Rabbitohs On Tour (2nd Leg) Tamworth
After a poor performance the previous week Friday night couldn’t come around quick enough. Once again the excitement was in the air with the expected return of Latrell Mitchell. Unlike last week, there weren’t any late surprises. Latrell was back.
This week we found ourselves road tripping to Tamworth. There was a bigger group headed out this week in The Burrow. In the lead up to the game there was a buzz around town. Unlike last week this was dominated by Cardinal and Myrtle.
In the pub in the lead up it was building up. You could see the excitement of the locals. Footy was back in their town. Something we take for granted.
A Long Wait
Heading over to the ground I underestimated how long it would take to get in. It took almost an hour to get in. I finally made my seat just on kick off. Many others weren’t that lucky.
The game finally started. We can put the previous week behind us.
It didn’t take long to see the intent. First tackle and Keaon put a huge hit on Dave Klemmer. I’m guessing he wasn’t forgetting about last year.
AJ Scores
Tigers get six again from a charge down. They look to go wide only for Alex Johnston to pick them off and score under the posts with our first touch of the footy.
A few errors put ourselves under pressure. It didn’t take long for the Tigers to hit back with a try of their own. A kick that was deflected and Cody couldn’t clean up. Cody certainly wasn’t having a great start to the game.
At times the attack looked a bit clunky. We weren’t taking our chances.
A great offload by Cam Murray to Latrell saw us on the front foot. The Tigers stopped us on that play, but couldn’t stop us the very next play. The ball shifted to the left to AJ who then passed inside to Isaiah Tass to score.
Another AJ Double
It didn’t take long for us to extend the lead with another try to AJ. What was significant about this try was he broke the all time record for scoring multiple tries. It was great work by Tass to get him the ball.
Another try. This time to Keaon through a great kick by Lachlan Ilias. It was now 20-6 after 27 minutes.
We had several chances, but didn’t take advantage of the opportunities. Poor completions made sure we didn’t extend our lead before the break.
We left about 3 tries out there in that first half. The game should have been over.
Tigers Tries
The second half and it didn’t take long for the Tigers to get back in the game. Our defence which looked good in the first half was looking more like what we have seen over the origin period.
The Tigers were starting to open us up and get through. Some great work by Latrell and Lachie in defence prevented them scoring. Still there were worrying signs out there.
Another break and kick by the Tigers saw Lachie come from nowhere only to undo all the hard work by losing the ball in a big tackle by Api. This time the Tigers really made us pay and scored right next to the posts. All of a sudden we were only up by 2 with the Tigers having all the running.
We needed something big to turn this game. Then it happened.
It Came From Keaon
It came from Keaon Koloamatangi. Straight through Luke Brooks. We were finally in an attacking position. That run ended up being the turning point of the game.
We didn’t score off the back of that set, but we were able to build pressure by getting several repeat sets in a row. From there AJ crossed for his hat trick.
All of a sudden the energy was back. The tackles were sticking. The passes were sticking.
We forced another drop out. This time the Tigers finally get to the ball but it went back to the ingoals and looked as though Cook was going to score. Only to be denied by being pulled back. Somehow the bunker didn’t take that into account.
In Control
Still we were in full control of the game now.
The game was finally put to bed when Lachie put Cam through. Cam then dummied the fullback to score under the posts. That was game.
If you didn’t know who the crowd was here to see you just had to look at the last kick by Latrell. He was playing it up to the crowd and they were loving it. Even after the game when he went over to the crowd they were going crazy.
We almost scored another try at the end, but wasn’t to be.
Souths are finally back in the winners circle. We moved up to 6th on the ladder with games in hand.
Outstanding Arrow & Lachie Better
Once again Jai Arrow was the stand out. You just have to look over the last 2 weeks to see what we missed during that origin period we struggled.
Lachie had a much better game. His kicking game was much improved. One thing I’ll never bag Lachie for is his effort areas. The ground he covers in defence is brilliant. This is where he needs to build on this game.
Trell, Tass, Keaon, Tom & Jed
You can see that game and see how much Latrell brings to the side. It wasn’t a masterclass by any means. However he has those moments in the game where it turns the momentum and gets the team out of trouble. Just look at that run out of the ingoal in the second half.
Both Isaiah Tass and Keaon Koloamatangi bounced back after a poor game against the Broncos. As did Tom Burgess.
Another player I thought did a great job when he came on was Jed Cartwright. He looks to have continued on from his man of the match performance in NSW Cup the previous week.
Alex v Dom
Another hattrick to AJ. He has a knack of making a late run in the season with scoring tries. He now finds himself only 2 tries away from Dominic Young. It doesn’t feel like he has had a great season when it comes to scoring tries, but here he is with 18 tries and 4 games to go to chase Young down.
It wasn’t the greatest of games by us. Still plenty of improving to do. Although the Tigers are coming last, I did feel they put up a great fight. It helped having a few players back for them.
Now we head to Perth for the next leg of the tour. We face a team that is neck and neck with us. Their form has been down, but they can’t be taken lightly. A win here will keep our slight chance for a top 4 spot alive.
Up early in the morning to head back home. Waking up knowing the 2 points were in the bag. It was great seeing other results go our way over the weekend to keep us in 6thposition.
Weekends are so much better after a South Sydney win.
Rabbitohs On Tour (2nd Leg) Tamworth.
By Josh Kemp for Bunnies TV.
Add comment