Mon Jun 7, 7:00pm
Late Changes
Team was unchanged
WIN 32-4
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are currently sitting in third position on the competition table after smashing the North Queensland Cowboys 32 points to 4 in front of 9,688 Members and supporters at ANZ Stadium tonight (Monday). The Rabbitohs ran in seven tries to one in a completely dominant performance right across the park. Both Beau Champion and Nathan Merritt continued their charge towards the top of the NRL try scorers list after each collecting doubles tonight, showing the red and green faithful that the Rabbitohs right-side combination is one of the best in the competition. Merritt opened the scoring in just the seventh minute play when the ball was swung to the right, allowing Merritt to score in the corner. Six minutes later giant second-rower David Taylor ran a beautiful angle and used brute strength from about 12 metres out from the line to score the home side’s second try. Colin Best denied the Cowboys a try in the 23rd minute when he held up Leeson Ah Mau over the line. The Rabbitohs then struck again when Champion scored his first try in the 29th minute. Champion negotiated the heavy traffic in front of him to reach and score, giving the home side a 12-nil lead. Eight minutes later Champion went back-to-back, snapping up an intercept from Cowboys halfback Johnathan Thurston, racing 40 metres to score. The Rabbitohs looked completely dominant at the break, in both attack and defence. That pattern would continue in the second half. Merritt scored six minutes after the break after some great work from five-eighth John Sutton. Sutton charged at the line and held up the defence, offloading to a flying Merritt who hit the hole perfectly to score his double. Issac Luke kicked his first conversion to give the Rabbitohs a 22-nil advantage. The Rabbitohs could have piled on more points if not for some desperate Cowboys’ defence. Luke was held up over the line in the 50th minute after a wonderful offload from Englishman Sam Burgess. Burgess then nearly scored himself only to lose control of the ball over the line in heavy traffic on the Cowboys line. Then Luke Stuart was held up over the line to deny the Rabbitohs their third try scoring opportunity in eight minutes. The wall eventually broke two minutes later when the Rabbitohs capitalised on a Cowboys mistake in their own half. From the scrum, the ball was swung to the left finding fullback Rhys Wesser with a bit of room to move. He charged into the defence, got a brilliant offload away to Best who put Talanoa away down the left hand touch line to score in the corner. The Rabbitohs attack was definitely on song but their defence was equally impressive. The Cowboys, in particular Johnathan Thurston, were frustrated by the lack of possession and field position South Sydney were allowing them to have, and defence like Chris Sandow’s try saving tackle on Luke O’Donnell in the 65th minute was indicative of the attitude the Rabbitohs had brought to this game. The defensive effort paid off on the scoreboard when Issac Luke crossed just one minute after Sandow’s valiant effort. Beau Champion started the play, getting a deft inside ball away to his partner crime Nathan Merritt. Merritt made a long break before turning the ball to Luke who scored adjacent to the posts. Sandow added the extras to see the home side set up a 32-nil lead with about ten minutes remaining in the match. The video referee was called in to give the Cowboys their first points of the match with only five minutes remaining on the clock. An Aaron Payne grubber kick to the right hand corner found Ashley Graham who scored a consolation try for the North Queenslanders. To show they were not taking their foot off the pedal, the Rabbitohs defence again came to the fore in the 78th minute when Wesser raced across in cover defence to bundle Thurston into touch centimetres short of the line. The Rabbitohs had taken the two points, registered back-to back wins for the first time since round five, and had secured a top four position at the half way point of the home and away season. Rabbitohs Head Coach John Lang was not getting ahead of himself despite his side’s lofty position on the ladder after 13 rounds. “All teams are pretty equal. The talent is spread fairly evenly,” Lang said. “Any team that is in the finals can be chance. We just have to win enough games to be there and give ourselves a chance. “We’ve had a few injuries to our forwards this year but our backs have come away ok so our combinations in the backline are really starting to work. “Every week you have to be on and do the job. “I’m very happy with our position on the ladder. “I always say that if you bring the right attitude to a game then the rest will look after itself.” Lang said he thought his team may have been able to win by more than the final 28-point margin. “A few goals would have been nice,” Lang said with a grin. “The game seemed to go on forever, but I thought we were sound and solid. “Our defence was strong and that gave us a weight of possession. “Every two points are like little gold nuggets and you have to collect enough of them throughout the season to make the finals. We’re doing ok at the moment.” Rabbitohs captain Roy Asotasi was pleased with his side’s effort. “We challenged ourselves to find consistency and we’ve done that for two weeks now,” Asotasi said. “We have to continue to be consistent. “We knew conditions would be heavy and that it would be a forwards game. “Overall we’re pretty happy with the performance.” Unfortunately for the Rabbitohs prop forward Scott Geddes looks to have suffered a suspected fractured patella (knee cap). If scans show the expected damage he could be sidelined for three to four months with the injury.
