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The South Sydney Rabbitohs have come away with a hard-fought win over the Parramatta Eels after the visitors left it until late.
Souths were first to strike with Michael Oldfield going over after 12 minutes after Adam Reynolds and Alex Johnston helped to get him over the line.
Adam Reynolds then kicked a penalty goal soon after to put the Rabbitohs in front by six points before Semi Radradra struck off a Corey Norman kick with the Kangaroos international leaping high to score.
Radradra went over ten minutes later after Manu Ma’u put Michael Jennings through a hole with the State of Origin star passing to Radradra to run half of the field to score.
The momentum continued to go the way of the Eels with Vai Toutai going over on the stroke of half-time to put the Eels in front 14-6 at the break.
Semi Radradra went over again to bag a hattrick early in the second half after Corey Norman created an overlap with Kirisome Auva’a hitting back for Souths after Adam Reynolds attracted the Eels’ defensive line to give Auva’a plenty of space to score.
Reynolds had a chance of his own to score after Corey Norman had a kick charged down by Paul Carter with the backrower kicking it back into play but Reynolds knocked on in an attempt to score with the halfback being denied.
The cardinal and myrtle were firing in the last ten minutes with Luke Keary and Bryson Goodwin combining for two tries in the dying moments of the game as Adam Reynolds converted with under a minute remaining to win the game for the Rabbitohs, their first victory in five games.
Sam Burgess, Greg Inglis and Adam Reynolds all stood up for Souths while Luke Keary made a big impact late in the game.
Manu Ma’u meanwhile led the way for the Eels with Corey Norman, Beau Scott, Michael Gordon and Brad Takairangi also impressing for the blue and gold all while Semi Radradra bagged a hattrick.
The Eels will now host the Storm next Monday night and need to win 12 of their next 14 games to be any chanc of making the finals while Souths have a six-day turnaround before they take on the Dragons.
Final score:
Parramatta Eels 20
South Sydney Rabbitohs 22
The Parramatta Eels will be keen and cap compliant when they face the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Pirtek Stadium. Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for live coverage.
13 seems to be a lucky number for the people of Parramatta, with the Eels playing for points on Friday the 13th, having offloaded Nathan Peats to the Titans, while Anthony Watmough has retired.
It has been a tough fortnight for Brad Arthur’s side, with their strong start to the season being torn apart following the loss of 12 competition points for salary cap breaches.
That puts Parra in last position, needing to win 12 of their last 15 games to scrape into the finals and have a shot at the Provan-Summons Trophy.
For their part, the cardinal and myrtle desperately need something, having failed to secure a win since Round 5, when they pipped the Sea Eagles 16-12 at Brookvale Oval.
Coach Michael Maguire has made plenty of changes to his side, with Alex Johnston returning from injury at fullback, pushing Greg Inglis to five-eighth and Luke Keary to the bench.
Cameron McInnes starts at hooker, with Damien Cook dropping out of the side, while Paul Carter takes Chris Grevsmuhl’s place. Nathan Brown is starting at prop and Jason Clark comes off the bench, pushing David Tyrrell and Patrice Siolo out of the team.
Winger Aaron Gray is in doubt with Michael Oldfield likely to take his place.
Since 1998, the Bunnies and Parra have clashed on 25 occasions, with 13 wins to the Eels, 11 for Souths, and a draw.
The two sides took a win each in 2015, with the Eels winning 29-16 in Round 4, while the Rabbitohs won 14-12 in Round 11.
Prediction
Parramatta will rip into Souths, earning a big win.
Eels by 12.
Join The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
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