North Queensland Cowboys 18
South Sydney Rabbitohs 31
The Rabbitohs opened strong early in Thursday Night Football’s return match after scoring through Greg Inglis.
After several decisions against them, the Cowboys finally got their way scoring through Justin O’Neill.
South Sydney soon hit back through Thomas Burgess who muscled through the North Queensland line.
Adam Reynolds pushed the Rabbitohs’ lead to seven points with a drop goal late in the first half.
Lachlan Coote closed the gap on the siren with a try off a Justin O’Neill kick.
The Rabbitohs led the Cowboys by one point at the break.
Issac Luke was placed on report early in the second half before Jason Clark burst through the line to stretch the Rabbitohs’ lead.
Alex Johnston followed up soon after, later assisting Dylan Walker over the line.
Michael Morgan scored late for the Cowboys but they left it too late with the Rabbitohs running away for a 13-point victory.
Can the North Queensland Cowboys climb to first place or will the South Sydney Rabbitohs arrest their rise as Thursday night football returns at Willows Sports Complex. Join The Roar from 7:40pm (AEST) for live coverage.
Both the Cowboys and Rabbitohs have secured a finals berth, with the Cowboys fighting with the Broncos and Roosters for the minor premiership and home finals, while the Rabbitohs want to secure a top-four finish.
Adam Reynolds must step up and perform to his best, with the Alexandria Rovers and Kensington United junior up against Johnathan Thurston.
George and Thomas Burgess have struggled since their older brothers left at the end of last season and will be tested against an experienced Cowboys forward pack featuring representative stars Matthew Scott, James Tamou, Jason Taumalolo and Ben Hannant.
Michael Maguire has named Kyle Turner to replace the suspended Glenn Stewart in the back row, with Nathan Brown replacing Chris Grevsmuhl on a seven-man extended bench that also features Kirisome Auva’a, Paul Carter and Joel Reddy.
The only change for the Cowboys sees Scott return at prop, pushing Hannant to the bench.
The Cowboys and Rabbitohs have played each other 25 times since 1998, with the Cowboys winning 13 and the Rabbitohs 11 matches, with one match tied. Their most recent encounter came in Round 6 when the Cowboys defeated the Rabbitohs 30-12 at ANZ Stadium.
The fourth-placed Rabbitohs are coming off a loss to premiership dark horses Manly. Before that they had a close win over the lowly placed Panthers and a huge victory over wooden spoon contenders, the Knights.
The second-placed Cowboys are coming off a loss to premiership dark horses Cronulla. Before that had a close win over the lowly placed Raiders and a huge victory over wooden spoon contenders, the Eels.
The Rabbitohs face a gruelling run home with matches against the eighth-placed Bulldogs (Sydney), ladder-leading Broncos (Brisbane) and third-placed Roosters (Sydney).
The Cowboys meanwhile have a much easier path to the finals with matches against the 10th-placed Warriors (Auckland), sixth-placed Storm (Melbourne) and 15th-placed Titans (Townsville).
Prediction
The Rabbitohs will continue their descent toward the bottom half of the eight
Cowboys by 8.
Join The Roar from 7.40pm (AEST) for score updates and debate in our live blog.
Billbo
Guest
You need glasses! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKElIxAADm4
mycall
Guest
Manly's included the ARL/Super League split season and so doesn't really count in the same way no one counts the Broncos back to back GF wins
mycall
Guest
They were stripped 2 of the 3
steveng
Roar Rookie
Hahaha, Auva’a is the real thing and just because all you Cows fans can't handle the real heat and are deluded to think and misinformed that it will be a Cows vs Broncos grand final, wow how disappointing that must be that it won't be. Its not our fault that come the end of the season the real contenders are whipping the Cows asses and giving it to them. if the Cows can't take the heat then let them get out of the fire, and that includes their fans.
steveng
Roar Rookie
Great call of what happened in this game, but for the life of me, I cannot understand why, if Keary and Luke were put on report why wasn't the tackle on Inglis put on report also? That tackle did more damage and really hurt Inglis than anything that Keary and Luke did. But I agree with you on the decisions made by the referees and they really gave the Cows all the advantage(s) that they got with continual penalties and just spoiling a game right from the start. If the NRL wants the crowd and the critics to stop criticising the referees than they should really get all of them in a room and tell them to "let the game flow' and stop interrupting a great game and let the players show the fans a true contest, instead of continual stoppages with silly and picky penalties that referees continually 'pick the eyes out off' in virtually every NRL game, and some of the decisions last night were completely wrong and the refs missed the play(s).
