Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 23 Recap

Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 23 Recap

We’ve plumbed some pretty low depth on the weekly recaps here on Bunnies TV but surely this week is the lowest? For Souths fans it’s a tough time as we try and work out what happened to our team. This was the same team competing with and often beating the best the NRL had to offer for those first 10 weeks or so… I’ll get stuck into the misery that is the Rabbitohs later but there’s also a full round of NRL to go through. The finals race isn’t really any clearer as once again we had a few sides drop down but a few also emerge as finals hopes. 

Roosters v Sea-Eagles

I found it very hard to get excited about this Thursday game to kick off the round. We had my least favourite side taking on one of my least favorite sides which produced a pretty minimal care factor for me. However, I can report that the Roosters grabbed a much needed win against a disappointing Manly team. Another reason to hate this weekend of footy… 

I suppose with the stars the Chooks have on paper things would eventually click for them not that Manly offered much. The Roosters raced to a 20-0 lead before the opposition registered their first try. The contest was never really in doubt despite a slight comeback from Manly at the death. With a reasonable run home the Roosters aren’t completely out of contention but they’d have to win all their games. You’d think that would be it for Manly with a game against Penrith to look forward to next round.

Titans v Warriors

The Titans were back at home again this week hoping to build on their impressive win against the Cowboys last week. Their opponents were the high-flying Warriors who were coming off the bye. In what was a bit of a theme for the weekend for whatever reason there seemed to be a real crackdown on high tackles. Mo Fotuaika from the Gold Coast side was the recipient of the referee’s new outlook, getting sent off for a high shot. The tackle wasn’t fantastic but it certainly wasn’t worthy of a send off.

You’d think with only 12 men, the Titans would fold but the opposite occurred. Their effort with 12 was better than a lot of their efforts with a full team this year! It wasn’t until the final minutes till the Warriors were able to seal the win. A brave effort from the home team and yet another win for the NZ side. Barring an absolute disaster the Warriors will finish in the Top 4, exciting times for their fans.

Panthers v Storm

Like the opening match of the round, this was another match I had trouble getting enthusiastic about. Another match-up of teams I’m not keen on finished Friday’s matches with Penrith hosting Melbourne. I won’t spend ages on this as this was just simply another domination by the back-to-back premiers. 

The contest was robbed of a lot of interest when Jahrome Hughes and Xavier Coates were ruled out late. This made things even tougher for the visiting side and Penrith steam-rolled accordingly. An early try from Melbourne woke the giant, the Panthers responded with 26 unanswered points to get another easy win.

Cowboys v Broncos

Super Saturday was upon us and we had three good games to look forward to, including a double-header in Perth. The first match was last start losers, the Cowboys taking on the high-riding Broncos. Bookmakers changed their odds and tipsters quickly switched their selections as the news had come through that Adam Reynolds was a late out. In the past, this would have spelled disaster but not for the 2023 Broncos.

Without missing a beat, the Reynolds-less Brisbane competed hard and eventually drew away from North Queensland to grab the win. The match was close at times but you’d have to say the young Broncos were always in control. After 6 straight from the Cows, that’s 2 losses in a row. Not great timing and they now have a battle on their hands to make the 8.

Dolphins v Knights

Game 1 of 2 at Optus Stadium in Perth, was the recently red-hot Newcastle taking on the Dolphins. Given Newcastle’s form, a lot were expecting them to run up a score but you can’t ever underestimate a Bennett coached team. After the normal brilliant opening try from Ponga, the Dolphins replied with three of their own from Jamayne Isaako!

Teams traded tries after that and one stage the Dolphins had a 10 point lead early in the second half. A flood of Newcastle 4 pointers saw them take the front only for a late one from the Dolphins to keep the final moments interesting. Newcastle clutched onto the tight win in the end, Dolphins competed well throughout. Let’s see what next week brings in Newcastle’s march to the semis – they have a very winnable game against the Dogs who will be keen to spoil the party.

