If you don’t know, now you know. South have picked up their fifth win on the spin, and their third in a row over a fellow Premiership contender, and it’d be a brave punter that backed against them at this point. In the post-match, Cooper Cronk declared them the new Premiership favourites and he’s not wrong.
This was a masterclass in efficiency. It ended 28-12 to Souths, and the result was rarely in doubt. Melbourne had more than enough ball and territory to make a dent, but barely did: a dropped kick and a late consolation were all that the Storm had to show for their efforts.
“It’s been a process we’ve been implementing for two years,” said Jason Demetriou.
“With not having much change in our squad, the boys have really trusted in it and believed in it. If we keep having a defensive mindset we’ll be tough to beat most weeks.
“We identified this block (of fixtures) as one where we needed to build momentum and get some results. It’s a great start, but that’s all it is. There’s a long, long way to go. Key players are playing well at the moment and that’s what you want.”
The defence was the story, but the attack is still there. Alex Johnston got two in his 200th game for the Bunnies, largely thanks to the excellent work of Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker inside him, as well as centre partner Isaiah Tass.
Melbourne struggled to get anything going when they had good ball in the first half and were torn apart when Souths got anywhere near their line. The Storm defeated Souths not long ago, 18-10 in Sydney, but that result was built on their defence. Tonight, the shoe was on the other foot.
They lost their rag late and became distracted from their task with several needless stoppages and penalties. That will doubtless anger Craig Bellamy, but in truth, his team were second best.
“It was a bit inconsistent, like we have been all year,” said Bellamy. “The first half we had a lot of good field position but it looked like we didn’t know each other. The communication must have been right off.
“We had good periods in defence, but some poor periods. We don’t seem to be learning from where we’re going wrong and being more consistent in doing the things that we need to do for longer periods in the game.
“They were too good for us tonight.”
The first half was a strange affair, but one that goes a long way to explaining why Souths are the best team in the NRL at the moment.
Ostensibly, Melbourne did all the right things. They completed their sets, built pressure, threw punches and put on plays.Yet they came away with nothing but a try from a kick, and that waas a bit of a Hail Mary.
The Souths scramble was on and they seemed to relish defending on their line. It was like the Roosters of 2018 and 2019 at times, with the Bunnies showing real zeal for tough tackling and effort plays.
There was the other part of that Roosters side, too, with some highly cynical laying on that, on another day, a different referee might have looked less kindly on, but hey: you go as far as the officials will let you and not an inch more. All the best do it.
When Souths got field position, they were absolutely lethal. Two sets, two tries. One a smart kick from Latrell to Cody, the other an even smarter move from Cody to Jacob Host.
Though the possession split was 54/46 to Melbourne, this was classic Souths. The possession – measured by time – was in the Storm’s favour, but both sides had enjoyed the same number of sets. The Bunnies were just doing it faster.
It’s inherent in the way that Souths play football that they will make mistakes and likely face red ball sets for the opposition. This was true of the 2019 Roosters too, who had the worst completion rate in the comp.
The big improvements this year have been the equalisation of their attack, offering threat on the right as well as the left, and defensive resilience on their line. We saw both tonight.
Part of the issues that Melbourne needed to iron out were around their halves. Cam Munster and Jahrome Hughes are the best combo in the league in terms of pure running ability, but were reticent to take the line on before the break, which went a long way to explaining why Souths were able to repel the Storm.
Two runs apiece was all they had to show for 21 sets’ worth of ball, and that’s nowhere near enough.
This was a night where the attack never got going, and that starts with the running potential of the halves.
Munster was as quiet as he has been in years, on night where he needed to be big. Souths had him covered and for all of his ability to produce magic, none of it was on display tonight. It was desperately disappointing stuff.
Too often, the shape was happening too far away from the Souths line, allowing the slide to get across and cover with ease. Will Warbrick and Xavier Coates were getting ball, but were forced to come back inside with nowhere to go.
That’s a failure of the pinning in the middle. Hughes and Munster didn’t engage enough, which lead to Nick Meaney getting the ball on the sweep with his hips aimed at the corner post.
There were green shoots off Harry Grant – never not excellent – and Meaney, especially running straight in the centre of the field, but nowhere near enough tonight.
The headlines write themselves. Game 200, Magic Round, Alex Johnston. The narrative in 2023 has been that AJ has been subdued, because he hasn’t been scoring bulk tries, but seasoned Souths watchers will tell you that it has been anything but.
The line breaks, the offloads, even the yardage are all there. If anything, Johnston has improved year on year. Where before he was a tryscorer and little else, now there are far more strings to the bow.
Melbourne kicked his way all night and came up snake eyes. He took his runs and made his metres. Johnston isn’t going to become Brian To’o overnight, but it’s a definitive growth in his game late in his career. Late on, he pulled off a superb take to deny Warbrick a certain score.
Tonight, though, was all about the tries. AJ remains the best finisher around and, while neither of these were particularly difficult, one wouldn’t suspect that bothers the PNG international one jot. He takes them however they come.
It’s 171 now, five off Brett Morris, looking up at Ken Irvine. It’s still on. Just don’t go around calling him a catch-and-fall merchant anymore – even if he dropped a hat trick with 15 seconds to play.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
Didn't the chooks add Brett Morris, Angus Crichton and Ryan Hall in 2019? So there were some pretty significant changes to the Roosters roster from 2018 - 2019. In other words, they didn't have an unchanged line-up like Souths mate.
