Sharks 12 Rabbitohs 10
14 Apr 2008
South Sydney has suffered a narrow 12-10 loss to Cronulla at ANZ Stadium tonight before 12,988 fans.
The Rabbitohs were behind 12-0 until just before half-time and fought back to 12-10 in the 52nd minute but despite fighting hard the home side was not able to conjure up a match winning try in the final half hour of the round five NRL fixture.
The Rabbitohs had the better of field position and possession in the opening exchanges but were unable to turn that into points.
A David Simmons intercept on the Sharks line got the visitors out of their half for one of the few times in the match at that stage before Kangaroo five-eighth Greg Bird slipped through the Rabbitohs defence close to the line to open the scoring in the 13th minute. Winger Luke Covell converted for the Sharks to enjoy an early 6-0 lead.
On a ground made wet by rain during the day, the match developed into a tough forward battle up front with captain Roy Asotasi and lock Ben Lowe leading the way for Souths.
Some of South Sydney’s attacking raids looking promising but it was the Sharks who added to their first try with a four pointer to Luke Covell. The Kiwi international chased down a Brett Seymour cross kick in the 32nd minute on his left wing to take the visitors out to a 12-0 lead after he earlier landed a penalty goal two minutes previously after referee Jason Robinson pinged the Rabbitohs for being offside.
South Sydney’s efforts were rewarded when five-eighth John Sutton scored in the 40th minute. Sutton forced his way over close to the tryline in a manner similar to his effort against Manly in round 23 last year. Nathan Merritt added the conversion and the Rabbitohs trailed 12-6 at the break.
Souths then lifted their intensity after the break and were the first to cross the chalk in the second half. With Fetuli Talanoa constantly running the ball back from fullback strongly the Rabbitohs were consistently working the ball out of their own end effectively. And they were rewarded for their discipline in the 52nd minute through a try to centre Beau Champion. The centre crossed out wide after a swift exchange of passes close to the Sharks try line.
As Merritt lined up the conversion attempt Rabbitohs head coach Jason Taylor called his troops to the sideline for a mid-game rev-up. Merritt’s conversion attempt sailed wide but the Rabbitohs were still very much in the hunt at 12-10.
In a tight and exciting tussle both sides had chances to score points in the final stanza of the game but the score remained 12-10 in favour of the Sharks.
Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 12 (Greg Bird, Luke Covell tries; L Covell two goals) defeated
South Sydney Rabbitohs 10 (John Sutton, Beau Champion tries; Nathan Merritt 1 goal)
Crowd 12,988
Rabbitohs NYC 30 def Sharks NYC 16
Two second half tries to five-eighth Eddie Paea has given the Rabbitohs NYC side their second win of the season 30-16 over Cronulla.
Against a Sharks side they had lost to in their first trial match of the year the Rabbitohs dominated the game early and took an 18-0 lead into the half-time break on the back of three converted tries.
Cronulla then fought their way back to 18-16 with 17 minutes left on the clock before Paea split the Sharks defence twice in the 71st and the 75th minutes with two individual efforts close to the line to seal the win for the Rabbitohs.
The Rabbitohs continued on with their good form following their opening win of the season over the Sea Eagles last week in the first half.
Speedster Jamie Ingram crossed first in the 10th minute and in-form half back Chris Sandow converted for an early 6-0 lead.
With South Sydney’s forward pack providing good go forward captain Jason Clark was able to take advantage when he scored his side’s second try in the 16th minute next to the posts. Sandow landed his second goal of the evening for a 12-0 lead.
Fullback Luke Capewell then added to the home side’s lead when he forced his way over the Sharks tryline in the 36th minute. Sandow then kept his perfect goal kicking record intact to give the Rabbitohs a 18-0 lead at the break.
But on the back of a heavily lopsided penalty count the Sharks scored 16 unanswered points to bridge the gap to two points 18-16 on the back of two tries to Tu’u Maori and one to Luke Hume and two goals to Nathan Stapleton.
The Rabbitohs then dug deep to turn the tide late in the game and Paea crossed for his double and Sandow maintained a clean slate for the night landing five goals from as many attempts for the full-time score of 30-16
Rabbitohs NYC 30 (Eddie Paea 2, Jamie Ingram, Jason Clark, Luke Capewell tries; Chris Sandow 5 goals)
Defeated
Sharks NYC 16 (Tu’u Maori 2, Luke Hume tries; Nathan Stapleton 2 goals)