A wounded Greg Inglis played the role of one-armed bandit as South Sydney beat Parramatta 24-6 in their NRL clash at ANZ Stadium on Saturday night.
The Rabbitohs scored four tries to one as they consolidated a spot in the top eight.
Parramatta remain last after falling to their ninth defeat in 11 games.
Backing up from Wednesday’s second State of Origin game, the Queensland star strained a medial ligament in his elbow midway through the first half and had a bandage applied to the afflicted area.
But it didn’t stop the mercurial fullback throwing a sensational pass to winger Justin Hunt for the Rabbitohs’ second try in the 29th minute.
Returning for the second half, Inglis threw a more conventional pass to Dylan Farrell for the Rabbitohs’ third try in the 42nd minute.
Inglis also produced a couple of big defensive plays in the wet and slippery conditions, including a vital tackle to deny Matthew Keating a try and defusing a bomb with aplomb.
While Inglis shone, Parramatta’s primary game breakers – fullback Jarryd Hayne and former South Sydney halfback Chris Sandow – were unable to spark their side.
In the battle of the No.7s, Sandow was outpointed by his successor Adam Reynolds, who set up the Rabbitohs’ first try with a perfectly-weighted chip kick to winger Nathan Merritt.
Reynolds won the most significant head-to-head duel between the two in the 68th minute, when he showed great pace and tenacity to deny Sandow a try.
The former Souths man took an intercept about 80 metres out and looked certain to score until Reynolds caught him and shoved him over the sideline just short of the Souths line.
Reynolds kicked two terrific first-half conversions from near the sideline and finished with four from four.
Sandow tried hard to spark Parramatta with a variety of kicks and made a half break in the first half, but missed critical tackles in the lead-up to two of Souths’ tries, as the Rabbitohs consistently ran at their old halfback.
Parramatta’s only points came in the 58th minute through a try to Reni Maitua, converted by veteran winger Luke Burt, who on Friday announced he would retire at the end of the season.
They couldn’t get any closer,and veteran lock Michael Crocker sealed the win when he crashed over Sandow for the game’s final try in the 76th minute.
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