The Sydney Roosters have recorded their first win of the 2016 NRL season, with a commanding seven-point win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs, that looked better than it appeared on the scoreboard.
The Roosters, after weathering an early storm from the South Sydney offence, dominated the game for the remainder, led by front-rower Dylan Napa, who has a brilliant performance in both attack and defence.
The Rabbitohs were simply unable to capitalise on their momentum early in the game, and after a try against the run of play for the Roosters they never looked back. The scoreboard, which read 17-10 at the end of the clash didn’t really do the performance justice.
The Roosters, probably didn’t throw as much at the Rabbitohs as they could of, but none the less their defence was brilliant, pinning the Rabbitohs inside their own half multiple times throughout the final hour of the game.
After the Rabbitohs failed to score with a truckload of territory and possession, Daniel Tupou scored against the run of play with a long range effort.
A break from inside their own half saw Jackson Hastings link with Aidan Guerra who was held just a metre out from the line. With a quick play the ball, and the Souths defensive line in all sorts a quick chip over the top from Hastings saw Tupou score in the corner, untouched.
Through Dylan Napa, who continued to hit the line hard, and make bruising tackles the Roosters took over the ascendency of the game and were in for their second just 14 minutes later through Guerra.
Unlike his earlier charge, this was from short distance and he scored with the assistance of the video bunker after they determined he got the ball down through four defenders.
Souths managed to get a few decent sets towards the end of the first half, and a long range break down the left hand side of the field would lead to their first try soon after.
Scored on the right by Aaron Gray as they switched from one side to the other, there was some fantastic passing along the line to ensure he would score untouched.
The halftime score would remain 10-4, but the Roosters continued to sap energy out of the Bunnies.
The trend would continue after the break, with the Roosters running riot, but unable to add to the scoreboard more than once. They were finding it far too easy, not only to get out of their own half but to pin the Rabbitohs in theirs with defence that was constantly rushing out of the line.
They would score through Dylan Napa off a Jackson Hastings chip kick that was pretty much down to perfection, before they shut the game out in the final half an hour.
Latrell MItchell was another who was fantastic all night, making 172 metres from his 17 runs. The Roosters, in the final 15 minutes had plenty of sets on the Rabbitohs line and after passing up the field goal twice, then having two attempts missed they eventually hit one 12 minutes from time through Jackson Hastings.
The Rabbitohs would score a late consolation try, again a long range effort to Cody Walker but it all amounted to nothing as they went down by seven at Homebush.
In the end, a fantastic performance from the Sydney Roosters to get their first win of the season.
Score
South Sydney Rabbitohs 10
Sydney Roosters 17
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are looking to build form and consistency against the winless Sydney Roosters, who badly need to kickstart their season. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 7:50pm (AEDT).
To say the Rabbitohs have been inconsistent across the first five rounds this season would be putting it lightly.
They had a fast start to the season, running up 40 points against the Roosters in Round 1 and then 48 over the Newcastle Knights, although they are two sides tied to the bottom of the table.
They then lost in appalling conditions at the SCG to the St George Illawarra Dragons, and got belted by 30 against the Canterbury Bulldogs, although they were missing plenty through injuries.
Souths then bounced back last week to unconvincingly beat the Manly Sea Eagles.
Sam Burgess’ return for that Manly clash had a massive impact, but they are badly missing Adam Reynolds. His kicking game and temperament is key for the Bunnies, and with all due respect to Cody Walker and Luke Keary, they have been unable to replicate it.
The Rabbitohs have made limited changes for this clash, extending their bench to six with the inclusions of Paul Carter and Bryson Goodwin.
The Roosters on the other hand have been consistent, but consistently poor. They have improved in terms of effort and structure since their Round 1 shellacking at the hands of the Rabbitohs, but it has been tough going.
Since that 42-10 defeat in Round 1, and a one-point loss to the Canberra Raiders the next week, the Chooks went down by 40 and were held scoreless against the Cowboys.
Despite the fact they haven’t won, that game in North Queensland seemed to be the low point of their season so far, with two and four-point losses to the Sea Eagles and New Zealand Warriors following respectively.
Like Souths, they have made limited changes, adding Abraham Papalii to the bench.
