One For The Ages

One For The Ages

There is about 8 minutes left on the clock. Stephen Crichton just scored his hat trick and converted to give the Panthers an 8 point lead. Heads drop in the crowd. It looked like the Panthers were going to continue their dominance against us. 

How could we score twice in 8 minutes against a team that for the 3 previous seasons only concedes 2 tries a game on average? There was no way the Panthers were going to allow us to score twice in that time. Surely not? 

5 To Go

There is just on 5 minutes to go. We get a bit of fortune off a Campbell Graham kick. The Panthers accidentally offside and we dive on the ball. Six again. An attacking set on the Panthers line. 

The set was going like so many previously during the game. Just when it looked like we were stretching the Panthers defence they show up. 

Then the last. 

Trell Try

Kick by Ilias. Panthers knock it forward for it to bounce off Cody Walker’s hands straight to Latrell for a try next to the posts. 

Try. Or was it? With the new concept of checking every try you never know. A quick look at try was confirmed. We could breathe a sigh of relief. We were right in this game now. 

Latrell with the conversion to get us back to within 2. 

2 Or 3 Sets

There wasn’t long left. We were only going to get 2 possibly 3 sets. 

The boys noticed a weakness in the line with Crichton moving to their left side with the injury to Sunia Turuva. That meant that Jaeman Salmon was on their right. Defending our lethal left. 

It didn’t take long to see that is where our focus was. Tass put through a gap. The pass to AJ. Holds it up to pass to Latrell only for Cleary to be on him in a great tackle. 

It wasn’t to be. Surely we won’t get an opportunity like that again? 

We play out the set and run it on the last. Again the Panthers repel our attacking raid. Handover. 

We were going to only get one more chance with the ball. Just needed to defend strongly. Hopefully force an error. 

Wasn’t to be. Panthers complete their set and have us 90 metres from victory. 

Thoughts start turning to a Latrell 2 point field goal. Can we get him in range? 

Now Or Never

The set doesn’t look like much is happening. It’s the 4^th tackle. It’s now or never. 

What happened next was something special. 

Cook to Ilias, Ilias to Walker, Walker to Latrell then cut out to Alex Johnston. AJ wrapped up. Were we in range? 

Wait a minute how did AJ get that ball away? Cody with the instincts that only he has timed the run to perfection. Then the pass to Tass. 

As soon as he caught it that was it. There was no stopping him. 

TRY!!!!!!

What South Sydney Does

The crowd erupt. There was hugs in the crowd. Even strangers giving high fives and hugs. This is what South Sydney does. Brings so many people together. 

The joys of the highs. These are the moments that make it worth it having such an emotional attachment to a sporting team. 

Despite all this the game wasn’t over yet. Latrell had a kick. We were all watching the clock continue to count down. Latrell was taking as much time as he could to not give the Panthers another chance. 

Finally he moves in. He needs this kick to take away the 2 point field goal option. He missed. There was still 4 seconds on the clock. The Panthers had one more chance. We just had to make sure we didn’t give away a penalty. 

Hold The Celebration

The jubilation now turned back to nerves. We couldn’t celebrate just yet. 

Panthers take the kick off. The ball goes off Crichtons head. Ilias takes the ball into touch. Now it was time to celebrate. 

Glory Glory

“Glory Glory to South Sydney” is blaring over the speakers whilst in The Burrow “Take me home Botany Road” is being screamed out. 

A very special win. 

After that last 8 minutes the rest of the game was a bit of a blur. The usual try right on halftime and the try off a kick were conceded. 

It was a game where part of you wished you didn’t have that emotional connection to it. So you could have enjoyed it for the spectacle it was. It was one of the best regular season games you would see. Very semi finals like. 

Special Mentions

Latrell was immense on Thursday night. We are a different team when he gets involved. He was just in his zone. Funnily he made less metres than the games where he was criticised for not being involved enough. Yet with Latrell he doesn’t need to be the guy that makes those metres. This game shows you why. 

The whole spine were brilliant. 

It was great to see Cody get his moment against the Panthers. With the game on the line he stood up and delivered. A slow start to the season is now a distant memory   

Cook is another that at times has struggled in the big games. He was also on the other night. His passing was on and so was his runs. This is when he is at his best. When he isn’t indecisive. 

Even Lachie. Even though he wasn’t at the levels of the others in the spine he certainly played his part. The way he is engaging the line is really starting to take effect. We are seeing an improved player from last year. Playing much more of a role this year. 

Hame The Pick

Hame Sele was the pick of the forwards for me. If it wasn’t for injuries during his career we would be speaking of him in the same way we speak of Burgess and Tatola. Hopefully he can stay injury free from here. 

The form of AJ this year has been below his best. Thursday night he put his best foot forward. Although he never scored, the signs are there. Our left side attack was looking dangerous. If it had of been against any other team than the Panthers AJ gets a hat trick. 

There has been many criticisms of Taane Milne. Most of it justifiable. I thought he did his job the other night. It was always a worry that with Cleary and his bombs that Taane would struggle. He took everything that came his way. So many tough carries out of our end as well. 

I’m glad that Tass had that moment at the end of the game. Even by his own admission he had a poor game. He was really struggling marking up against Crichton. Whether it was on the ground or in the air. All 3 Panthers tries Tass could have been better. That moment at the end though would have done him the world of good. 

Early on we conceded a line break. The signs looked ominous early. Although like so often this year our scramble defence stops the threat. Both teams were great in this area. Stop the threat and then regroup to shut the play down. 

Complete Over 80%

Once again we had a completion rate of over 80%. That’s 2 weeks in a row. An area that was a huge concern in previous games. We did have a few poor errors in the second half that gave the Panthers good field position. They scored off the back of that. 

Now we travel to Brisbane again. We are there for the following 2 weeks. That will make it 7 away games in the first 10 rounds. If we can manage at least one win the next 2 weeks that will be an impressive start when you consider the injuries.

One For The Ages.

By Josh Kemp for Bunnies TV.