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South Sydney didn’t do much to soothe the nerves of their fans with last night’s win over Canterbury. The Bulldogs did more to lose the game than the Rabbitohs did to win it.
After kicking a penalty goal midway through the second half to lead 14-12, it looked like the Bulldogs racked the cue in attack and were banking on 14 points being enough.
Big mistake, even against a Souths side that was strangely out of sorts just two weeks out from the finals.
Last weekend, the Rabbitohs lacked intensity against North Queensland – despite the fact a win would have taken them to first place on the competition ladder.
Last night, Souths fumbled about and took wrong options for much of the game, before finally getting their act together well enough to come up with nine points in the last eight minutes and win 21-14.
The difference between the result last week and this week was that the Cowboys, with Johnathan Thurston in superb form and his teammates sharp in support, made Souths pay for their apparent indifference.
The Bulldogs, on the other hand, didn’t do nearly enough to make Souths pay and as the last 20 minutes wore on it became clearer only one team was going to score again.
That was obviously the Rabbitohs. The Bulldogs were only going to win if they could stop Souths from adding to their score.
Souths owe Sam Burgess a huge debt of gratitude for keeping them in the game while the Bulldogs were having the better of things.
The first of his two tries, coupled with the conversion by Adam Reynolds, pulled them back to 6-6, and his second, also with the extras from Reynolds, pulled them back to 12-12.
Canterbury never got more than six points ahead. They should have been more expansive in an attempt to stretch their lead, because while Souths were struggling to get their act together the Rabbitohs could at least take solace in the fact they were never too far behind.
It’s going to be very interesting now to see what Sydney Roosters do at home against Melbourne on Saturday night.
If the Roosters build on their form in thrashing the Warriors last weekend and score a good win over the Storm, they will no doubt start favourites at home against the Rabbitohs in the final round.
We could even see a scenario where that game is for the minor premiership, if the Roosters beat the Storm and Penrith win on the road against Manly on Sunday.
The Panthers have a lot of injuries, and would have to improve significantly on their discipline and last-play options from last Monday’s loss to the Storm, but an upset win over the Sea Eagles is a possibility.
The Sea Eagles are in a funk. They looked headed for the minor premiership for sure until the last three rounds, in which they have lost to Souths, barely beaten Gold Coast and lost to Parramatta.
The worry for Sea Eagles fans is whether it’s just a flat spot or whether the various dramas at the club have finally affected the team’s form.
If it is the latter, then there is precious little time for everyone to come together again in time to mount a finals campaign capable of taking the team all the way to the title.
The Roosters really do look to hold the key at the moment. They appear to be hitting top form at the perfect time and will be looking forward to playing quality opponents like the Storm.
Of course, if the Roosters lose that game, we’ll have to go back to square one and weigh things up all over again.
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