Rabbitohs 24 Dragons 20
01 Mar 2008
In his first game in a South Sydney starting line-up since 1999 Craig Wing scored the match winning try for the Rabbitohs to tonight re-claim the Charity Shield from the St George Illawarra Dragons 24-20.
Wing forced his way out of a Brett Morris tackle and over the tryline in the 75th minute of a tight and entertaining affair. Issac Luke added the conversion to give the Rabbitohs a 24-20 lead as they held on for the final five minutes. It was another confidence building performance from South Sydney on the back of their 44-0 defeat of the Sharks last weekend.
The Rabbitohs opened the scoring in first half in the 14th minute through centre Yileen Gordon. After a sustained period of attack on the Dragons line Ben Rogers put in a cross-field kick that winger Germaine Paulson batted down in the south-east corner of ANZ Stadium for Gordon to pounce. Hooker Issac Luke added the conversion for the 6-0 lead.
In a high quality game of football for this time of the year the Rabbitohs then added to their lead in the 23rd minute when Paulson crossed. Thanks to quick hands the Rabbitohs created an overlap on their left hand side and Paulson crossed untouched.
Luke missed the conversion but landed a penalty goal three minutes later after the Dragons were penalised for holding down in the play the ball 20m out from their own posts for a 12-0 Rabbitohs lead.
In the 28th minute Dragons prop Ricky Thorby was placed on report by referee Tony Archer for a lifting tackle on Gordon.
The Dragons scored their first try three minutes before halftime when halfback Jamie Soward chased through a Rangi Chase kick. Archer referred the decision to video referee Steve Clark who ruled that Soward grounded the ball before Rabbitohs centre Nigel Vagana. Soward converted his own try for the 12-6 half-time scoreline.
Gordon was among the Rabbitohs best in the first half, outpointing his opposite Dragons centre Mark Gasnier, scoring one try and saving one on the left hand flank. While Michael Greenfield was strong up front for the Rabbitohs and David Kidwell began to be a handful for the Dragons on the fringes late in the half.
Shortly after half-time Gasnier scored his first try of the night in the 46th minute. In a passage of free flowing rugby league the Dragons first threw the ball to their left hands side and almost scored in the corner but were denied by some desperate Rabbitohs defence, but on the next tackle they spread it to the right hand side and Gasier forced his way over despite the attention of three Souths defenders. Soward missed the conversion and the score stood at 12-10.
With the second half penalties beginning to mount against Souths and the red and green spending a lot of time in their own half, Gasnier claimed his second try of the night in the 57th minute when he latched onto a Rangi Chase kick. And the Dragons hit the front for the first time in the night 14-12.
But the Rabbitohs were not behind for long and it was their young guns who put on a great team try. In a entertaining piece of attacking play Greenfield offloaded in traffic to Luke who passed on to Eddie Paea who found himself in open space before passing to Fetuli Talanoa who scored under the posts. Luke again converted and the Rabbitohs lead 18-14 with 18 minutes left on the clock.
Just two minutes later the Dragons even the scores up at 18-all when in a 60m movement winger Michael Lett darted out of dummy half and passed on to Soward who raced 30m to outpace Rabbitohs halfback Craig Wing and score. Soward landed the near sideline conversion and the Dragons led 20-18 after 66 minutes.
Wing then forced his way out of a Brett Morris tackle and over the tryline with five minutes to go and Luke converted for the Rabbitohs to lead 24-20
Rabbitohs 24 (Y Gordon, G Paulson, F Talanoa, C Wing tries; I Luke 4 goals) def
Dragons 20 (M Gasnier 2 J Soward 2 tries;, J Soward 2 goals)
Half-time; Rabbitohs 12 (Y Gordon, G Paulson tries; I Luke 2 goals) Dragons 6 (J Soward try; goal)
The Rabbitohs opened the scoring in the 14th minute through centre Yileen Gordon. After a sustained period of attack on the Dragons line Ben Rogers put in a cross-field kick that winger Germaine Paulson batted down in the south-east corner of ANZ Stadium for Gordon to pounce. Hooker Issac Luke added the conversion for the 6-0 lead.
In a high quality game of football for this time of the year the Rabbitohs then added to their lead in the 23rd minute when Paulson crossed. Thanks to quick hands the Rabbitohs created an overlap on their left hand side and Paulson crossed untouched.
Luke missed the conversion but landed a penalty goal three minutes later after the Dragons were penalised for holding down in the play the ball 20m out from their own posts for a 12-0 Rabbitohs lead.
In the 28th minute Dragons prop Ricky Thorby was placed on report by referee Tony Archer for a lifting tackle on Gordon.
The Dragons scored their first try three minutes before halftime when halfback Jamie Soward chased through a Rangi Chase kick. Archer referred the decision to video referee Steve Clark who ruled that Soward grounded the ball before Rabbitohs centre Nigel Vagana. Soward converted his own try for the 12-6 half-time scoreline.
Gordon was among the Rabbitohs best in the first half, outpointing his opposite Dragons centre Mark Gasnier, scoring one try and saving one on the left hand flank. While Michael Greenfield was strong up front for the Rabbitohs and David Kidwell began to be a handful for the Dragons on the fringes late in the half.
Dragons NYC 34
Rabbitohs NYC 28
Three tries in six minutes midway through the second half helped the Dragons to a 34-28 win over the Rabbitohs in the Charity Shield National Youth Competition trial tonight.
The Rabbitohs scored the opening try through halfback Chris Sandow in just the seventh minute. Sandow converted his own try for an early 6-0 lead.
The Dragons then struck back through a converted try to prop Trent Merrin to even the scores up at 6-all.
In an entertaining free flowing game largely free of errors winger Jamie Ingram then put Souths ahead 10-6 in the 24th minute after a scything 50m run. Sandow again converted for the Rabbitohs to enjoy a six point lead.
On the stroke of halftime Sandow then scored his second try of the contest in a brilliant individual run in which he broke the Dragons line, beat off the cover defence then stepped the fullback in a 40m effort. Sandow then landed his third conversion of the night to give Souths an 18-6 half-time lead.
Souths enjoyed the 12 point buffer until the 52nd minute when Dragons halfback Josh Kennedy scored the first of his two tries. The Dragons made it three tries in six minutes when Lachlan Gowland (55th minute) and Rhys Cochrane (58) crossed shortly after.
Dragons lock Matt Mundine converted all three tries and after 59 minutes the Dragons led 24-18.
A sensational solo effort from Souths five-eighth Luke Capewell then brought the score back to 24-22. The former Australian Schoolboy beat two men on the outside from a scrum on the 40m line and beat the cover defence to score next to the posts. Sandow again converted for a scoreline of 24-all with 15 minutes left.
With nine minutes left backrower Jake Marketo crossed for the Dragons and a second try to Josh Kennedy put the result beyond doubt in the 73rd minute.
Rabbitohs bench player Michael Cummins scored a late consolation try to leave the score at 34-28 to the Dragons.
Dragons NYC 34 (J Kennedy 2, T Merrin, L Gowland R Cochrane, J Marketo tries; M Mundine 4, B Smith goals) def
Rabbitohs NYC 28 (C Sandow 2, Jamie Ingram, L Capewell, M Cummins tries; C Sandow 4 goals)
Charity Shield Audio