Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 13 Recap

Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 13 Recap

For the second week in a row, I get to write a recap after a Souths loss. It certainly isn’t as much fun this way but I guess you can’t win every week.. The footy never stops of course and it’s important to keep my loyal readers informed here on Bunnies TV. We had an abbreviated round this week with players leaving their clubs to take part in Wednesday’s Origin match. Despite there being only 5 matches it didn’t mean that it was any easier to get a perfect round with your tips! Let’s recap Round 13 where there were a few upsets with of course an extended look at the Rabbitohs v Canberra match.

Dolphins v Dragons

Kayo Stadium in Redcliffe was the venue for the Thursday night match between the Dolphins and St George-Illawarra. I’m sure many were thinking the Dolphins’ home ground was named after Kayo as that’s where many of the fans would be watching them given they were Wooden Spoon favourites pre-season. The Dolphins were never supposed to do this well but you can never underestimate a Bennett-coached side.

The home side were without a few of their regulars but didn’t have too much trouble dispatching a Ben Hunt-less Dragons team. The score was close at times but they were never really in any danger of losing. Another 2 points for the new side, taking them to 6th on the ladder. Next week is a winnable game against NZ. The Dragons are showing a bit more spirit since Hook got hooked. They won’t be playing finals but should give their fans a bit of joy before season’s end.

Warriors v Broncos

Another different venue for the Warriors this week with the NZ v Warriors taking place in Napier. I know it’s good that they’re taking their games around New Zealand. I do however, think they’re disadvantaged going away from Mt Smart. Either way, it looked like the crowd was having a ball out there even if their side stunk things up a bit.

The Warriors had all the favours here but couldn’t get the result. They were full strength whilst Brisbane were missing plenty including their forward guns Haas and Carrigan. This is a new Broncos team though and they put it to the home side even though they had excuses not to. The Broncos may struggle against the topliners but against everyone else they’ve been mostly unbeatable. Adam Reynolds was again brilliant steering his young and inexperienced side around the park. NZ did have a chance to grab this game at the death but their last minute try was called back correctly. Tough win for the Broncs and an opportunity lost for the Warriors.

Eels v Cowboys

Two sides that had completely different formlines going into Friday’s clash. The Eels had just knocked over the high-flying Rabbitohs whilst the Cowboys were deplorable against the lowly Tigers. I suppose given the circumstances, it was hardly a surprise the Cowboys came out firing even though they were missing quite a few stars. The effort was certainly better from the Cows but the Eels pretty much had this under control throughout even if the score was close at times. 

It really is desperate times for the Cowboys now as they face a real battle to make the semis. It’s a massive slump considering they were a top side last year. The Eels are starting to build nicely now after finally getting through to their bye after a very tough draw early.

Rabbitohs v Raiders

The Bunnies were back at a freezing Accor after a disappointing trip to Allianz last week. Both teams were coming off very ordinary losses last week so effort was expected from both ends. Souths were of course missing four of their best. Murray, Mitchell, Graham and Arrow as well as the injuries they had. The side they fielded however, still looked good on paper and it was exciting to see a debutant in Tallis Duncan, a full game for Blake Taaffe and the return of fan favourite Shaq Mitchell. That’s the good thing about Origin in that you get to see some new faces and you get to test your depth as a club. On the other hand, Canberra looked almost full strength only missing Young due to Origin.

Some Cody Walker magic put Jed Cartwright through early for a great try sending the home crowd into a frenzy! A fantastic start but it wasn’t to be that way for long with the Raiders getting two tries of their own down our right side. A try to AJ kept the score a bit more respectable at half time with the Raiders leading 18-8. I didn’t think this was too bad given that the Raiders had dominated the first half. Our forwards were again struggling at the size of the Canberra forwards. The offloads were flowing just like last week against the Eels.

Souths 2nd Half

Souths came out well in the second half. The introduction of Shaq Mitchell and Daniel Suluka-Fifita gave us a real boost in the middle and we were able to gain the ascendancy. Tries to AJ and Tass saw us grab the lead. Canberra then snatched it back with a disappointing runaway try to Starling.

With 10 to go, some quick thinking from Cody saw Cookie score a ripper of a try. This gave the lead back to the home side. The mood in the crowd was hopeful, everyone was feeling pretty confident we could seal the win. But it was Canberra’s turn for a bit of magic of their own from their star in Wighton. Once again, we were carved up on the right and Hopoate grabbed his third try to break the hearts of the Souths faithful.

It was far from ideal slumping to our second loss in a row, particularly when we should have closed it out. I actually thought the effort was a lot better than last week. Canberra are a very good side when at their best and for whatever reason we never go that great against them. On a positive note, Cody was brilliant and our forwards got on top in the end but we struggled in one department particularly. I don’t blame the guys who were there as when you’ve got guys filling in positions that are not their best, things won’t always go right. Obviously, if Campbell Graham is there on the right the result is different but he wasn’t. The Gold Coast game is suddenly very important, I’m confident we can bounce back.

Knights v Sea-Eagles

The final match of the shortened round saw us head to Newcastle where they hosted Manly. The Knights were desperate for a win whilst Manly had just belted Canberra but now were without their Origin stars. This was set up nicely for the home side and even though they had a few scares they were able to outlast the understrength Manly.

Join me next week for Uncool Dad’s Round 14 Recap on Bunnies TV. Of course before this we have the Origin match to look forward to. I will be watching as it’s always a great spectacle but I’m never too fussed about the result. It’s all about Souths for me! Hopefully our players will get through unscathed. I think a few of the NSW selections are a bit questionable so it will be interesting to see what plays out.

Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 13 Recap.

By Greg Allan