The Amazing Win
NRL Round 5 South Sydney Rabbitohs v Sydney Roosters Accor Stadium, Homebush 4/4/25
Since I last wrote for Bunnies TV, things have been going very nicely for our Rabbitohs. Going into tonight’s match we were 3-1. Surely, there wouldn’t be anyone who didn’t think that was a good result? Given our ridiculous injury toll (which continues to mount) getting 3 wins is fantastic. Sure, our wins haven’t been pretty but they’ve been full of effort, with three of them come-from-behind victories.
Lucas and I made our way out to the Stadium, stopping for some dinner along the way. When we arrived we were pretty surprised at the crowd on hand. There were big queues waiting to get into the Stadium, maybe even the Accor staff had underestimated the turnout? In the end, 22000+ had turned up with almost all of them being Bunnies fans. A massive change from the disappointing crowds we had registered so far.
First Half Frustration
Onto the match and Souths had the better of the early exchanges but we couldn’t convert this into points. It was clear that we were favouring our left side attack and who could blame us with the players that were there. It wasn’t really working out though and this was a bit of a frustrating theme of the first half.
A break was made by Billy Smith (a guy who always seems to play well against us) after some average defence. We were on the backfoot after this with Sandon Smith taking advantage, strolling through more ordinary attempted tackles for an easy 4 pointer. Roosters 6-0. Before all this happened, Humphreys had left the field with an injury. I didn’t even notice him going off. I was disappointed as I knew that was the end of his consistent effort and solid kicking game but I also thought Sullivan was an ok replacement.
Not long after, the mighty Rabbitohs hit back. After a few near chances, some nice work from Hubner saw Junior go through easily next to the posts. Hubner looked sharp all night with his newfound distributor role adding to his quality as a player. Isn’t it also great to see Tatola back too? He’s one of my faves and is starting to hit form after such a long lay-off.
Souths continued to favour the left side and it almost paid off when Latrell crashed over. Unfortunately, he lost control of the ball and the try was disallowed. We continued to attack the Roosters’ line without success, eventually settling for a penalty goal. Souths 8-6. It felt as if we’d left some points out there in the first half but I thought things could be much worse than going to the break with a lead.
No Cody In Second Half
As our boys ran back on for the 2nd half, Cody was a notable absence. I knew this wasn’t great, it would take a special effort from here. Latrell Mitchell, who was probably expecting an easier night in the centres, was now the focal point of our attack. It didn’t take long for the Roosters to make the most of the situation. Tedesco, who was dangerous all night, found some space and the ball was shifted quickly to Billy Smith who went over in the corner. The kick was missed and, the Roosters lead 10-8.
After a few minutes, the Chooks were in again. This time, Dominic Young in the other corner. Things were looking grim, Ravalawa also came off with yet another injury for the team adding to the disarray out there and leaving a solitary player on the bench. We had players out of position across the park, I couldn’t even keep up with who was playing where. Another missed kick from the Roosters at least kept us in touch, being behind by a converted try.
The second dodgy dropout from Latrell again worked out well with Arrow showing ultimate game awareness by diving on the ball the milisecond it crossed the 10. A frustrated Angus Crichton gave away a silly penalty and we were on the attack. The effort was great but we didn’t really look like scoring.
Magic Moments
Then without warning, one of those magical moments that makes us love going to the footy and following our various teams occurred. Jayden Sullivan split the defence and had the sense to find ever the reliable Jye Gray lurking on his inside. Jye cruises over to score! The whole place erupted, the Souths faithful went absolutely nuts! We were back in it!
What’s better than one magical moment?? Souths were on the attack again, with a field goal present in both team’s collective minds, Latrell fires an absolute monster bullet pass to Tass who does well to hang on to it and score in the corner! Plaudits to Isaiah, plenty of other wingers in the NRL would have muffed that catch. Needless to say, the Souths members’ section was going crazy! Latrell kicks the goal from the sideline, the noise of the crowd threatening to lift the roof off the stadium! After this we held on…20-14. We’re now 4-1!
One Of The Best
What an amazing win? Probably one of the best I’ve seen when you consider the effort our boys made and all the endless obstacles they faced. The Roosters had every reason to win that and we had every excuse to lose it but we got the job done. The whole team was excellent, I can’t fault anyone.
The forwards were relentless and versatile considering the roles they had to play. Gray continues to deliver, Mitchell continues to be a superstar and Mamouzelos is loving being the no.1 hooker. More injuries will make next week’s team interesting. If AJ, Graham or even Aitken can make a return in the backs I wouldn’t be against Latrell slotting into the halves.
Will we see Lewis Dodd get a run? I would say it’s likely but Sullivan was impressive and probably deserves a crack before him. Whoever pulls on that famous jersey, the effort and attitude will be top class.
The Amazing Win by Greg Allan for Bunnies TV.
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