The South Sydney Rabbitohs have recorded one of their best victories of the season today (Sunday) defeating the St George Illawarra Dragons 34 points to 24 at WIN Stadium in Wollongong.
A crowd of 18,980 Members and supporters saw the Rabbitohs trail 20-nil after 20 minutes, but an inspirational second half performance led to the outstanding victory.
The Dragons started the game in the best way possible scoring in the left corner through Brett Morris in the third minute, followed three minutes later in the right hand corner through Jason Nightingale.
The Rabbitohs had some field position but could not capitalise before the Dragons scored again in the 15th minute through Matt Cooper.
It was only three minutes later that Nightingale scored his second try and the Dragons were keeping time with the click, leading 20-nil after 20 minutes.
When the Rabbitohs’ bench rotation kicked in, the defensive effort improved, with the men in red and green stemming the flow of points from the Dragons, as well as turning defence into attack by driving the men from the south coast backwards in some powerful tackles.
The Rabbitohs crossed for their only try of the half in the 36th minute of play through fullback Rhys Wesser. Dragons centre Mark Gasnier made a simple error just metres from the Dragons’ line, and from the ensuing scrum the Rabbitohs threw the ball to the right. Issac Luke found Chris Sandow who gave it on to Wesser who found a bit of space and pierced the Dragons’ defensive line to score out wide. Sandow converted to take the scores to 20-6.
The Rabbitohs were mounting some pressure at the back end of the half, but the Dragons were able to sustain the pressure and went to the half time break with a 14-point lead.
South Sydney was the first to score in the 45th minute through rookie Nathan Peats. The Rabbitohs were awarded a penalty in front of the posts about 20 metres out from the Dragons’ line, and mounted some quality pressure over the next set of six. Captain Michael Crocker charged towards the line and was brought down just short. With Peats going into dummy half, he threw a big dummy to the right and stepped back inside to score.
The Rabbitohs’ comeback continued four minutes later when Dylan Farrell crossed in the 49th minute of play. The Rabbitohs made the metres up field to put themselves in good attacking position. A mid-field cross-field bomb from Sandow displayed pin-point accuracy, sailing over the outstretched hands of Ben Hornby into the arms of Farrell. Sandow converted to reduce the deficit to just four points.
The Rabbitohs hit the lead four minutes later when Farrell scored his second, again from a Sandow kick. This time the number seven kept it on the turf, kicking in behind the line into the in-goal. Morris and Darius Boyd could not clean the ball up and Farrell pounced to record his second four-pointer for the afternoon. Sandow converted and the Rabbitohs were up by two points having trailed by 20 points just 17 minutes earlier.
The Dragons managed to gain themselves some much-needed field position with the Rabbitohs needing to defend four sets of six deep in their own half. And defend they did, holding out the Dragons during a sustained five-minute assault in South Sydney territory.
The Dragons continued to pressure the Rabbitohs, earning three repeat sets from goal line restarts. The pressure paid off when centre Matt Cooper crashed over on the left hand side.
Chris Sandow’s restart found touch, giving the Rabbitohs possession deep in Dragons’ territory.
The Rabbitohs made the most of the opportunity with centre Dylan Farrell registering his third try just three minutes from full time. Luke Burgess charged at the line and dumped the ball back behind him. Sandow scooped it up, shovelling it on to Merritt who found Farrell on the wing. He had work to do, and completed it, scoring the match-winning try. Sandow converted from the sideline, giving the Rabbitohs a four-point lead with two minutes left on the clock.
The Rabbitohs weren’t finished yet, with Nathan Merritt scoring in the 80th minute to sealed an amazing victory for the Rabbitohs. Away from home, the Rabbitohs have kept their finals hopes alive with this unbelievable win!
South Sydney Rabbitohs 34 (Dylan Farrell 3, Rhys Wesser, Nathan Peats, Nathan Merritt tries; Chris Sandow 5 goals) d. St George Illawarra Dragons 24 (Jason Nightingale 2, Matt Cooper 2, Brett Morris tries; Jamie Soward 2 goals)
...always good to beat the old enemy
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