Incredible Ilias On Rampaging Right
The Rabbitohs got off to a flyer last night at Shark Park thanks to Lachlan Ilias. On the Fox League game coverage James Hooper said “That is an eleven out of ten start to this game from the South Sydney young gun..”
I was at the Shark Park with my wife Samantha. We bought the last few available general admission tickets so were resigned to sitting on the hill or standing at another vantage point around the ground.
As luck would have it the first people we saw on arrival were Bunnies TV contributor Josh Kemp and channel member Michael Tasker.
Josh is one of The Burrow organisers and does fantastic work with tickets and everything else on behalf of our famous loyal fan group. There was a couple of no shows so Josh invited us to experience our first game in the mighty Burrow ranks. We graciously accepted and enjoyed every moment.
Our vantage point in the south east corner was ok but not elevated so the action at the other end of the ground was, at times hard to follow.
Smile To Frown
There was no viewing problem when Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitano burst into the clear and looked certain to score in the corner right in front of us. A big grin spread across his face as the thought of scoring the opening try looked certain.
However, out of nowhere Lachlan Ilias saved the day. Not giving up on the play, Ilias dived, punched the ball free and wiped the smile from Ronaldos face.
After miraculously knocking the ball out of Ronaldos hands then scoring a try himself, lead caller Dan Ginnane exclaimed “That Ilias tackle has changed the momentum completely here at Shark Park”.
The Rampaging Right
We love our ‘Lethal Left’ side attack but now there’s a new kid on the block the ‘Rampaging Right’. Four tries were scored on that side, exploiting the defence of Sharks aging number 6 Matt Moylan.
Grant Chappell gave credit for Souths attacking ploy to the Rabbitohs coaching staff. Josh Kemp tweeted “Our right was on last night, both Keaon and Campbell were huge threats”.
Tries to Ilias, Keaon Koloamatangi and 2 tries to Campbell ‘Stretch’ Graham put our right side well and truly on the map. Campbells 1st try saw Cam Murray get involved to create space. Campbells 2nd try saw Lachy dig into the line before finding Latrell Mitchell chiming into the mix with a double pumped try assist.
There was almost a 5th right side try to winger Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson aka ITOM. Campbell Graham found an overlap that presented a clear run to the line for his outside man who was tackled just short of the stripe by his speedy opposite Mulitano.
Albo Impressed
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was impressed, he tweeted “Top start to the 2023 season from the Rabbitohs..great game from Lachlan Ilias. #SSTID
Injury Concerns
Junior Tatolas night ended in the first play of the match. Our workhorse prop came off the back fence and collided head first with the forehead of Dale Finucane.
This injury combined with Jai Arrow (hamstring) and Latrell Mitchell (knee) adds 3 starters to the injury list.
Also unavailable are:
- Taane Milne (suspended, Round 2)
- Hame Sele (calf, Round 2-3)
- Jacob Host (calf, Round 2-3)
- Siliva Havili (ankle, mid-season)
- Liam Knight (knee/shoulder, mid-season)
Shaq & Cheeks Among The Best
A team down on troops means that others have to step up and it was no surprise that Souths captain Murray did just that. Besides a couple of uncharacteristic errors, Cam pumped out 158 runs metres and 51 tackle in 80 minutes.
Michael Chee Kam was also forced to play the entire game and did so with distinction. Shaquai Mitchell was powerful and might just have cemented his spot in the 17.
Isaiah Tass was busy running the footy a valuable 21 times, the most by any player from both teams. Cookie, Davvy Moale and Tom Burgess all deserve praise for their workrates under pressure.
A solid team performance by all 17 men in the red and green that left fans like me extremely proud.
A Win In Round 1
The Rabbitohs 27-18 victory over the Sharks was the first time they have registered a round 1 win since 2020. The key to the win lies in the stats. Souths had more possession, ran for more metres, made more line breaks, missed less tackles and made less errors. If this trend continues, plenty more wins will follow.
The Sharks were ordinary last night and were far from the top 4 side from 2022. They missed 52 tackles and made 14 errors but will no doubt be better when we meet them again later in the year.
A massive clash with the Panthers awaits on Thursday night in round 2.
Pathways Report
I watched some of the Jersey Flegg game curtain raiser, the Rabbitohs were in the contest in the 2nd half before going down 24-6 to the Sharks. Earlier on Saturday our NSW Cup side lost 26-6 to the Jets at Henson Park.
Back at Shark Park today our depleted SG Ball team were defeated by the Sharks 32-16. Our Harold Matthews boys led 12-0 at half time and managed to hold on for an 18 all draw v the Sharks.
At Cronulla High our Womens team shot out to a 10 nil lead early but the Maddie Studdon lead Sharks scored 14 unanswered points to take the win 14-10. Our Tarsha Gale girls also scored first against the Sharks and took a 10-4 lead into the break. It was all Cronulla in the 2nd half for a 20-10 win to the home side. More NSWRL pathways scores can be found here.
Incredible Ilias On Rampaging Right.
By Steve Mavin for Bunnies TV.
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