Titans 22 Defeat Rabbitohs 14
02 May 2009
The South Sydney Rabbitohs fell just short of knocking off the Gold Coast Titans at Skilled Park today (Saturday), going down 22 points to 14.
The eight-point final margin did not indicate the effort and commitment that the Rabbitohs played with against one of the top teams in the NRL, with the Rabbitohs having an opportunity to steal the win with a couple of minutes left on the clock.
The Rabbitohs looked dangerous early in the game, working the ball around the rucks and making metres up the middle, but it was the Titans who were first to score when the video referee awarded Preston Campbell a try. Scott Prince kicked the conversion to give the Titans a six-nil lead after 15 minutes.
The Rabbitohs struck back three minutes later through hooker Issac Luke. Luke scooted from dummy half close to the line, darting left before taking three defenders with him to plant the ball down on the goal line. Luke missed the conversion to reduce the deficit to two points.
Penalty goals to Rabbitohs halfback Chris Sandow in the 24th and 40th minutes of the first half gave South Sydney an 8-6 lead at the break.
It was tight defensive first half, but the Rabbitohs were making metres up the middle and earning repeat sets.
The Titans dominated the opening to the second half, with the Rabbitohs goal line defence repelling raid after raid from the Gold Coast side.
The Titans were the first to score after the break in the 54th minute when former Rabbitoh Chris Walker scored in the right hand corner.
The Rabbitohs replied in the 62nd minute when stalwart Luke Stuart crashed through the line from short range to get Souths back in front, after some skilful play on the right hand edge. Stuart straightened up the play by crashing through the defence to score. Sandow’s conversion gave the Rabbitohs a 14-10 lead with 17 minutes left on the clock.
Dual international Mat Rogers scored for the Titans in the 71st minute after the Rabbitohs had repelled four straight sets on their own line. Prince’s conversion gave the Titans a two-point advantage with less than ten minutes left on the clock.
The Rabbitohs thought they had stolen the game from the fingertips of the Titans in the 77th minutes, but it was fingertips that denied the Rabbitohs the lead when the video referee deemed Issac Luke had knocked the ball forward into Preston Campbell before Sandow cleaned up the loose ball and touched down under the posts.
Titans’ second-rower Anthony Laffranchi scored a try in the final minute to extend the winning margin to eight, but the Rabbitohs can stand tall with the effort they displayed in this round eight clash.
South Sydney goal line defence was stoic for a majority of the match and their ability to make metres through the middle of the Titans defence was excellent.
The Rabbitohs have the bye in round nine, before meeting the Wests Tigers in round 10 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday 17 May.
Gold Coast Titans 22 (Preston Campbell, Chris Walker, Mat Rogers, Anthony Laffranchi tries; Scott Prince 3 goals)
defeated
South Sydney Rabbitohs 14 (Issac Luke, Luke Stuart tries; Chris Sandow 3 goals)
In the Toyota Cup match, the South Sydney Rabbitohs have hammered the Gold Coast Titans 50 points to 6 at Skilled Park.
The Rabbitohs ran in nine tries to one in a polished performance.
Dylan Farrell, Kane Morgan and Jason Clark all scored doubles for the visitors, with Clark, Matt Mundine and Malcolm Webster showing the potential they have as professional Rugby League players.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 50 (Dylan Farrell 2, Kane Morgan 2, Jason Clark 2, Junior Vaivai, Malcolm Webster, Josh Mansour tries; Junior Vaivai 7 goals)
defeated
Gold Coast Titans 6 (Anthony Flores try; Jordan Rankin goal)
In the NSW Cup, the North Sydney Bears have defeated the Auckland Vulcans 36 points to 12 at North Sydney Oval.
Reports say the Rabbitohs' players in the Bears team all performed well, with the Bears running out convincing winners.
North Sydney Bears 36
defeated
Auckland Vulcans 12