By Stephen Fenech from Tech Guide
One step closer to the dream of premiership glory!! I had a great feeling about this game and was openly tipping we’d beat the Sharks by 20. We ended up winning by 26! Now while I’m celebrating that win with every other supporter, I think there’s still a lot we can learn – and areas we can improve.
We had total control of that game and ended up winning comfortably but I took one look at the stats and it brought me back to earth. Our completion rate was just 68 per cent and with 15 errors thrown in. That’s not like Souths. Our first half was littered with errors – yet we still managed to lead 18-0 at halftime and put on another 20 points in the second half. Souths have some real momentum behind them and they are riding a tremendous wave of support.
And that’s not the first time we still managed to dominate and score the win with stats that would lead to a regular team to defeat. So it’s a good thing that this is not a regular team! I put it down to our tremendous defensive effort. I know a lot of Sharks supporters – they’re gutted after finishing the regular season in second place only to be bundled out in straight sets. They’ll come back stronger in 2023. For Souths it just shows that will and skill can get the job. We’ve come from finishing seventh to being just one win from our second grand final in a row.
Latrell was once again his unpredictable self – you just don’t know what he’s going to do. That can both thrill you and give you a heart attack. Tonight he had a foot on each pedal. A couple of knock ons in crucial positions took the shine off his game. But he was perfect with the boot again – six from six goals – with most from the sideline.
I want to make special mention of Cameron Murray – another great captain’s knock – led from the front and worked himself to a standstill. He was rewarded with a great try just before half time when he strolled through the Sharks defence.
I’ll also take my hat off to Campbell Graham – that was one of his best all-round performances. On a few occasions he made some bone-rattling tackles to absolutely shut down the Sharks’ backline movements. And with the ball he was always a danger. He was never forced backwards even when running the ball up off our line and was also in open space a few times out wide.
Lachlan Ilias also proved a handful for the defence and backed up on the inside to score a good try in the second half. Cody also stood up tonight to shut down the Sharks in defence while he was always a danger with the ball in his hands despite the Sharks being ridiculously offside on his side of the field. Damien Cook kept himself busy but couldn’t find too many openings to show off his speed.
The Sharks were continually frustrated that they couldn’t crack our defence. The two tries that the Sharks did manage to score in the second half were off our errors. The first came right after half time when Cam Murray uncharacteristically dropped a ball in the open set of six before Nikora cleaned up a loose 5th tackle kick to score in the corner.
The second was off a stray Latrell long pass that a Sharks players touched in mid-air before it landed in Mulitalo’s hands – to me that looked a lot like a knock on but Mulitalo raced away to score under the posts. Thankfully the Sharks’ error rate was as high as ours, but we just managed to capitalise on our field position and keep that scoreboard ticking over with tries to Nichols (would have loved to have a lazy fiver on his as first tryscorer), two to Milne, Cam Murray, Ilias and Cody.
Now we do have some injury concerns including Alex Johnston who has strained a hip flexor and requires a scan. Hopefully he can take his place in the side next week. And all I needed was for him to score a try to complete a tidy four-leg multi. Havili also needs a scan and Jai Arrow had an injury scare but I’ve been informed he’s OK. Junior Tatola is also on report for a chicken wing tackle but he’s unlikely to receive a suspension.
Now we turn our attention to Penrith – the team that beat us in the 2021 Grand Final. If that isn’t motivation enough, I don’t know what is. They are the only thing standing in our way of playing in a second Grand Final in as many years. And I think we’ve got their measure. But I know one thing – if we put up a similar at-times sloppy performance like tonight, then Penrith are certain to punish us. In terms of skill and experience – I think Souths can match it with Penrith in every facet of the game. It’s going to come down to our discipline and passion. If we play our best – we can put an end to their season. And the great thing is the game is being played at Accor Stadium in Homebush which makes it more like a home game for Souths.
The fairy tale continues for another week. Two more wins and it’s premiership No 22 in 2022! Let’s go Rabbitohs!!!
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