The South Sydney Rabbitohs have overcome an error-riddled and ill-disciplined first half to beat a spirited Newcastle Knights team 24-18 in Newcastle.
The Rabbitohs trailed 12-10 at halftime after they had scored the first two tries of the match. They completed just 45 per cent of their sets in the first half and conceded far too many silly penalties.
Newcastle looked to be in trouble when Alex Johnston and John Sutton scored tries to take Souths out to an early 10-nil lead.
The turning point in the half came when George Burgess made an error off the restart and then threw an elbow at Mitch Barnett in frustration.
That saw him put on report as well as earning himself 10 minutes in the sin bin. It’s likely he’ll face suspension for his brain explosion in the coming weeks.
Soon after, Trent Hodkinson and Peter Mata’utia scored to put the Knights back in the match.
George Burgess had a chance to redeem himself on half-time, but he was ruled to lose control of the ball when trying to score a try that would have taken Souths into the sheds with the lead.
In the second half, Souths pinned the Knights in the in goal from the kick-off. From the ensuing dropout set, Cody Walker put a deft grubber over for Bryson Goodwin to score.
Adam Reynolds threw a great ball to put winger Braidon Burns over soon after, and Souths were in front 22-12.
Trent Hodkinson was sin-binned with 10 minutes to go for backchat, but the Knights showed plenty of heart in fighting all the way to the final hooter.
A try and a brilliant sideline conversion from Brock Lamb reduced the margin to 24-18, but Souths hung on to take the two points.
Both sides will be unhappy with their ball handling throughout the match, but the Newcastle fans will once again be happy with the effort shown by their rebuilding team.
Final score
Newcastle Knights 18
South Sydney Rabbitohs 24
Silvertail47
Guest
Burgess elbow early plea 2weeks Hymell early plea 4weeks NRL ,Refs and "integrity " , mmmm
Silvertail47
Guest
Your all on your own , grandstand commentary all agree with my thought , but you also have valid points, I appreciate your thoughts without making it personal ?
Nate
Guest
Sorry but he effectively questioned the integrity of the ref and accused him of cheating. 10 in the bin.
steveng
Roar Rookie
For me, the refs are at fault, they have allowed this sort of things go for far too long. Its about time that 1 referee bit the bullet and took action. Its very refreshing to see that the proper disciplinary actions are taken to stop the inappropriate language and actions of players that are being transmitted through TV to the fans. The refs should set a 'strict standard of conduct' because the way its going, it will only go 'from bad to worst'. Being a Bunny supporter I hope Burgess gets the full wack of the judiciary as he is a boofhead, yes he got wacked in the tackle, but his response was inappropriate and caused our team a penalty and eventually 2 tries. He won't be a great loss, he was dropping the ball and doing nothing for the whole game. But I commend the ref and hopefully they will all be consistent in this regard.
Pedro
Guest
Turn it up. You can't say that to a ref. Full stop. Should be automatic 10 mins. Good on the ref for binning him. League is a joke when it comes to officiating so it was actually a surprise. Speaking of league being a joke, why is that pathetic scrum even persevered with?
Silvertail47
Guest
You can throw a punch like BJ and stay on the field You can elbow like Burger Boy and stay on the field You can trip and stay on the field But DONT DARE QUESTION A REF CAUSE YOUR OFF ,Hodgkinson assessment was correct and if the ref felt he's was right in his decisions he wouldn't have binned Hodgkinson he would have delt with it off the field ,,, refs are bigger than the players,fans,sponsors and the game ,oh hail Hollywood , where's that concrete factory
Worlds Biggest
Guest
George Burgess will be back in Madges doghouse for his stupidity. The Rabbits were up 10-0 and his brain snap allowed the Knights back into game. Not surprisingly he didn't feature in the second half and will miss a couple of weeks with suspension. The Knights were spirited and Souths will be happy to come away with back to back road wins.