Bunnies Beat Broncos
By Greg Allan for Bunnies TV.
NRL Round 15 – South Sydney Rabbitohs v Brisbane Broncos – Accor Stadium 14/6/24
After last round’s impressive win against the Titans and my awesome trip to the Gold Coast, I was very keen to see if we could continue our form against the Broncos.
Unfortunately, the rain started coming down on Friday afternoon and didn’t stop all night. I was flying solo as Lucas decided against it and Juliet had a school event on. Nothing was going to stop me though as I went out and met Craig just before NRL kick-off.
Our faithful Rabbitoh crew were waiting for us in Simon, his family and Terry. They had found seats just behind our normal ones in bay 129 but as we went to sit down we found they were wet… No problem, I went to get my trusty towel that I bring with me to all games but the one time I needed it, it wasn’t there! We dashed up to the luxurious centreline seats in the dry. No one seemed to mind that we were there and this would be our home for the night. It was a view that I could get used to!
Advantage Souths
We were underway and just like last week, a few early errors gave both teams attacking chances. Also, just like last week, South Sydney were the ones who took advantage. We were on again, and our attack and forward momentum were pretty relentless early. Cookie was the first to go over, spying a clueless Brisbane forward with his back turned. Great start. 6-0 to the Rabbitohs.
Shortly after, Keaon was over! It was a worthy reward for his dominance of recent weeks. He was the recipient of a precision kick from Cody which he plucked from the air and scored with relative ease. It was very much reminiscent of a Chris McQueen try from back in the day. 12-0 Souths.
The South Sydney superiority continued with the visitors hardly getting a look in. Our forwards were steamrolling their bigger-named opponents with Davvy Moale continuing his wave of awesome form. It was looking as if the Broncos didn’t really want to be here. They were struggling in all facets of play, particularly defusing Latrell’s and Jack’s kicks. Brisbane get so many favours with scheduling and the fact they barely have to leave their state these days. I don’t think a cold, wet Saturday against an unexpectedly good opposition was part of their usual cushy plans. Our man Latrell is an expert of making the most of momentum and he barrelled over for our next 4 pointer. 18- 0 Souths.
Members Love
The crowd in the members bay were loving it! We were piling on the points, not in a lucky way either. We had earnt the right to do so every time so the signs were good. The first thing to go against us was when Richie Kennar was binned for a high shot. There wasn’t any intent there but off he went anyway and the fans knew that this could be the turning point. It wasn’t to be though as we repelled every Broncos attack (not that there were too many) and probably looked better than them with one less player. Another half time lead at 18-0.
After the break, the home side let us know early that there would be no doubts tonight about their commitment or ability, scoring first after half time. It was a fantastic try from AJ who is now the record holder for the most tries for the one club and now outright 2nd in the all-time standings. What an achievement! I’m so proud of him and happy that I’ve got to see every one. It was a superb ball from Latrell but the anticipation that Alex displayed really showed the professional that he is, it really gave Brisbane no chance of stopping the points.
Sin Bin?
Wonders will never cease in the NRL but I’m still trying to work out how Latrell Mitchell was binned in the 55th minute. We all saw the shocking hit by Jordan Riki on Cam and we all thought it was a send-off. Well at least that’s what I thought. Using the Sua’ali’i tackle as a measure it was definitely in a similar ballpark. Maybe not the same force but at least Reece Walsh had the ball for a bit before he was smashed. But no, Mitchell gets marched first for “running in”. I’m sure I speak for all Souths fans and probably all league fans when I say this is what you want your players to do. You want to see your boys defending each other when you think something illegal occurs. Oh well… Thankfully it didn’t matter.
A couple of late Brisbane tries to speedy winger Deine Mariner made up somewhat for his countless errors during the match. It gave the score a bit more respectability but really this game was all Souths. Final score 22-12.
I’m sure we’re all asking the same question in “Where have these performances been?”. There’s obviously a lot of factors at play but our forwards are going forward again and for the first time since Adam left we have two quality halves who are composed and can take control. The 7 jumper is really suiting Cody, he’s kicking less but doing a lot of quality work elsewhere. Getting Wighton’s hands on the ball more is a massive plus and his kicks along with Latrell’s monster bombs is huge improvement from where we were previously.
The Fantastic Pack
Our pack was again fantastic. As mentioned before Davvy is starting to perform like a top-line prop. Keppie still makes the odd error but is having an impact. Jai is looking better each week and was strong again last night, I just hope he can last as he seems pretty patched up. Special mention to Tallis Duncan whose lead-up work was instrumental in a lot of our attack. Cam is back, Keaon is a beast and Cookie is thriving with the newfound confidence that our team has gained. Plaudits also to interim coach Hornby who has turned things around from a seemingly hopeless position. Of course we all want him here next year with Wayne but he would be doing himself no harm in being a big contender for the next first grade job to come up.
Yes We Can
Next question…”Can we keep winning?” Well, of course I hope so and don’t see why we can’t. We obviously can’t afford any more injuries as our roster is already stretched. I also see us losing Cam, Latrell and maybe Cody to Origin. I see the first two as certainties and if NSW are serious about winning they need to pick some creative attacking players rather than just players that can make a 15m hit-up but not do much else. Cody is obviously your man there. I’m not sure how this affects us with our draw but we’ll struggle if they’re missing.
In the meantime, let’s enjoy the wins and the way our team is playing. It’s been a tough run for a while and like all of you I’m sure I hope that the good run continues! See you out there next Saturday…
Bunnies Beat Broncos.
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