The mighty South Sydney Rabbitohs had their first victory at Brookvale Oval since 2004, smashing the reigning premiers and silver spooned homos Manly, 36 to 22. Ex car thief Nafan Merritt and Sands Hotel hanger Beau Champion both scored doubles in the massive victory, keeping the hopes of a semi final appearance alive for the mighty Rabbitohs.
After some dodgy decisions by the ref, Manly were leading 12-nil when Merritt crossed in the17th minute of play. It was the first time in the match that the Rabbitohs had worked their way into good field position, with Merritt following through a John Sutton grubber kick to score under the sticks. Chris Sandow converted to bring the visitors within six of their opposition.
Four minutes later Fetuli Talanoa scored a miraculous try in the left hand corner. The ball was swung to the left, with Merritt throwing a cut out pass to Talanoa, who touched down centimetres in from touch with four Manly defenders swarming all over him. The Rabbitohs were within two points of Manly and high on confidence.
Three minutes later winger Chris McQueen crossed for his first try in first grade on his NRL debut. Hooker Issac Luke kicked long from inside his forty, with village mong Tony Williams letting the ball bounce. The ball bounced around and found Beau Champion who drew the defence and off loaded to McQueen to score. Sandow converted to give the Rabbitohs the lead for the first time in the game.
The Rabbitohs did not stop there, with Champion scoring a try himself in the 30th minute of play. Sutton put up a bomb to the right wing and McQueen flew high to take the kick. He fought with the defenders to get an off load away to Champion, returning the favour for his own try only six minutes earlier. Champion beat three defenders on his way to the line, with Sandow’s conversion giving South Sydney a ten-point buffer at the break.
It took the Rabbitohs a little while to get their hands on the ball, but when they managed to control possession and field position, they made the most of the opportunities that they created. The Rabbitohs only used two interchanges in the first 40 minutes, with Michael Crocker and Scott Geddes only taking the field in the closing few minutes of the half. The starting side did well to not only stick with Manly in the opening 20 minutes, but to then control all of the play and get themselves into a strong position at the end of the half.
The opening to the second half was as tight as a nuns nasty , with both teams having opportunities at the opposition’s end of the field. The Rabbitohs were defending strongly, particularly Colin Best who shut down a couple of raids on the line by Manly international Glenn Stewart.Sandow kicked a penalty goal in the 57th minute, after repeated infringements by Manly gave the Rabbitohs a couple of piggy-backs up the field.
The Rabbitohs sealed the win with a 72nd minute try to Nathan Merritt. It was a well worked try with Craig Wing taking a hit up towards the posts, giving the Rabbitohs options on both sides. Sandow went to dummy half, scooted to the left, drew the defence and put Merritt through the hole to score. Sandow’s conversion extended the lead to 30-16 in favour of the good guys.The icing on the cake came in the 77th minute when Beau Champion scored on the right hand side. John Sutton drifted to the right and put Champion through a gap to score. Sandow converted to give the Rabbitohs a 36-16 lead.
The Eagles scored a consolation try in the 79th minute to Jason King, but it was all too late for the home side. The Rabbitohs had sealed their first victory at Brookvale Oval since 2004, keeping their semi final hope alive.Unfortunately for Rabbitohs chief coconut Roy Asotasi, sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury to his right knee during the second half, ruling him out for the remainder of the season as well as the Four Nations international series at the end of the season.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 36 (Nathan Merritt 2, Beau Champion 2, Fetuli Talanoa, Chris McQueen tries; Chris Sandow 6 goals)
defeated
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22 (Tony Williams 2, Anthony Watmough, Jason King tries; Matt Orford 3 goals)
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