Roar Guru
The NRL heads west to Perth tonight as the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Brisbane Broncos clash in what should be a terrific contest. Join us for live scores and blog from 9:00pm AEDT.
Both teams will have fond memories of the last time they clashed in Perth last year.
Playing in atrocious wet weather conditions, the Rabbitohs produced one of their tougher performances of season 2011, beating the Broncos 16-12 in a tight contest.
Fast forward into season 2012 and both teams look set to once again play out a real arm wrestle tonight
South Sydney and Brisbane are coming off strong victories against the Penrith Panthers and Newcastle Knights respectively, with both sides flexing their attacking muscle.
After two tough losses against the Roosters and Storm, South Sydney finally showcased their potential against Penrith last week, cruising to a 40-24 win.
The Broncos meanwhile had to overcome a few errors before putting Newcastle to the sword in a 24-10 victory.
With both sides blessed with terrific attacking players, tonight’s match could end up being one of the matches of the season if both teams bring their A game to the table.
Prediction:
Both sides are evenly matched across the park, with the Rabbitohs and Broncos each possessing strong mobile forwards and a skilful backline.
The Broncos will do well to contain the influence of powerhouse Rabbitohs forwards Sam Burgess and Dave Taylor.
Taylor in particular proved unstoppable against Penrith last week, scoring two tries in a blockbusting performance.
Brisbane however have forward power of their own, with Sam Thaiday, Matt Gillett, Josh McGuire, Ben Te’o and Alex Glenn all skilful enough to create torment up the middle against South Sydney.
The Rabbitohs and Broncos will be desperate to dominate upfront in order to lay a platform for their respective backlines to shine.
South Sydney in particular will be eager to lay a strong foundation for Greg Inglis to replicate last week’s performance against Penrith
Although it proved a long time coming, Inglis’s move to fullback ignited the Rabbitohs attack last week, with the Queensland Origin flyer scoring a great try in the second half.
Inglis’s performance against the Panthers revived memories of his time with Melbourne where he became arguably the NRL’s best player.
If Inglis is able to pick up from where he left off last week, then that spells enormous danger for Brisbane.
The Broncos however can certainly match the Rabbitohs point for point, particularly with a backline containing superstars Justin Hodges, Jharal Yow Yeh and Josh Hoffman.
Hodges is currently the danger man for Brisbane, as evidenced by his solo try against Newcastle last week.
One on one, Hodges is a nightmare to defend against so the Rabbitohs will need to stay alert whenever Brisbane’s attack goes down Hodges’s side of the field.
All in all, tonight’s match should be a beauty. While both teams are certainly capable of beating each other, the Rabbitohs seem to be building nicely, and with Inglis finally at fullback, South Sydney might just have enough points in them to beat Brisbane tonight.
Rabbitohs by 4