Big Mig
Roar Rookie
Mike, good analysis, interesting you mention "have Souths been watching the Roosters of 2019?". That Roosters squad for a good 2 years had very little change/ injuries, all the roosters injuries came in 2020 onwards, and then they fell apart, but for those 2 years 2018-2019 they were pretty much injury free and had the same line up and continuity in play. Souths are seeing this with not having much change in their squad from last 12 months, as JD said " the boys have really trusted in it and believed in it".
steveng
Roar Rookie
Here we go, binned for what? Murray is the hardest player on the field and fair, he takes as much as he gives, if you look at the Storm last night, all they did in virtually every tackle is try to strip the ball, slow the play the balls by laying at least 2 of their players laying allover the tackled player and put in the niggle while doing that, especially that little twerp Grant, with his sly hands on the ball, obstructing a tackled player from getting up quickly and anything to slow the play the ball, that is why Trell had a go at him, as the Storm do that always, that's what Bellamy has coached this side for over 5 years to do. It didn't work last even though they got away with much more than the ref should have allowed.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Murray should've been binned twice. Protected species!
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
I think Souths were trying to maximise AJ's opportunities for his 200th game and focus their attack on the Storm's weaker right defensive edge of Katoa, Hughes, Smith and Warbrick. No doubt the Storm were always going to be well prepared for a potential repeat performance by Campbell Graham who is the form centre of the competition at this point. The Storm's left defensive edge with Munster, Olam and Coates were always going to be a tougher nut to crack. The fact that Souths no longer need to rely on attacking just one side of the field to score points is a huge reason why they have become just so hard to stop. Souths also bombed 3 or 4 tries last night. That won't happen later in the season as they continue to improve and when Koloamatangi is added to Souths right edge attack.
Glory Bound
Roar Rookie
There are still 15 rounds, the Origin period and the finals series to come. Anything can still happen. I'm just taking one game at a time and not looking too far ahead. What will help indicate that the 2023 Rabbitohs are the real deal is how they follow up this win against teams outside the top 8, particularly the 17th placed Tigers next week. In the past Souths have risen to the toughest challenges against the top ranked teams only to suffer from complacency against teams well below them on the NRL ladder in the following weeks. Top sides don't do that. Souths need to be ruthless against all opposition and be mindful of the role that points differential can play in deciding the final top 4 and even the minor premiership. I still look forward to both Koloamatangi and Havili's return and Souths finally being at full-strength. Souths need to continue improving and not rest on their achievements over only 10 rounds of a 25 round competition.
steveng
Roar Rookie
That try by R. Smith in the 35th minutes should never ever happened and should have been pulled up and the game should have never gotten to that stage, as Olam didn't play the ball properly, Olam's play the ball action was not continuous and square, Olam didnt even play the ball, he left the ball for 2 seconds on the ground and then sideway and facing the right sideline played that ball, that's not a legit play the ball, where was the touchie, and what are these clowns on the sideline for? It was right in front of the left sideline touchie Dave Munro and Ziltch blind as a bat, nothing happened, that should have been a penalty for Souths, but there were other penalties given to the Storm that shouldn't have been penalties, that head high by Murray on Eisenhuth was a nothing penalty for a head high, as it brushed off his shoulder and Murray's pinkies touched Eisenhuth, that was not a head high, also the Storm were allowed far too much time to get off a tackled player, which is their usual go, slowing every set down as usual, these are the sorts of things that turn games and these refs and the NRL better start doing something about these wrong calls, as and in the Warriors v Panthers it was the same. Anyway, had my winge, great win by the Bunnies and its only early days and R10 to declare the Bunnies winning anything, the Bunnies have to not let up and take a page out of the Panthers previous 2 years books, to never give up and play every game TO WIN for the rest of the season, as that is the only way we will win the GF. Great effort last night and 5 in a row is a great start. Go Bunnies 2023 :thumbup:
Fraser
Roar Rookie
Munster didn't want to get involved at all. I kept watching for Souths to set up on the left tram lines and play to the right, but it just never really eventuated. They seemed to be favouring the left last night.
Muzz Manyana
Roar Rookie
Munster was off. Souths never game him a chance to work his way into the game. Their line speed put the Storm halves under constant pressure.
blacktown leagues
Roar Rookie
i know its only round ten but bunnies look a class above anyone else at the moment
kk
Roar Pro
It was as if The Storm looked at the map and gave the Suncorp Festival a miss.
JimCam73
Roar Rookie
The commentators kept going on about Cody Walker but I though Damien Cook's passing from dummy half was a big factor....Fast, fluid, accurate and game the Souths backs an extra yard of space. Great rugby from Souths.
Panthers
Roar Rookie
You can only have your fullback behind the line , on the try line. Yet a couple of good long passes can even find the fullback out of position & open up the area behind the defence to kicks.
Ben Pobjie
Expert
I reckon sooner or later teams are going to have to rethink how they set up in goal line defence, because it looks so easy so often to just poke one through and find open grass.
Worlds Biggest
Roar Pro
Fantastic second half from Souths. The win was set up by the outstanding defence in the first. Cody was superb and is the form 6 in the competition currently. Interestingly he has garnered no Origin discussion which is odd. Congrats to AJ on 200 games and another brace, what a player !
PK
Roar Rookie
Can’t believe how many tries there are off grubbers this season. It’s almost like every second try is off the chase through on a grubber…bloody boring football to watch that is!