The South Sydney Rabbitohs have moved into top position on the premiership ladder with a 21 to 14 victory over the Bulldogs on Thursday night.
Despite trailing the Bulldogs by 6 points at half-time, The Rabbitohs got home courtesy of a late Lote Tuqiri try, coupled with a 77th minute field goal from Adam Reynolds.
South Sydney will be sweating on the availability of stars Adam Reynolds and Issac Luke after they were both put on report.
FINAL SCORE:
Rabbitohs 21
Bulldogs 14
Tonight the South Sydney Rabbitohs host the Canterbury Bulldogs at ANZ Stadium in the opening match for Round 25. Join The Roar for lives scores and commentary from 7:45pm AEST.
South Sydney will be fired up for this clash and looking for a strong performance to kick-start their run into the finals, while the Bulldogs will be looking to cause another Rabbitohs upset and make a push into the Top 4.
The Rabbitohs management has made only one change for for tonight’s game, front rower George Burgess will be welcomed back by the Rabbitohs with brother Luke Burgess pushed back to and extended bench.
Bulldogs coach Des Hasler has made no changes to his 17 man side that won last week against the Tigers, with second rower Harlan Alaalatoa named 18th man.
The Rabbitohs will be hoping for a strong performance against a dangerous Bulldogs side to steady the ship after a shock loss the North Queensland Cowboys 22-10.
South Sydney were ambushed by an energised Cowboys outfit led by star half back Jonathon Thurston. It wont get any easier for the Bunnies as Bulldogs half Trent Hodkinson has started to hit the same form that handed him a blues jumper earlier this year.
It was, however, a less than convincing win for the Canterbury Bulldogs last Friday night as they beat the Tigers 30-10 in very wet conditions.
Both sides struggled with the ball all night but it was the Bulldogs forwards led by Captain Michael Ennis that secured the win, Ennis was exceptional all game and provided the highlight of the match when he chipped through the Tigers line and regathered the ball for a brilliant solo try.
The last time these two sides met was back in Round 7 and it was a Trent Hodkinson field goal that proved the difference as the Bulldogs pulled out a hard fought victory 14-15 over Souths at ANZ Stadium.
Tonight’s game is shaping up as another blockbuster with two of the competitions best forward packs coming head to head. With James Graham and Sam Burgess in career best form you can expect some fireworks when these to huge Englishman clash.
I am tipping the South Sydney Rabbitohs to win in a tightly contested match with the Rabbitohs classy backs to be the difference.
Fullback Greg Inglis will be hoping he can put his poor showing against the Cowboys behind him with a huge game against the Bulldogs.
Will the Bulldogs be up to the task of locking down the world’s best fullback and cause an upset? Or will the Rabbitohs have to much power and talent?
Join The Roar tonight at 7:40 (AEST) for live scores and updates and to debate in our live blog.
SPIDER RABBIT
Guest
and 1 week it was
steveng
Guest
That was no "forward pass" the TV angle was bad but if you look at it on the cow cam then it looked a perfect outstanding pass, but how ironic that all the Bulldogs fans have got "Bulldog Vision" with Bulldog skin covering their eyes...Rafff Rafff Hhhaaaooooo lol
steveng
Guest
We all had a gut full of Michale Ennis in this game by the time the referee decided to tell Adam that he was aware of his actions? WHAT? Ennis did this throughout the game and took them 60minutes to realise and this is 6 referees? Pathetic and typical of a bunch of referees that let this game come to a stage where the Bunnies got that frustrated that Reynolds did what he did and unfortunately lead him to the lifting tackle and he will have to pay a 1 week penalty.
Judge Holden
Roar Guru
Yep, it all fits in. Luke Keary can't play for Qld or NSW because he is an automaton. Rusty bankrolled the program.
