South Sydney have held on for a closely fought 22-18 victory over Penrith at Panthers Stadium to keep pace with the Roosters and Storm at the top of the competition ladder.
Whilst the match began as a likely cardinal-and-myrtle procession, the Panthers dug in bravely after a third minute try to Kyle Turner stunned the home side.
Corey Allan added another Rabbitohs four-pointer after 24 minutes, and despite some uncharacteristic goal-kicking errors from Adam Reynolds, Souths held a 10-0 lead just seconds before the break.
How a duo of Rabbitoh defenders avoided the sin bin in the final moments of the first half is beyond me, as they clambered all over Moses Leota shortly before the siren.
It was another appalling display of officialdom with the attacking team punished and professional fouls rewarded.
The Panthers took the two points on offer, but probably deserved more.
Perhaps aggrieved, Penrith began the second half with vigour. James Maloney crossed under the posts after 44 minutes before the Mountain Men launched wave after wave at the Bunnies’ line.
Wayne Bennett’s words of wisdom about defensive diligence must have rung in the ears of his charges, as Souths’ defensive effort lifted and the Panthers were consistently denied despite promising field position.
(AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Cody Walker crossed on the fringe in the 58th minute to build a 16-8 lead for the Rabbitohs before possession swung back to the home side once again, and the Panthers hammered Souths’ line for what seemed like a solid ten minutes.
It came to nothing, despite the Panthers’ total tackles in the red zone heading north of 50.
Dane Gagai then scored from a clean break on the right fringe to re-establish the Rabbitohs’ dominance at 22-12 before Viliame Kikau scored a colossal individual try in the 76th minute to set up a grandstand finish.
Souths controlled the final moments with their resolute defence, despite having far less possession in try-scoring positions over the 80 minutes.
Defence won the day against a Panthers side that enjoyed more than enough possession and field position to take the two points.
In the early Friday night clash at ANZ Stadium, the popular favourites for the 2019 wooden spoon dealt a decisive blow to the North Queensland Cowboys’ season as the Bulldogs held on for a gritty 24-12 victory.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
After an uninspiring first 40 minutes with both sides intent on a safety-first approach, the game came to life in the second half, with the Bulldogs taking the initiative early and scoring three quick tries to establish a match-winning 24-6 lead.
The teams had gone to the sheds at 6-all after the Cowboys opened the scoring with a Justin O’Neill try in the 13th minute.
The Dogs levelled after Jayden Okunbor found the line in the 35th. Rhyse Martin’s conversion and a penalty goal to Jordan Kahu saw parity at the break before the potential buy of the season went ballistic early in the second half.
Corey Harawira-Naera came to the Bulldogs with the club under obvious salary cap pressure. He was no million-dollar signing but had been a consistent player with the Panthers for the previous two seasons.
On Friday night, he was simply outstanding against the Cowboys.
The former Panther ran for 149 metres, made 43 tackles and produced a stunning try-saving defensive effort on Gavin Cooper with the blue-and-whites under the pump on their own try line.
The veteran front-rower appeared to be over the line and about to edge the Cowboys a little closer to the Bulldogs in the second half, before Harawira-Naera slung an arm around the ball and prevented it from reaching the grass.
Two of the three second half tries scored by the Bulldogs were Harawira-Naera’s, with Josh Jackson’s bullish effort close to the line sandwiched in between.
With the Bulldogs leading 24-6, the Cowboys did manage the final try of the match when Ben Hampton scored in the corner with just 14 minutes remaining, yet it was to be the Doggies’ night.
Whilst inconsistent, the Bulldogs are displaying the fighting spirit for which they are known. On Friday, the Cowboys were no match for their enthusiasm.
As Queensland’s NRL teams continue to struggle, it might be time to draw a line through the Cowboys for 2019 after a 2-5 start to the season.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
No, the most telling stat was 22 - 18.