7 min 4-0
13 min 8-0
29 min 12-0
37 min 16-0
46 min 22-0
60 min 26-0
66 min 32-0
76 min 32-4
Champion 2, Merritt 2, Taylor, Talanoa, Luke tries
Luke 1 from 6, Sandow 1 from 1 goals
Crowd 9,688
Referee S.Lyons/M.Cecchin
Penalities 4-3
Scrums 12-10
Min Tac Pe MT LB HU DR m Er OL K TA
Wesser 80 6 - 1 - 13 - 104 1 1 1 1
Merritt 80 3 - 1 4 12 1 96 1 - 1 1
Best 80 7 - 2 - 12 5 65 1 2 1 1
Champion 78 6 1 3 1 10 3 107 - - - 1
Talanoa 80 4 - - 1 16 10 96 1 1 1 -
Sutton 80 13 - 2 - 15 2 98 1 4 5 -
Sandow 80 19 - 5 - 3 1 20 - - 10 -
Stuart 46 12 - 2 - 11 - 89 - - - -
Luke 80 22 1 3 - 20 13 161 1 - 2 -
Asotasi 44 14 - - - 13 - 94 1 - - -
Burgess 78 23 - - - 19 - 155 1 5 - -
Taylor 53 12 1 1 1 9 - 101 - - - -
Lowe 74 29 - 1 - 14 - 112 - 1 - -
Geddes 15 7 - - - 6 - 47 - - - -
Crossman 31 14 - 2 - 8 - 53 - - - -
Pettybourne 51 21 - 2 - 13 - 104 - 1 - -
Clark 12 5 - - - 2 - 15 1 - - -
TOTAL 217 3 25 7 1523 9 15 21 4
Completion Rate 33/41 80%
Effective 1st Tackles
1 min 24m Sutton kick
2 min 26m Sutton kick
5 min 26m SCR / Sandow kick
6 min 0m NQ Err / SCR / TRY
8 min 17m Sandow kick COF
12 min 0m NQ Err / SCR / P / NQ Err / SCR / TRY
15 min 23m Sandow kick COF
17 min 2m Sutton kick COF
20 min 81m NQ Err / SCR / P / SS Err / SCR 15m / SS P
22 min 100m 6TG 84m / SS P (NQ NO TRY)
23 min 32m NQ Err / Sandow kick COF
25 min 24m Best kick / SCR
28 min 0m SCR / P / TRY
31 min 20m Luke kick COF
33 min 15m Sandow kick / SCR
35 min 72m DO
36 min 40m NQ Err / SCR / SS Err
37 min 0m NQ Err / TRY
39 min 100m SS Err / SCR
half time
41 min 21m Sutton kick COF
44 min 0m Talanoa kick CIG
45 min 0m TRY
48 min 0m Merritt kick CIG
49 min 42m (SS NO TRY) / Sandow kick 1m / SS P
51 min 19m NQ Err / Sandow kick / SCR
53 min 15m NQ Err / (SS NO TRY) SS Err / SCR
55 min 0m NQ Err / Wesser kick CIG
58 min 13m Sandow kick 6TG (SS NO TRY) / SS Err
59 min 0m NQ Err / SCR / TRY
62 min 30m Luke kick COF
63 min 12m Sandow kick
65 min 0m TRY
67 min 99m SS Err / SCR
69 min 35m NQ Err / SCR / Sutton kick
71 min 53m NQ Err / SCR / Sandow kick 3m / SS P
73 min 95m SS Err / SCR
74 min 70m SS Err / SCR / (NQ TRY)
79 min 26m SCR / Sandow kick / SCR
Average effective 1st tackle location
- 29.8m - for the whole match
- 31.7m - 1st half
- 27.9m - 2nd half
If you now remove the tries
- 40.1m - 1st half
- 33.1m - 2nd half
Other FG Matches
24-10 Parr Parramatta b Melbourne
19-12 StAu Wests-Tig b Canterbury
28-10 Penr Penrith b Newcastle
42-18 SFS Cronulla b Sydney
22-20 MtSm St Geo-Ill b Warriors
28-24 Bruc Canberra b Gold Coast
22-6 Brok Brisbane b Manly
W D L B Diff PT
ST GEO-ILL 10 - 3 - +148 20
PENRITH 8 - 4 1 +85 18
SOUTHS 7 - 5 1 +101 16
MANLY 7 - 5 1 +59 16
WESTS-TIG 7 - 5 1 +19 16
