

But after a similar capitulation against the Tigers at Canberra Stadium three weeks ago, where the home side had a 12-point buffer only to lose 35-22, the Raiders again lost the plot in the second half.

The Rabbitohs actually made a good start – one that saw five-eighth John Sutton put the first points on the board when he dodged Raiders Adam Mogg and Josh Dugan to waltz over the line in front of a 13,145-strong crowd.

But an avalanche of Raiders tries ensued – Jarrod Croker, Josh Dugan, Joel Thompson and Trevor Thurling crossing to set-up what looked like a winning lead.

Dugan’s 26th minute effort was particularly noteworthy, the up and coming star defying gravity and opposite number Wesser to ground the ball while seemingly every other part of his body was suspended mid-air over the sideline.

Canberra coach David Furner praised that effort, but struggled to find much else positive to say about the match.

“I thought some of our decisions on the edges there defensively, I think we panicked” he said.

“Reality being we had two games here at home which we were well in control of, I thought we were better than the last time I suppose, but we’ve come out of that game and we haven’t got the two points – simple as that.”

Captain Alan Tongue, who came off the field with a groin injury, said he and halfback Mogg’s sidelining (calf strain) didn’t help the Raiders’ cause in teh second half.

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