Uncool Dad’s Round 12 Recap
Round 12 was of course Indigenous Round and once again the NRL did an excellent job honouring and showcasing our First People and their contributions to the game. It comes across naturally in League as our Indigenous players are true heroes of our game. This is particularly so at Souths, our players love being a part of the round as the Indigenous presence has always been a major part of our club.
Unfortunately for us, it didn’t result in a win… This wouldn’t have been part of the plan but that’s footy. This will be the first time in a while I’ve had to write one of these on the back of a loss. As always, we’ll have a more detailed look at the Bunnies game – not that I really want to this time! Let’s recap another exciting round of footy.
Broncos v Panthers
It seems like an eternity ago but Round 12 kicked off on Thursday night with Brisbane hosting Penrith up at Suncorp. The Panthers were starting to build some form and had managed to work their way back to the top bracket of the table. Brisbane were also riding high at the top of the ladder but had struggled so far against major contenders. The Broncos were without Adam Reynolds and normally this would have resulted in a complete capitulation with last year’s side. This Brisbane team is different though and they were in the fight throughout.
Despite the effort, I’m not sure if Penrith were ever in any trouble here. The scoreline was close enough but it should be noted that Brisbane were kept to only 4 and Penrith could have easily scored more. The status quo remains – Panthers are looking ominous whilst Brisbane can’t knock over a top side.
Dragons v Roosters
Off to Kogarah for Game 1 of Friday. There were some major developments for both teams this week with the Dragons finally booting Coach Griffin whilst the Roosters had a lot of press because of their horrible form. St George-Illawarra got off to a fast start with a couple of converted tries and a penalty goal taking them to a 14-0 lead with more than half the game completed. I imagine the scenes in the Roosters dressing room at half time would have been pretty dark. No doubt Politis was there threatening players with a one way ticket to Newcastle or Canterbury.
Luckily for them, the Roosters were able to grab the lead with 10 mins to go only to lose it and then get it again with minutes to spare! However, in amazing scenes, the Dragons were able to score from a crossfield kick with seconds to go! The St George-Illawarra players and their long-suffering fans went nuts in celebration. The Roosters slumped to their third straight loss and now face a stint without Smith due to injury and Radley due to suspension after yet another bone-headed play.
Rabbitohs v Eels
I rushed home from work on Friday to start the trek out to Allianz for the Rabbitohs clash against the Eels. It’s a bit of a hassle for me to get out to Moore Park but the transport is way better than it used to be. It looks as if Souths will eventually move out there and I’m ok with that. It’s a fantastic stadium apart from all the Roosters logos everywhere.
In true South Sydney style, Indigenous Round was celebrated to its fullest. The crowd were treated to many performances and Indigenous athletes were honoured including Souths legends Greg Inglis and Eric Simms. In front of 27,000 plus we were underway and it wasn’t long till the Eels crossed in the corner. They did this with relative ease and I suppose we should have known something was not right. Souths hit back with a try from Alex Johnston after a brutal steal from Latrell. Parra got another softish try then Souths got another through Johnston after some scintillating lead-up work from Cody and Mitchell. Souths went to the break 12-10 down which was a good result as Parra had the better of the play.
It Was All Parra
When Campbell Graham crossed early in the second half I was thinking that we would go on with it but I couldn’t have been more wrong. It was all Parramatta after that as they ran in 4 unanswered tries! It was tough to watch as the Eels cut us up at will and scored some very easy 4 pointers.
It’s so typical of rugby league to burn you when you’re riding high. I think we were all a bit guilty of thinking this would be a big win, players and supporters alike. After all, we’d won 6 straight, it was Indigenous Round and we were up against an opponent that rarely beats us. The last time Parra beat us we had all our Origin players missing, Reyno had a broken back, a skinny Connor Tracey was at 5/8 and Junior Tatola was doing a poor impersonation of a ball-playing lock! Even then they only just got us.
The Eels had other ideas. They were desperate and their understrength forward pack dominated ours, something that really hasn’t happened to the Bunnies pack this season. Their stars stood up and they grabbed the win in commanding fashion. Life goes on but we now have a tough clash against Canberra next week without our Origin contingent. We’ll be all out there at Accor getting behind our team and expecting a big bounce back.
Sharks v Knights
Enough Rabbitoh misery, it was time for Super Saturday and the afternoon game was an interesting match-up between Cronulla and Newcastle at Coffs. Both teams were last start winners and I think most were expecting a close contest. This wasn’t the case however, with the Sharks doing it pretty easily against a lacklustre Knights. There were shades of the 2022 Knights in this performance as Cronulla strolled through their defense.
Tigers v Cowboys
The Leichhardt faithful were on hand to watch their improving side take on the Cowboys. I’m not sure even the most confident Tigers fan could have predicted what was going to happen. In stunning scenes Wests racked up a massive 66 points against a horrible Cowboys side! That’s right, this team that had struggled to score points at all this year put on an attacking masterclass. Wests were superb but the Cowboys were deplorable. Maybe they just got lucky last year? What a night for the long-suffering Tigers fans though! The pubs around the ground would have been absolutely pumping after that amazing win. If I had one complaint about the Tigers though, I think they should have focused solely on getting Alex Twal over the line once they knew they were home. If he was ever going to score a try that was the night to do it!
Dolphins v Storm
Melbourne were the favourites for this one but if we’ve learnt anything in 2023 it’s that you can’t underestimate the Dolphins. Things did go to plan for the Storm though and they were dominant in this one. In a spiteful clash which had a bit of biffo between the many ex-teamates on both teams, Storm ran out winners 24-16. A few late tries to the Dolphins kept the scoreline respectable but Melbourne were never in too much trouble here. I’m sure the Dolphins will be back whilst the Storm are starting to look scary once again.
Titans v Bulldogs
In what is becoming a disturbing habit for the Gold Coast side, they once again dropped a big lead to somehow lose to the Bulldogs 20-18 in the first Sunday game. The Titans led 14-0 at the break and looked to be going well. However, a couple of quick early Canterbury tries in the second half saw them lose control of the match and eventually the 2 points on offer. A great, tenacious win for the Dogs and their fans. It seems the threat of being left on the bottom of the table after the Wests and Dragons wins was enough to spur them to victory. Off to the psychoanalysts for the Titans.
Raiders v Sea-Eagles
Canberra had no excuses in this one as they didn’t learn from the Rabbitohs loss to the Eels on Friday. It was an identical scenario – a high flying side against a desperate side and again the desperate side won. Manly did it easily too, putting on 42 points against a disappointing Raiders who were playing at home. A real resurgence from Tom Turbo in this one too, he was starting to run the ball and crossed for three tries. I wonder if it will be enough for an Origin jumper?
Join me next week for Uncool Dad’s Round 13 Recap on Bunnies TV. Next week will be an interesting one as we have the first round without Origin players. I’m imagining there will be a decent contingent of Souths players representing so it will be a good test for the club. I’m personally looking forward to it and can’t wait to get behind the guys who will be getting a run in place of our stars. See you out at Accor!
Uncool Dad’s Round 12 Recap
By Greg Allan for Bunnies TV.
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