XI
Roar Guru
Alright, Manly did it in the 90s then. Is that better?
Benedict Arnold
Guest
They were committed tackles. JT should not be a protected species and he plays for the penalties. He even went out of his way to change his direction and run at defenders when chasing kicks. he then did the hollywood dive when he collides with them. The refs were right there in all instances and no penalties blown. I'm not a South or Cows fan, this just what I saw. JT plays for the penalties.
Jill
Guest
Why was JT tackled, in the air, after kicking in last nights NRL game, without penalties being issued - Cowboys vs Souths ?
Sleiman Azizi
Roar Guru
It's a mystery how the other teams lost to a team that didn't exist.
3 Hats
Guest
No the DID NOT... The history books says the cheating Storm were stripped of ALL 3, So no they didn't!
Eden
Guest
Yeah I looked it up. Its actually quite common.
XI
Roar Guru
Storm did it a few years ago.
3 Hats
Guest
This is the time of year our Rabbitohs traditionally stand up and be Counted. SOUTHS 31 smashed the Cowboys 18 A fantastic effort by our boys it was exactly what we needed going into the business end of the season, we stepped up when we needed to and won most of those One Percentors. The Cowboys were very good tonight but we went into 4th gear and left them clutching in 3rd. I still think we have 2 more gears to go up. Our boys did well right across the park. Kirosome Auva'a and Kyle Turner played with great with enthusiasm that lifted the boys. GEORGE....well, what can you say? words just wont do him any justice. Thomas, 1 error but an inspirational TRY smashing past Jason Taumalolo as he made the KIWI look second rate. Isaac was fantastic with his runs and setting up our attack all night. Greggy was good when he needed to be and copped some "targeted" knocks against him. Grant, Clark and Tyrrell busted their Asses off with good runs and solid defence. McQueen was great all night also and ended up playing 3 different positions on the Night. Walker, AJ and Goodwin were solid. Both Reynolds and Keary in defence moved up quickly and shut down their halves and forced them into error. Sutton went off early but was good early on and he will be OK for next week. Paul Carter with limited game time looks to be like a real player, he will provide some X factor when given a chance to play. Don't forget we had Stewart, Grevsmuhl and Gray out plus Lowe retiring early. There was plenty of niggle and BAD calls that went against us all night but we persevered, adapted and we overcame! OVERALL a solid gritty grafting type of Semi Final like intensity that we really needed. It was however disappointing letting in that final try though. Keary and Luke may be missing next week due to suspensions even though there was nothing in it. The NRL is unfortunately reactionary, and not proactive. Isaac has bad lifting tackle form and Keary just cant help himself with the shoulder charge.
Steve
Guest
Oh dear poor Lachlan....Somi shouted at him! He might have hurt his feelings lol.
Eden
Guest
Roosters looking good for 3 minor premierships in a row. Any statisticians know the last time that happened?
steveng
Roar Rookie
The Cows are not much better, they were very lucky that they had 14 players or should that be 15 on the field, with both refs giving them sitters for territory and most of the decisions. The Cows thought that they can ruffle and put Souths off their game with their niggly tactics and grubby tactics and tackles, but it didn't work, that tackle or shoulder charge on the big fella Inglis should have been on report as were some of the other tackles from the Cows. Souths outplayed the Cows and were too good on the night, and if you are a Cows fan then I'd be worried because from now on they won't be able to just give these top sides any lead and rely on Thurston or some lucky play or bounce of the ball (as they did previously) to get them out of trouble and win games, like they have had all season long. Go the Rabbits!
Doc79
Roar Rookie
No mention of a forward pass????
Benny
Guest
What a grubby side Souths are. Keary and Auvaa and Keary in particular, just made it very unpleasant to watch
steveng
Roar Rookie
"Spot On" and Souths will have to improve lots and keep this mongrel attitude and vigour in their tackling and attack if they will be competitive against the Dogs, Broncos and the Roosters. That tackle at the end on Coote by Auva'a and Walker was so intense and hard, that is how Souths have to play every week from now on with the same intensity and more. Good win by the Rabbitohs and keep them coming!
P.Marlowe
Guest
Cowboys looked quite directionless in the second half. They had a bit of territory but no one seemed to be running onto the ball. Quite flat footed. Agree with comments below that Cowboys outside backs will really need to step up if they want to go far in these finals.