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Another week, another statement. Souths are the real deal in 2023, putting the table-topping Broncos to the sword with a dominant 32-6 victory at Suncorp Stadium.
The old adage holds that championships are won by defence, and this game certainly was. For a long period in the first half, South Sydney withstood waves of Broncos attack, only to sucker punch the hosts just before the break and then run riot after it.
However, the Bunnies face the prospect of possibly losing their competition points after it emerged on Saturday morning that they potentially had a 14th player on the field for 30 seconds during the second half.
The NRL is studying footage in the 53rd minute when Jai Arrow entered the field before fellow forward Tom Burgess headed for the interchange bench. Souths reportedly had at least a couple of plays in possession during this period.
They actually had a brief 14 on 12 advantage because Brisbane centre Herbie Farnworth was in the sin bin for tripping.
Teams in the past have been fined heavily or lost their competition points for a win when found to have had an extra player on the field.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Nobody has ever doubted the Bunnies with ball – just ask last weekend’s victims, Penrith – but the difference this year is in the defence. Their resilience was more than a match for the Broncos’ attack.
“The resilience and desire to protect our line was everything tonight, which it needed to be,” said coach Jason Demetriou.
“Defensively I was really pleased tonight. After a slow start, we got some real intent and made it hard for Brisbane to get off their line. We took their attacking players away from the game and allowed our boys to play some footy.”
When Souths got their chance with the footy, they did what they always do. Campbell Graham scored three, Latrell Mitchell scored two, Cody Walker got one and Lachlan Ilias proved why the Rabbitohs were so willing to let Adam Reynolds go.
Reynolds was, for his part, by far the best in maroon and gold. His time at Souths was fresh in his mind and more than once, it was clear that he knew the playbook inside out, producing two turnovers by anticipating moves.
For once, however, he didn’t have enough to go with him. Payne Haas and Ezra Mam were both banned after hip-drop tackles last week, removing two of the most potent weapons that Brisbane have, and Reece Walsh had his quietest night to date in a Broncos jersey.
It isn’t as if they didn’t have opportunities, either. Cam Murray was binned for a professional foul early on, but the scores were level when he returned. When Herbie Farnworth was sat down for a trip in the second half, Souths made the very most of it.
“I thought we started OK, but we were on the slippery slide for most of the match,” said Kevin Walters. “We had some good field position but a couple of opportunities that we didn’t take and paid for it in the end by not building any scoreboard pressure. The longer the game went the worse we got.
“You have to grab your opportunities. Souths have been a good side for a long time now and they showed up tonight with a good mentality. They played better than us. We got what we deserved and they got what they deserved.”
When the Broncos are at their best, it’s when their backs are carrying the footy. They were much more expansive than perhaps expected – maybe encouraged by a man advantage – but the bulk of it was the tough stuff.
If Brisbane get a set that goes winger, winger, centre, centre, kick then they’ve done something right.
Usually they’d have Haas to add that spark, but without him, it went into overdrive. Souths got no field position to work with in the first half, and that was largely down to the success of the back five in forcing the game into their end. It was attack as the best form of defence from Brisbane.
Souths go about things very differently. Reynolds’ kicking forced them to return via their backs, but it was only a phase. Once the big men got going, they didn’t stop.
Tom Burgess and Tevita Tatola started off the bench but both ended up with over 200m. Again, it might have been different if Haas had featured, but as good as he is, it would have been a stretch for him to stop the roll.
When they won the floor, there were few surprises about the way that Souths went about their work. Even a man down, Souths played their footy to the left, going through hands from the right tramline, and on the right, Ilias sought to find his backrower off his hip.
The big left shift that everyone knows is coming worked, with Alex Johnston making two breaks and butchering more, but it’s now as much use as a fake as it is in reality. The smart scrumbase try that came just before half time was with the line spread on the left, only for Souths to go right.
For the second week in a row, the Bunnies withstood an attack based on big backline metres and answered it with a forward punch of their own. If they can win that bit of the argument, there’s not a team in the comp that can resist their attack at the moment – as Brisbane found out.
Brisbane’s attack early on seemed pretty simple: hold the middle, hit the edge with long passing. Reynolds threw six passes over the Souths wingers in the first 20 minutes, and it wasn’t so much the passes but the half-step stop before them that shone. Reynolds clearly knew ahead of time that the Bunnies wingers would jam and was set to exploit it as often as possible.
But Souths are made of stern stuff. 15 tackles on their own line in the first half doesn’t faze them anymore.
Last year, Souths would certainly have conceded more points than they did, but the goalline resilience has improved massively and they got to the end of Murray’s time in the bin with the scores level, then rejected more afterwards.
In other games this year, Brisbane probably would have expected to score more, too. Even without Mam as a creative force, Reece Walsh was subdued and Reynolds left to plough a lone furrow.
The lack of penetration in good ball came back to bite the Broncos on the backside. Having faced no red ball defence at all, they conceded on the two occasions that Souths got into their end, and meekly too. The second half opened, and the same thing happened again.
These are the margins at the very top. The game plan worked for Brisbane, at least for 40 minutes, but they ended behind and wondering what happened.
As many suspected in the build-up, the 7-1 record flattered them given the opposition they have faced and Souths and Penrith currently are just that level above. It isn’t to say that Brisbane won’t be in the fight later in the year, but they got a lesson in the pointy end of the NRL tonight.
There’s a logjam forming in the centres for New South Wales. Jack Wighton may have retired, but both Latrell Mitchell and Tom Trbojevic are back in the mix and last year’s options, Stephen Crichton and Matt Burton, are still hanging around.
Kotoni Staggs was ditched after one game last year, while Campbell Graham wasn’t even considered, despite later making the Kangaroos squad and impressing at the World Cup.
Tonight pitted Kotoni and Campbell against each other, and there was only one winner. Staggs was perfectly fine and a huge factor in the best of Brisbane’s backline yardage work – it’s just that Graham was exceptional.
The hat trick of tries showcased his line running, finishing and kick chasing abilities, which go right alongside his widely-recognised place as one of the best defensive centres in the game.
It might end up as a question of horses for courses, with Graham able to take over from the hamstrung Daniel Tupou on a wing – where he played for Australia – and Mitchell and Turbo resuming their jobs in the centres.
But such is the form of Stretch that it wouldn’t at all be a surprise if Brad Fittler picked him his favoured position at centre and shifted Tommy T out to a wing to accommodate.
“He’s playing good footy,” said Blues forward and Souths cpatain Cam Murray.
“He’s one of those teammates that you love running out next o and you can trust him every time he’s there. He’s always a good teammate.
“He’s one of those you want to play for and a teammate you don’t want to let down. I’ve seen saying for a while that he’s earned it, especially off the back of what he did at the World Cup and his form at the start of the year.”