Insider
Roar Rookie
Yes I yould please
William W
Roar Rookie
What about the 20 sets the Panthers had on the Rabbitohs Goal line for only 3 trys. The Rabbitohs had only 7 sets on the Panthers Goal line for 4 trys. To me, that is a telling stat!
William W
Roar Rookie
Yould you like a box of tissues, Insider? Go and have a huge CRY!
William W
Roar Rookie
Keep pace with the Roosters? The Rabbitohs smashed the Rorys allover the Park, maybe they are chasing the Rabbitohs!
Stuart Thomas
Expert
On form, Cleary and Maloney are well off the pace. Moses and Keary more likely in my view. Moses is really growing as a player.
db
Guest
I won the 'most generous' award at high school. I always consider the well-being of others before my own. I don't know what you mean by 'breathing down the Roosters neck'. The Roosters are gone. Too many injuries and now with the skipper out for most of the season, the Roosters are cooked.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
So generous of a Roosters supporter to volunteer the Rabbitohs halves for origin when they are breathing down the Roosters necks. Thanks but no thanks. Keary will be 5/8 and Cleary be HB.
db
Guest
The NSW halves should be Walker and Reynolds. The club combination will transition well into representative football and it's unlikely NSW will have to rely on accurate goal kicking to win the series.
Insider
Roar Rookie
Haha I take it your constipated Reg/SSTID
Insider
Roar Rookie
You pollute this forum like you did ZT Reg/SSTID won’t be long before you are just a memory
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
A good attack needs to ask questions of the defence. Depending on how the defence answers those questions the tone is set for that conversation which is punctuated by appauling and inconsistent rulings from officials who have a constipated understanding of the game. Ultimately the fans end up with indigestion from a dialogue that is more diarrhea than a consistent result. Welcome to the NRL under Todd Greenberg!
Josh H
Roar Rookie
Agreed mate, Clifford's obviously got heaps of potential so I don't mean to undermine him because he's so early in his career, just he hasn't been quite as impactful yet. He definitely needs to run the ball more, he's not taking enough calculated risks, he tends to play the easy options too often. My only other gripe with him is that he concedes a lot of penalties. That'll be rectified with experience and maturity I think. Asiata has definitely been the Cows' best player, he's honestly been excellent. There were a couple of times in the last 10 minutes against Canterbury where he looked just as dangerous as Morgan with the ball in his hands. I'm really excited to watch him develop in the future.
Cliff Bishkek
Roar Rookie
Good defence beats a good attack if the attacking team does not question the defence with different scenarios of attack.
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
Still building fences Picket?
Papi Smurf
Roar Rookie
I take that as a compliment. Homer of The Iliad didn't have time for banter or humour of any kind. As a result he always ate his lunch alone in the playground practicing his poems and prose. All work and no play made Homer a dull boy.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
Your right about Asiata who has been our best player all year. Your right about McGuire who can hold his head high. Not sure you are right about Clifford . I am still not decided on him but he has got better with his kicking game and his defence. We have to stick with him for now at least. He needs to take the line on more and like JT he needs to get in there and commit defenders before he passes, But he’s young and can learn. He’s our best hope at least for now at least.
jimmmy
Roar Rookie
You know the drums are starting to roll, Paul. It’s not that we are losing. That’s nothing . I have been on board since 95 so I have a long memory of the bad old days. What’s starting to annoy is that we play the same way week after week and yet expect a different result. Green is forgiven a lot because of 2015 but we had better start improving in the next few games or the drum beat will only get louder.
Pickett
Guest
@db Bwahahaha. And that's being generous to Papa Serf.
Succhi
Roar Rookie
I haven’t seen much of Penrith this year, but I think they played OK. Mansour still looks off the pace since his bad injury. Maloney looks like he should be in the UK Super League. As for Souths, a win is a win I guess, but they don’t look convincing. The back 3 look very uncomfortable under a high ball - Panthers should that a number of times.