GOLD COAST 7 - 5 1 -18 16
BRISBANE 6 - 6 1 +7 14
PARRAMATTA 6 - 6 1 -13 14
Sydney 6 - 6 1 -43 14
Canberra 5 - 6 2 -57 14
Warriors 5 - 7 1 -63 12
Newcastle 4 - 8 1 -63 10
Cronulla 4 - 8 1 -111 10
Canterbury 3 - 9 1 -30 8
Nth Qld 3 - 9 1 -94 8
Melbourne 8 - 4 1 +61 0 **
Judiciary News
South Sydney hooker Issac Luke has been charged with Dangerous Contact for his hit on Johnathan Thurston in tonights clash against the Cowboys. It carries a 145 point penalty due to loading from last years suspension. A early guilty please carries a 105 point penalty. So in either case Issac Luke will next weeks match. The South Sydney Football Club have decided to defend Rabbitohs hooker Issac Luke at the NRL judiciary against a grade one dangerous contact – contact with kicker charge. South Sydney Football Club has employed Geoff Bellew SC for the hearing. Rabbitohs hooker Issac Luke however was found guilty of a grade one dangerous contact – Contact with kicker charge by the NRL Judiciary. He has been suspended for one match.
NYC Round 13
v Nth Qld, 4:30pm
WIN 25-24
Team is 1-17 today. In the Toyota Cup match, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have taken a one-point victory over the North Queensland Cowboys, 25 points to 24 at ANZ Stadium. The Rabbitohs scored five tries to four against the ill-disciplined Cowboys outfit with a Matt Mundine field goal making the difference. Prop Jack Tulemau scored his first Toyota Cup try for the red and greens.
4 min 0-6
9 min 0-12
13 min 4-12
18 min 4-18
37 min 10-18
47 min 16-18
53 min 20-18
60 min 24-18
74 min 24-24
79 min 25-24
Webster, Peats, O’Donnell, Tulemau, Vaivai tries
Reynolds 2 from 5 goals
Mundine fieldgoal
Other NYC Matches
29-22 Parr Melbourne b Parramatta
36-30 TLam Canterbury b Wests-Tig
64-32 Penr Penrith b Newcastle
24-20 SFS Sydney b Cronulla
19-0 MtSm Warriors b St Geo-Ill
52-24 Bruc Gold Coast b Canberra
Brok Manly v Brisbane ***
W D L B Diff PT
NTH QLD 8 - 4 1 +124 18
WESTS-TIG 8 - 4 1 +111 18
MANLY 8 - 3 1 +94 18***
SOUTHS 8 - 4 1 +61 18
BRISBANE 7 - 4 1 +95 16***
SYDNEY 7 1 4 1 +28 17
CANBERRA 6 - 5 2 -21 16
WARRIORS 6 1 5 1 +70 15
Newcastle 6 - 6 1 -60 14
Canterbury 5 1 6 1 +2 13
Cronulla 5 1 5 1 -38 13
Melbourne 4 1 7 1 -43 11
Gold Coast 4 1 7 1 -120 11
St Geo-Ill 5 - 8 - -52 10
Penrith 4 - 8 1 -113 10
Parramatta 1 - 11 1 -150 4
NRL Club Championship
W D L B Diff PT
MANLY 15 - 8 2 +181 34***
Souths 15 - 9 2 +146 34
Wests-Tig 15 - 9 2 +130 34
Sydney 13 1 10 2 -15 31
Brisbane 13 - 10 2 +112 30***
St Geo-Ill 15 - 11 - +96 30
Canberra 11 - 11 4 -80 30
Penrith 12 - 10 2 -28 28
Warriors 11 1 12 2 +7 27
Gold Coast 11 1 12 2 -138 27
Nth Qld 11 - 13 2 +30 26
Newcastle 10 - 14 2 -123 24