Judge Holden
Roar Guru
Yep the JFK assassination is a real interesting one. 9/11 too, an inside job to give the USA a reason to take Iraq's oil. Infact many suggest that George Dubbya was infact not a human at all. Have a look at some of his media conferences and you'll begin to notice that his eyes change colour. A bony dermal ridge sometimes appears on his forehead? Hey, and have you ever noticed that white "vapour" left behind commercial airline jets? It's a chemical concoction designed to sterilise the population. Less people to resist the new world order takeover. Boy howdy, I may sign up to the referees bunker. It will probably be the safest place in the country.
Brendan
Guest
1. Yes - Refer to wins against Roosters, Manly and Penrith 2. Not sure what you are referring to here.. some english please 3. You think Inglis is the only one who does this? id say 75% of players do this 4. Agreed, lifting tackles have no place in the game 5. Teams are smart how they run their blocks when defending a bomb, its a very grey area of the game P.S Disagree.. Both teams have been 2 of the better performing teams all year. Both were off their games and have key players returning from injury and suspension next week.
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
a Dog did the same tackle but no one is calling fo him to be suspended....
eagleJack
Guest
That is the exact tackle the NRL are trying to stamp out. Should be a Grade 3 based on Tagataese's grading a few weeks ago. Reynolds was frustrated after being baited by Ennis and lashed out. Silly.
Alex L
Roar Rookie
Questions yet to be answered. 1. Can Souths beat any of the top teams with their whole forward pack on the park. 2. How many postcodes must a forward pass made during a tackle traverse before being called like any other. 3. At what point will Inglis be penalised for obstruction for engaging in a shirt pulling match with the marker after the play the ball. 4. Is it going to take another broken neck for referees to card players for these chicken s*** leg lifting tip tackles. 5. When are the referees going to penalise block runners on bombs put into the corners. Neither side looks like they belong in the top half of the finals series.
Refs need to grow some
Guest
Wow is this what rugby league has descended into? That was the most grubbiest game i've ever seen. Michael Ennis should have been sin binned at least 3 times for off the ball incidents and carrying on. No wonder the NRL struggles to attract big crowds. The referees should grow some balls and just sin bin players for wrestling etc its just too dangerous. I watched the PNG hunters play in the Queensland Cup on the weekend and boy oh boy are they a breathe of fresh air. No wrestling, no arguing with the ref just hard tough football. Crowds that used to be in the hundreds are now in the thousands and its not just the Hunters supporters celebrating when they score. If the hunters do make it to the finals (depending on results this weekend) please take your time to watch them. Hopefully fiji will bring their own style of refreshing football to the NSW cup next year.
SPIDER RABBIT
Guest
Remember the high altitude training the Souths guys went to in the States, really a secret training session with the C.I.A. WOW IT ALL FITS!!!
SPIDER RABBIT
Guest
Luke Keary is a C.I.A. operative, he has been programmed to throw forward passes and to use wrestling tactics to undermine the dominance of the NRL referees. So the C.I.A. can secretly and covertly suplant the takover of the N.R.L. with the N.F.L.
SPIDER RABBIT
Guest
So you repeat what you read on some site like Alex Jones Infowars and you think you know something secret and clever. You also think Kearys pass was massively forward it was maybe a foot forward at most. there is a big difference between the truth and biased opinion.
SPIDER RABBIT
Guest
4 to 5 weeks totally unrealistic 1 at the most barely went over the horizontal.
SPIDER RABBIT
Guest
In a war he would be the first one shot and then shot again to make sure.
Liatrevlis
Guest
Rubbish dished up by rubbish , bye bye Reynolds
BrumbyJack
Guest
Like I said at the very beginning of this match. Souths forwards too big and strong and the Souths backs just too classy. Souths played at 60% tonight because the Dogs succeeded in upsetting them. Still won by 7. Look forward to Mad Monday Bulldogs, your finals experience will be short lived in 2014
NRL the worldwide joke
Guest
Wow ignorance is bliss it seems.
NRL the worldwide joke
Guest
Ah the pain. Rugby as in rugby league. Geez mate I said all that and you respond with such tripe. Huh... Next!
Statler and Waldorf
Roar Guru
Comment of the week award to you, sir