The mighty South Sydney Rabbitohs have claimed a deserving victory over the New Zealand Warriors defeating the home team 41-22 at Mount Smart Stadium tonight (Saturday).
The Rabbitohs showed their discipline and determination from the start in their first encounter with the Warriors this season, scoring a huge six converted tries and a 100% first half completion rate (88% overall).
The Warriors were the first to add points to the scoreboard when momentum got Solomone Kata over the line. Shaun Johnson converted leaving Souths behind six points to nil.
The Rabbitohs were quick to respond when Adam Reynolds kicked a grubber that bounced through the legs of Kyle Turner and into the arms of Alex Johnston who placed the ball down over the try line. Reynolds slotted the ball through the uprights to level the score 6-all.
In the 18th minute, Reynolds once again showed us the power of his right boot finding a gap to the left of the posts where Rabbitohs centre, Aaron Gray, picked up the grubber and went over the line. Another successful conversion extended Souths' lead to 12 points to six.
The Rabbitohs were dominating the New Zealand side and a well-practiced back line play between Greg Inglis, Gray and Joe Burgess saw the winger dive into the far left hand corner and score his first try in the Red and Green.
It didn’t take long for Burgess to add his second try for the Rabbitohs and for Reynolds to show us the power of his opposite kicking boot when another well-weighted left-foot grubber assisted Burgess over the line. In a similar circumstance of what had just occurred, Reynolds nailed the conversion and the Rabbitohs led 24 points to six.
With two minutes left until half time, and with the recent results of golden point looming in the NRL, Reynolds opted for and successfully kicked a field goal adding another point to their comfortable lead.
With the timer counting down the seconds until half time, another brilliant back line manoeuvre between Cody Walker and John Sutton saw Greg Inglis fly through the Warriors' defence and sum up the mighty Rabbitohs' first half performance by adding another four-pointer to the scoreboard backed by a successful Reynolds conversion.
The Rabbitohs went into the sheds with an amazing 100% completion rate (16/16) and ahead of the Warriors 31 points to six.
In the second half, the Warriors opened the scoring when Kata mirrored his round 22 performance adding his second try for the night.
But the Rabbitohs wouldn’t let the Warriors catch them and it was Hymel Hunt who picked up a loose ball and ran an impressive 90 metres to score Souths' sixth try. Damien Cook added an extra two points with a successful kick at goal.
The Warriors kept their composure and in the 56th minute scored their third try through winger Manu Vatuvei. But the Rabbitohs held on to their strong defence and through another two penalties, Damien Cook added four more points to the leaders.
The Warriors added another converted try in the 77th minute however they couldn’t catch the Rabbitohs who celebrated their well-deserved 41-22 win.
South Sydney Rabbitohs 41 (Joe Burgess 2, Alex Johnston, Aaron Gray, Greg Inglis, Hymel Hunt tries; Adam Reynolds 5, Damien Cook 3 goals; Adam Reynolds field goal)
defeated
New Zealand Warriors 22 (Solomone Kata 2, Manu Vatuvei, Jazz Tevaga tries; Shaun Johnson 3 goals)
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