Cronulla 9 1 14 2 -149 23
Canterbury 8 1 15 2 -28 19
Parramatta 7 - 17 2 -161 18
Melbourne 12 1 11 2 +21 11 **
NSW Cup Rd13
v Central Coast
North Sydney OvalSun Jun 6, 3:00pm
WIN 24-10
Late Changes. Capewell and Falloon were out. McLean started fullback, Itula and Simpson swapped wing/center roles. Hunt started hooker. D.Apps was a late inclusion with Tawha dropping to the bench. Kaifoto was also on the bench this week. R.Apps and Tiopira dropped off the bench. THE North Sydney Bears awoke from 70 minutes of hibernation to score a come-from-behind 24-10 win against the Central Coast Centurions. The Bears trailed 10-6 with 10 minutes remaining in Sunday’s NSW Cup rugby league match at North Sydney Oval. They then went on a scoring rampage, piling on 18 points to four. Bears coach Wayne Lambkin said the home side took 70 minutes to realise that playing dry weather football in wet conditions did not work. ``We played our best footy in the last 10 minutes,’’ he said. ``We didn’t adjust to the wet conditions and when we played the right type of football, we won the game quite easily.’’ Playing simple, direct rugby league, the Bears scored three tries to one in the dying minutes, with centre Jamie Simpson, five-eighth Eddie Paea and backrower Deon Apps crossing. Simpson put the home side ahead 12-10 in the 70th minute after barging his way over from a quick penalty tap on the 10m line. Paea crossed after a neat inside pass by halfback Jarryd Hogan and Apps completed the scoring blitz after diving on a pinpoint grubber into the in-goal area by Paea. Lambkin said his message to the team at halftime was to control the ball and run it up the middle of the ruck. ``They just needed to be more focused they weren’t playing with their eyes open,’’ he said. ``A couple of times, they missed opportunities. ``I told them not to spread the ball as much but play a much tighter game in the ruck.’’ With two wins from their last three games, the 11th-placed Bears have leapfrogged the Centurions and moved off the bottom of the ladder.
10 min 0-4
20 min 6-4
43 min 6-10
70 min 12-10
72 min 18-10
79 min 24-10
D.Apps, Simpson, Paea, Corrigan tries
Paea 4 from 4 goals
Other NSW Cup Matches
34-22 MSm2 Auckland b Wntwrthvl
24-6 Ende Windsor b Cronulla
Hens Newtown v Balm-Ryde ***
20-14 TLam Canterbury b Wests
26-12 RCon Melbourne b Shllhrbr
W D L Diff PT
BALMAIN-RYDE 10 - 2 +90 20***
CANTERBURY 9 - 4 +31 18
WESTS 8 1 4 +81 17
NEWTOWN 8 1 3 +64 17***
WINDSOR 7 2 4 +69 16
MELBOURNE 7 - 6 +76 14
WENTWORTHVILLE 6 1 6 +50 13
AUCKLAND 6 - 7 -22 12
Cronulla 4 1 8 +22 9
Shellharbour 3 - 10 -115 6
Norths 3 - 10 -156 6
Central Coast 3 - 10 -191 6
*** Matches Postponed