They key for Easts is their defence. Despite the Rabbitohs’ faltering attack without Reynolds, they could still run up a score if the Roosters don’t improve their defence from past performances.
Prediction
The Roosters’ winless start to the season will continue.
Rabbitohs by 8.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of this Round 6 match from 7:50pm (AEDT) and don’t forget to add your own comments in the section below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde
GB
Guest
Wabbit, Souths attack started fine, Roosters defence & barges through the middle put them off their game & earned the result. Can't understand Madge favouring small back rowers & bench men. Can work well when Souths have all the ball, as they can find gaps in middle, are hard to get a hand on and can find a pass - if defence is tired. Ditto nippy halves. But creates defensive weakness in middle & edges and puts go-forward down to Burgii & Inglis, leading to lateral play. Probably stating the obvious, since they're premiership winners, but I'd have McQueen & Te'o over Clarke + Turner + Carter, D Walker over Hunt and C Walker looks more a passing & kicking 7 than a running 6 going forward (suppose Hastings does, too). Carter made a good hooker at Titans. Would ignore criticism of Auvaa not passing - he's 2 games in from a huge outage & has the credentials. Inglis looks like either he didn't get required off season treatment or his knee condition is permanent. The Roosters turned the switch off at 75. The game was wrapped and forwards were exhausted on a wet track after covering for Tauki-k.o. (missing for last hour) and Evans (concussion check for most of 2nd half). Ditto young backs Mitchell, Hastings, Nikorima. Can say Souths missed a couple of tries, but Easts could've grabbed a couple more, too.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Rusty would be tearing up again. I like it when Souff's lose.
Zedman
Roar Rookie
Rusty would be tearing up again.
Mike from tari
Guest
Would have had 2 tries on the board if Avau'a had passed the ball in the opening 20 mins, what possessed him to try to score himself??????
steveng
Roar Rookie
lol very true and some of your questions only the players can answer a coach can only do so much
Muzz
Guest
lol@sou ffs
Scott Pryde
Expert
Match Results: The Sydney Roosters have recorded their first win of the 2016 NRL season, with a commanding seven point win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs, that looked better than it appeared on the scoreboard. The Roosters, after weathering an early storm from the South Sydney offence, dominated the game for the remainder, led by front-rower Dylan Napa, who has a brilliant performance in both attack and defence. The Rabbitohs were simply unable to capitalise on their momentum early in the game, and after a try against the run of play for the Roosters they never looked back. The scoreboard, which read 17-10 at the end of the clash didn't really do the performance justice. The Roosters, probably didn't throw as much at the Rabbitohs as they could of, but none the less their defence was brilliant, pinning the Rabbitohs inside their own half multiple times throughout the final hour of the game. After the Rabbitohs failed to score with a truckload of territory and possession, Daniel Tupou scored against the run of play with a long range effort. A break from inside their own half saw Jackson Hastings link with Aidan Guerra who was held just a metre out from the line. With a quick play the ball, and the Souths defensive line in all sorts a quick chip over the top from Hastings saw Tupou score in the corner, untouched. Through Dylan Napa, who continued to hit the line hard, and make bruising tackles the Roosters took over the ascendency of the game and were in for their second just 14 minutes later through Guerra. Unlike his earlier charge, this was from short distance and he scored with the assistance of the video bunker after they determined he got the ball down through four defenders. Souths managed to get a few decent sets towards the end of the first half, and a long range break down the left hand side of the field would lead to their first try soon after. Scored on the right by Aaron Gray as they switched from one side to the other, there was some fantastic passing along the line to ensure he would score untouched. The halftime score would remain 10-4, but the Roosters continued to sap energy out of the Bunnies. The trend would continue after the break, with the Roosters running riot, but unable to add to the scoreboard more than once. They were finding it far too easy, not only to get out of their own half but to pin the Rabbitohs in theirs with defence that was constantly rushing out of the line. They would score through Dylan Napa off a Jackson Hastings chip kick that was pretty much down to perfection, before they shut the game out in the final half an hour. Latrell MItchell was another who was fantastic all night, making 172 metres from his 17 runs. The Roosters, in the final 15 minutes had plenty of sets on the Rabbitohs line and after passing up the field goal twice, then having two attempts missed they eventually hit one 12 minutes from time through Jackson Hastings. The Rabbitohs would score a late consolation try, again a long range effort to Cody Walker but it all amounted to nothing as they went down by seven at Homebush. In the end, a fantastic performance from the Sydney Roosters to get their first win of the season. Score: South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 Sydney Roosters 17
Wascally Wabbit
Guest
Steveng, I mostly agree with you. But we didn't play badly ALL night, only the first 75 minutes. So here's the question - Why did we wait til the 75th minute to form a backline, pop passes,make metres, back up and actually look like a football team ? Until then, we lacked energy and direction. We ran one-out, and looked like strangers, not a footy team. The streaker showed more balls than we did tonight.
