UPDATED: Rabbitohs 22 DEFEAT Knights 12
29 Mar 2009
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have secured a fantastic come-from-behind victory against the Newcastle Knights this afternoon (Sunday) at Gosford’s Bluetongue Stadium, scoring a 22-12 victory in front of 15,277 Members and supporters.
Craig Wing scored two tries in his come back game for the red and greens, with the Rabbitohs scoring 22 points in the final 23 minutes of the game to snatch the win.
The Knights led 8-nil at half time after tries to wingers James McManus and Akuila Uate in the first 16 minutes of the match. The Rabbitohs looked to be a little disorganised in attack and the Knights were out-enthusing the Rabbitohs in defence. Despite a lacklustre first half performance, the Rabbitohs were still in there swinging when the second half kicked off.
The Rabbitohs first try was inspired by a big hit on former Rabbitohs player Ben Rogers by his former flat mate Issac Luke in the 56th minute. One minute later, Wing stepped through three defenders to score his first try of the afternoon.
Three minutes later, Fetuli Talanoa scored in the left hand corner after John Sutton and Colin Best showed quick hands to deliver the ball to Talanoa to score. Chris Sandow converted the try to give the Rabbitohs the lead for the first time in the match, 10 points to 8.
Wing scored his second try in the 69th minute when he snuck past two defenders to cross for the four-pointer. Sandow’s conversion extended the lead to eight and the Rabbitohs’ confidence was building.
Three minutes later Issac Luke crossed the stripe after a wonderful burst from David Fa’alogo. Fa’alogo found space up the middle of the ruck, before offloading to Luke who scooted 40 metres to score under the posts. Sandow again converted to give the Rabbitohs a 22-8 lead.
The Knights scored a consolation try in the 76th minute to Junior Sau, but the Rabbitohs pulled off an amazing comeback victory, reminiscent of some of their wins from the 2008 season.
Colin Best and former Rabbitoh Adam MacDougall had a good battle all day, with Luke, Wing and Sutton sparking the Rabbitohs attack late in the game on the back of some go-forward from the Rabbitohs pack.
Rabbitohs Head Coach Jason Taylor spoke at the post-match press conference, saying: “We started the game where we left off last week. We were a bit sideways and didn’t build for things.
“That was the first 60 minutes, but the boys listened at half time and they eventually got it. We got the job done.”
Taylor spoke about the impact Craig Wing had on the match, with Wing being awarded the players’ player for the day.
“Craig Wing is the type of player that fit what we needed today,” Taylor said.
“His grandmother passed away last night. It was a brave and great performance from him.”
Taylor said it was tough for the Knights to back up having played on Monday night earlier this week.
“It’s always tough to back up on a short week,” he said.
“We had that last week. The short turn-around is a disadvantage for sure. There aren’t many teams that win after playing Monday night.”
Taylor paid tribute to his side’s defensive effort.
“It was our defence that won us the game because it was our defence that kept us in the game,” he explained.
Rabbitohs captain Roy Asotasi said: “It was frustrating in the first half, but we just had to recoup at half time.
“We stuck to the game plan in the second half and we didn’t take any short cuts. We did what JT was saying we had to do, build on our sets and not try and score off every play. We got our go-forward going, we believed in the game plan and in the second half we were patient and it finally came.
Two-try hero Craig Wing spoke about the loss of his grandmother and the game today.
“I found out at 9am this morning, and my sisters weren’t going to tell me until after the game,” Wing explained.
“We were very close, and we were lucky that we’ve had the opportunity to talk to her and say goodbye.
“She used to watch the games on TV and she would ask me about my football. I knew she would be here today so here was the best place for me to be as well.
“I had a job to do out there today. It was unexpected scoring two tries but it was good.
“I’m really happy to be back on the field and being part of the team. I’m happy to be playing a role off the bench at the moment. It’s not new to me. I’ve done it plenty of times before in club and rep teams.
“It’s just good to be back on the field and playing again.”
The Rabbitohs move on to play the New Zealand Warriors next Sunday at Mt Smart Stadium at 2pm NZ time (Noon Sydney time)
South Sydney 22 (Craig Wing 2, Fetuli Talanoa, Issac Luke tries; Chris Sandow 3 goals)
defeated
Newcastle Knights 12 (James McManus, Akuila Uate, Junior Sau tries)
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In the Toyota Cup match, the South Sydney Rabbitohs squandered a 24-nil lead in the first half to go down 26 points to 24 to the Newcastle Knights at Bluetongue Stadium.
The Knights scored 26 unanswered points to give the Rabbitohs their first defeat of the season.
Newcastle Knights 26 (Isaac Dargan, Peter Mata’utia, Ben Wyborn, Josh Ailaomai tries; Peter Mata’utia 5 goals)
defeated
South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 (Brock Molan, Kane Morgan, Dylan Farrell, Adam Reynolds, Jason Clark tries; Adam Reynolds 2 goals)