Expert
South Sydney have scored twice in the final five minutes to claim a dramatic but controversial four-point NRL win over Canterbury.
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Final score
Rabbitohs 20
Bulldogs 16
The South Sydney Rabbitohs and Canterbury Bulldogs are both coming off their first victory of the season and a Good Friday blockbuster at Homebush will give them a chance to start building some momentum. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 4:10pm (AEDT).
Souths started the season slowly, suffering less-than-impressive losses to the Warriors in Perth, and Panthers.
The Warriors loss saw plenty of poor defence, as they gave up 32 points, while the loss to Penrith was in part thanks to the long trip back from Perth and the heat, as they faded dismally in the second half.
There was no sign of fading during Round 3 though, as they held out for a strong win against the in-form Manly Sea Eagles.
The week prior, Manly had put 52 points on Parramatta, who are supposed to be one of the competition front-runners, but against the Rabbitohs, who were stout in defence, they could only manage six. The cardinal and myrtle were equally impressive in attack, running up 34.
Adam Doueihi is functioning well in the halves while Adam Reynolds sits on the sideline, Cody Walker has taken on plenty of responsibility and the gameplan, allowing Damien Cook to play 80 minutes, is working a treat.
Cook will have his hands full this week though, dealing with a reignited Michael Lichaa, who has been superb for the Bulldogs during the first few weeks.
That and the transition of Moses Mbye from half to fullback have been the key talking points for Dean Pay’s first few weeks at the helm of the blue and white. They couldn’t have started their season with a pair of tougher games, suffering losses to the Melbourne Storm and Sydney Roosters, but like their opponents, Canterbury bounced back last week with a victory over the Panthers.
It wasn’t pretty, but their defensive work led to the 20-18 win, with the forwards holding their own. The Dogs proved they could hang tough up-front in Round 1 against the Storm and with patience, they should be able to turn the sustained pressure into plenty more victories.
Whether that comes this week is hard to say. The Rabbitohs have an equally good pack and there are still questions around the halves for the boys from Belmore, with Jeremy Marshall-King joining Kieran Foran again this week in a combination which will take some time to find its feet.
Prediction
Both of these sides have issues to work out, but Adam Doueihi seems settled in the halves and the Rabbitohs should have more offensive weapons across the park in what could be a free-flowing game.
Rabbitohs by 8.
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