steveng
Roar Rookie
What a disappointment and really where do the Bunnies go from here??? They looked ordinary tonight with no direction and most of the time they were getting in each others way and you could have thrown a blanket over the whole side that is how bunched up they were, they did stupid things on most of their 5th tackles e.g Keary kicking it dead, Sam Burgess kicking McInnes going for a try on the 2nd tackle when the Bunnies could have scored out wide (which was the turning point in the second half) and blowing many more opportunities to crack the Roosters when the Roosters were on the back foot, but overall the Bunnies never looked like a threat to the Roosters tonight. Very disappointing!!!
steveng
Roar Rookie
yeah they really need Sutton and Reynolds back otherwise they are a poor Holden Cup side
Scott Pryde
Expert
Full report to follow momentarily Thanks for joining me here this evening on The Roar for our live coverage of the 2016 NRL season as the Sydney Roosters opened their account for 2016 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs with a seven point victory. Hopefully you enjoyed the coverage. Three games tomorrow, and I'll be live for the first one from 2:45pm (AEDT) between the Parramatta Eels and the Canberra Raiders. Be sure to join me then. Goodnight!
Scott Pryde
Expert
The Roar's NRL MVP 3 - Dylan Napa 2 - Latrell Mitchell 1 - Jackson Hastings
Scott Pryde
Expert
Don't know about that. The Roosters played quality footy.
Scott Pryde
Expert
STATS: Tries: Rabbitohs (2), Roosters (3) Goals: Rabbitohs (1/2), Roosters (2/3) Penalty Goals: Nil Field Goals: Rabbitohs (0), Roosters (1/3) Penalties: Rabbitohs (5), Roosters (3) Scrums: Rabbitohs (5), Roosters (5) Completions: Rabbitohs (34/41), Roosters (31/38) Line Breaks: Rabbitohs (1), Roosters (3) Tackles: Rabbitohs (281), Roosters (270) Missed Tackles: Rabbitohs (22), Roosters (15) Offloads: Rabbitohs (14), Roosters (10) Errors: Rabbitohs (7), Roosters (9)
Glen
Roar Rookie
If there was ever a case for match fixing I would have them look at South Sydneys second half..
Cugel
Roar Rookie
Boo hiss. I was cheering for 0-24
Big J
Guest
Terrible display from the bunnies tonight, they really need direction, hopefully once Renyolds and Sutton are back things might change
Scott Pryde
Expert
Thoughts on the game Roarers? Stats, MVP and report to come.
Scott Pryde
Expert
80' - FULL TIME Another 60 metre drop out and George Burgess makes about 30 metres bringing it back. Browne now with an offload to Cook who goes to Turner and he is taken 10 metres out. Left they come from Cook to Keary and then Walker before Inglis with a flat ball to Goodwin. Back inside and they go across field before Keary puts in a grubber, drops it though and the Roosters come up with it through Elliott as the siren goes in the background. The Roosters break their duck for 2016 in pretty emphatic fashion. Dominant performance there, and Souths should be pretty worried with that performance. As a dragons fan, their attack was marginally better than ours last night. Roosters need to build from that performance tonight. Rabbitohs 10 Roosters 17
Scott Pryde
Expert
79' - Souths bring it back from the kick off through George Burgess and then Clark has a run up the middle. They come left from Keary to Walker and out the back to Inglis who stands in a tackle wit Nikorima. Carter now comes back across to the right who passes to Clark and he offloads to George Burgess who gets over half way. Cook with a run out of dummy half and play breaks down as a pass goes to Auva'a. They run it on the last, before a grubber comes through and Gray chases but Elliott bats it dead. Rabbitohs 10 Roosters 17