Rabbitohs v Sharks

Game 2 of the Perth Double-header is one that I’ve been putting off writing about all day. It’s one of those games that really make you hate the game and question your devotion to your team just because of the sheer level of disappointment. I can’t even bring myself to watch the highlights again so the details may be a bit sketchy. I’m sure it’s a game most Souths fans won’t want to dwell on anyway.

Once again, hopes were high for the Rabbitohs. We were missing forwards but our backline was intact and Latrell was back for his second game since his injury. The Souths media team had done a fantastic job building the team’s presence over in WA and there seemed to be a real following over there anticipating the game. We had a bunch of games to look forward to that we knew our team was more than capable of winning. If we won them all, Top 4 wasn’t out of the question. The stage was set for South Sydney’s charge for semis… or so we thought.

A Scratchy Start

Things started well enough. There seemed to be a few big efforts from our forwards early, unfortunately this is something that only happens every now and then during a game these days. Our attack was pretty scratchy however. There were plenty of balls not finding their mark as we tried to produce that miracle play despite not having the right to do so. We should have known that it wasn’t going to be our night when Cronulla scored the first try from a shocking forward pass. Everyone but the match officials seemed to see that it went forward but what do you do?

Soon after the Sharkies were in again. Some pretty ordinary defence led to a linebreak, capped off with Katoa standing up Trellmit rather embarrassingly. A penalty goal after yet another failed dropout gave Cronulla a 14-0 lead at the main break. Far from great but not so bad that you couldn’t come back and win. The team looked very flat and I was hopeful that a JD rev-up would improve things…

63rd Minute

JD’s words went ignored, Cronulla ran in another 2 unanswered tries courtesy of Braydon Trindall. I couldn’t believe how badly things were going, this was not that way I was expecting to spend my Saturday night..  It took us 63 minutes but we finally scored through AJ and then another through Lachy almost immediately after… Could the comeback be on? There was certainly time and I hadn’t given up hope. Possibly deep down I knew that we really weren’t going well enough and didn’t deserve it. We got another try to Tass and probably had enough opportunities to score the points we needed but we butchered them all. The attitude wasn’t there from the kick-off and it was still the same at the death.

What can you say? I found that a particularly disappointing loss. I know we’ve had worse scorelines and probably worse results but given the circumstances I found that a real kick in the guts. To me, there’s a stack of issues but it all comes down to attitude. Our forwards I’m sure are trying but they’re getting dominated each week after being the best in the comp at the start of the year. The backs are rushing plays instead of being patient, maybe they don’t know how to be? We can have the highest membership, the richest sponsorship, the best facilities and elite management and organisation but if you don’t want to give your best on the field, you’re going to get found out. Yes, I’m disappointed. 

Tass & Tallis

I’m having trouble finding positives but I thought Tass competed well and Tallis Duncan was exceptional. I’m not sure about too much else. It doesn’t get any easier with Tom somehow copping a 3 week ban and Jai hurting his back. This on top of injuries to Junior and Hame, we’re going to have a very NSW Cup looking pack next week. Is that such a bad thing given the way we have been going?

We kissed the Top 4 goodbye on last night’s display, we now have to be content with making the 8. Something that looked a certainty not long ago now is far from sure. These winnable games we’ve had lined up for months now look extremely loseable. What response will we get from our Rabbitohs??

Eels v Dragons

Raiders v Tigers

With Souths giving me a real distaste for league today, I didn’t see too much of the two games. There’s no point giving a detailed report so let’s keep it short..  Eels got a scare from a committed Dragons side but were able to keep their finals hopes alive. In the second game, we had one team who likes to win small (Raiders) against a team that likes to compete but rarely wins (Tigers). It was no surprise that the score ended up 22-18 to Canberra.

I hope next week’s recap has something a bit more fun to write about. I just wanted to forget that Souths game and re-analysing it again was an absolute punish! Still, it’s good to keep a record of the good times and the bad and maybe this is something we can  look back on as a turning point? I certainly hope so… Join me next Sunday night for Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 24 Recap.

Uncool Dad’s Bunnies TV Round 23 Recap.

By Greg Allan