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South Sydney have claimed bragging rights over star-studded NRL arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters, downing them 26-14 at Allianz Stadium.
Beaten by their traditional rivals in four of their past five clashes, the Rabbitohs’ big men monstered the Roosters’ pack on Thursday night to put themselves in the top eight.
Damien Cook was again dangerous out of dummy-half and was easily the Rabbitohs’ best.
The NSW State of Origin aspirant busted through the line a number of times for his 142 metres to set the tone for the win.
Thomas Burgess and John Sutton were both powerful – the latter scoring a try – as the Bunnies controlled possession in the first hour and wracked up almost 200 more metres than their rivals.
After they went to halftime locked up at 8-8, Souths assumed control of the contest in the 43rd minute when Richard Kennar and Dane Gagai folded James Tedesco in half in his own in-goal.
It prompted the ball to spill free, bouncing off the three players before Angus Crichton picked it up and scored.
Their lead then went to 10 just moments later when Greg Inglis leaped above Tedesco to collect a Cody Walker bomb and score.
The Roosters threatened a comeback when Ryan Matterson crossed after a Cooper Cronk kick, but Sutton put the match beyond doubt when he powered over in the 65th minute following nifty lead-up play from Adam Reynolds.
The loss was the Roosters’ third of the year to put them at 3-3 after six rounds, despite the big-name off-season signings of Cronk and Tedesco.
After absorbing a heap of early South Sydney pressure, their attack failed to click late in the second half when possession and territory swung back in their favour.
Tedesco provided their only real moment of excitement in the first half when he burst downfield for Latrell Mitchell to score a magical mid-air try and give them an 8-2 lead.
But when the Rabbitohs hit back moments later through Robert Jennings, the Roosters were behind for the rest of the match.
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