Well, what a win it was against the Brisbane Broncos in Greg Inglis' Tribute Match!
Here are my Five Takeaways.
The Redfern Brick Wall Stays Strong
It was a brave defensive effort from the Red and Green last week, and they continued that form in throughout the contest.
With the Broncos having 80% possession in the opening five minutes, the Rabbitohs’ defence was under the pump, but they held their own despite multiple attacking raids from their opponents.
It seemed like Brisbane were over for all money when Jack Bird crashed over, but the solid defence from South Sydney held them off.
The absorbed pressure then saw the side score two quick-fire tries in succession - a worthy reward for all that tackling.
We then saw Corey Allan and Dane Gagai combine to send Corey Oates into touch as the Broncos looked to take advantage of an overlap, and finished the half for the first time this year without having conceded a point.
Although Brisbane managed to get on the board eventually, it was still a tremendous defensive performance to keep them to just one try.
Indigenous Rabbitohs Fire
Greg Inglis is regarded as one of the best Indigenous players of all time, and his fellow Indigenous Rabbitohs put on an absolute show.
First it was Alex Johnston and Cody Walker combining in a freakish first try, with AJ being stripped of the ball, but getting a kick away just in time for Walker to pounce.
A few sets later it was Dane Gagai and Walker, with Gags keeping the ball alive on fifth to offload it to Cody, who grubbered and regathered for himself in another freakish set of play.
Walker and Johnston then put in some defensive plays that GI would be proud of, firstly with the wily no.6 trapping an offload from Tevita Pangai Jnr close to the line, then Johnston tidying up a chip and chase attempt from the Broncos.
The Blues five-eighth hopeful then sent Kyle Turner crashing over the line to score his second try in two weeks.
In the second stanza it was Johnston who starred in another defensive effort, barrelling over Corey Oates over the sideline as he crossed the paint - and he continually took attacking kicks with ease.
And how good were the Goanna celebrations?!
A Wayne Bennett-Type Performance
I think it’s fair to say it was the most complete South Sydney performance of the season so far.
From the outset it the defensive display was on show, repelling plenty of attacking raids from the Broncos - and then the attack clicked into gear, with four tries to nil in the first half gifting us a 24-nil lead.
Although the Broncos got on the board first in the second half, two tries and a penalty goal were enough to give us our equal-biggest ever win over the Broncos, and our first since 2015.
Oddly enough, a number of stats were dominated by the Broncos, including missed tackles (36 to 25), ineffective tackles (13 to 11) and effective tackle percentage (85.6% to 91.4%).
But as they say, stats aren’t everything, and it was a big win in the end for the mighty Rabbitohs - something Wayne Bennett will be very happy with.
Cool-Hand Corey
Coming up against one of the biggest and best wingers in the competition is hard enough, let alone for a rookie, but Corey Allan showed little signs of hesitation against Corey Oates.
Allan dropped an early bomb, but maintained his cool throughout the rest of the match, diffusing 5 kicks in a fine performance.
He also put in a stellar defensive display, shutting down Oates on multiple occasions, including an incredible chase in the first minute of the second half where he looked like a cowboy roping in a Bronco (sorry, I had to).
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago about Corey’s attacking presence against the Bulldogs, but it was great to see a young bloke, who mind you isn’t even a winger, do a great defensive job on the flanks.
That’s The Performance We Were After!
Although we’ve been winning plenty this year, most of the victories have been fairly ugly - but it was great to see the side put in an eighty-minute performance.
It was a first-half demolition with the Red and Green up 24-nil thanks to a double to Cody Walker and tries to Adam Reynolds and Kyle Turner.
And although the third quarter of the match was a grind, with the Broncos getting on the board early on, a try to Sam Burgess sealed the deal.
A John Sutton try at the death made it our biggest win over the Broncos - and our first win against them since Round 1, 2015 - certainly a great performance made for their former captain.
Not to mention, there was another reason why it was so good to get over the Broncos, which I don't think needs any explaining.
