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South Sydney moves four points clear of the bottom 8 with a hard fought 22-16 win over the Gold Coast Titans at the Cbus Super Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
SOUTH SYDNEY 22
GOLD COAST 16
Two tries to Chris Grevsmuhl, and one to Alex Johnston and Greg Inglis, was enough for the Rabbitohs to secure a victory over a Titans outfit that made plenty of errors.
On another day, it could have been a larger victory, but the Titans defence was incredible throughout the match.
It started right at the start of the match as the Rabbitohs attacked from the outset.
A knock on from the Titans gave the Rabbitohs attacking position after 3 minutes.
The Titans would then concede a penalty to give the Rabbitohs another set.
Both sets would be stopped by the Titans but they would drop the ball again in the next set.
Three straight sets followed for the Rabbitohs but the Titans defence held on.
In that time they had 27 tackles to make inside their 20 metre line.
They made them all and won the ball back after the Bunnies had five out of the last six sets.
The Titans would then turn defence into attack, and score, after a penalty in the next set.
Using the pace of their right hand side players, they attacked, and scored in the corner.
Aidan Sezer would pass to James Roberts who would put Anthony Don over the line.
From potentially being down early, the Titans now led 4-0.
They would hold onto the lead until the 23rd minute when the Bunnies attack finally translated into points.
In controversial circumstances, Greg Inglis would score, after obstruction from Luke Keary before he went through the Titans defence.
The try would be awarded though after a Titans defender pushed Keary to create the obstruction.
After a successful conversion, the Bunnies led, but it wouldn’t last long.
The right hand side of the Titans would create nightmares for the Rabbitohs and score again 8 minutes before half time.
This time James Roberts used his speed to score.
A successful conversion put the Titans in the lead at half time. They led 10-6 when in reality they should have been down by ten.
After a stern talk at half time from Michael McGuire, the Bunnies lifted, and scored 16 unanswered points.
As the Titans conceded errors and penalties, the Rabbitohs put their dominance on the scoreboard, and started to take control of the match.
In the 47th minute, they leveled the match, as Chris Grevsmuhl scored his second try of his career.
8 minutes later they would lose Greg Inglis to concussion, after he got a stray arm to his head from Ryan James.
He would be out for the rest of the match with the concussion rule.
With Inglis out, it moved Johnston to full back, and it paid immediate dividends.
Great work between Luke Keary, and Nathan Brown, put Johnston into space which allowed him to score under the posts.
The Bunnies led 16-10 and would increase that to 12 ten minutes later.
In a replica move to the try in the 47th minute, Grevsmuhl would score a double, after great passing from Sutton and Luke.
With a 22-10 lead they were almost home.
The Titans though had other ideas, and scored after a mistake to Aaron Gray.
He would drop the ball and Anthony Don would score his second try.
Down by 6, with 6 minutes to play, the Titans were alive.
They would almost score again right at the end after a sickening clash to George Burgess.
Burgess, who would be knocked out cold after contact with the Titans, would bleed profusely from his nose and be forced off for the rest of the match.
With him losing the ball, after the clash with the Titans, they got the ball back and attacked.
They then went over the line, after a great attack, and we went upstairs to check the grounding.
Unfortunately though Johnston was able to get in a remarkable tap to prevent the grounding for the Titans.
That saved the game for the Rabbitohs and they would hold on for a much needed win.
On another day, they could have won by 20, but they will take the win.
The Titans on the other hand made far too many errors, and conceded too many penalties, to win the match.
They now face the West Tigers at Leichhardt Oval next weekend.
The Bunnies will look for three straight wins against the Warriors in Perth.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are out to consolidate their position in the top eight when they take on the Gold Coast Titans at Cbus Super Stadium. Join The Roar for live coverage from 3pm (AEST).
Last Friday the Rabbitohs moved back into the top eight with a win over Parramatta, ending a poor run of form by the Bunnies, after losing five of their last seven matches.
A combination of injuries and poor form has hurt Souths since they won three straight games to start the season.
Meanwhile, two straight losses, after three successive wins, see the Titans down to 14th on the ladder.
A win today though will move them back into the top eight, if results go their way, and a 26-point win would move them past the Rabbitohs on the table.
Only Greg Inglis, for the Bunnies, and Nate Myles, for the Titans, played in Origin on Wednesday, and both Maroons are expected to play today.
The Titans for the clash have made one change, with Kevin Gordon replacing David Mead on the wing.
The Rabbitohs have made three changes: Issac Luke moves from the bench to hooker, replacing Cameron McInnes, with Ben Lowe and Jason Clark also coming into the starting line-up.
The Rabbitohs have won five of the last six matches between the two teams, and three of four matches on the Gold Coast.
Without Adam Reynolds, South Sydney has struggled, and lost plenty of matches. If John Sutton and Luke Keary can play well, and link well with the backs, then Souths can win.
Prediction
The Titans are right in contention for the win, despite the Bunnies’ favouritism.
However the Titans’ poor record against South Sydney should see the Bunnies home in a close one.
South Sydney by 4 points.
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