Team list

You can take me now!

When Warren Smith screamed his immortal words “you can take me now I’ve seen it all” at the Sydney Football Stadium in round 19 of 2012, he formed a special connection with the Rabbitohs faithful that still endures to this day.

That Monday night at the Sydney Football Stadium would etch itself in the Book of Feuds as one of our most famous victories over the Sydney Roosters. Two back-to-back tries within the last three minutes of the match snagging a 24-22 win over the Tricolours - it was revenge for their round one victory that was won in an identical manner.

The elation of stealing victory from the Roosters in the dying seconds of that match won’t be forgotten by Souths supporters anytime soon and as such Smith’s catch-cry has become eternalized by the fans when they think back to that moment. It’s proved to be a bonding point between Warren and the Rabbitohs - something the veteran Fox caller holds dear. 

“I can be walking down the street anywhere, pretty much, there are Souths fans everywhere as we know, and just randomly; ‘you can take me now I’ve seen it all!’  from nowhere and I think where did that come from?” laughs Smith.

“It’s awesome to have that sort of connection with one particular club. It makes me smile every time. Obviously if I go to a Rabbitohs game I’ll hear it walking into the ground from the car park or walking into the stadium someone will scream it out again, or someone will come up to me and say ‘I love that call’ and I love to get that feedback. It’s so much fun.

“There’s nothing that beats what happened from 1908 onwards. Two foundation clubs, next door neighbours. There’s so many story lines and so much narrative around these two clubs. I get excited about different rivalries but there is no rivalry like the Rabbitohs and Roosters, it just has that little bit of extra something special.”

The win came on the night Roosters captain Braith Anasta was celebrating his 250th appearance in the NRL, he described the night as “a bit of a nightmare” and claimed “I will never forget that one.


The following is a match report from Rabbitohs.com.au posted in 2012

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have scored an amazing come-from-behind victory over their arch rivals, the Sydney Roosters, at Allianz Stadium tonight (Monday). The Rabbitohs were down 22 points to 12 with two minutes remaining on the clock, but two unbelievable try scoring efforts from the men in cardinal and myrtle saw South Sydney fight back to win the game 24 points to 22 after the 80 minutes

In what all Rabbitohs Members and supporters will see as sweet revenge following the result against the tricolours in round one, South Sydney now finds itself in the top four on the competition ladder with seven rounds remaining of the regular season. The Roosters had the majority of field position and possession throughout the 80 minutes, with the Rabbitohs only getting the better of the second half in the dying moments of the contest.

The Rabbitohs kicked off and you could feel the tension between the teams from the opening touch. Both sides battled away at each other until two of the Rabbitohs' flying superstars combined to post the first points.

The Rabbitohs swung the ball to the left, with fullback Greg Inglis looping around the back to make an extra man. He flew through the attempted tackle of Roosters halfback Mitchell Pearce, charging 50 metres down the left flank, offloading inside to Nathan Merritt who ran the ball around underneath the posts for the four-pointer. Halfback Adam Reynolds converted from in front to give South Sydney an early six-point lead.

The Rabbitohs gave the Roosters plenty of opportunities, turning over ball and giving them great field position from which to mount their attacks. Whilst defending the Rabbitohs' line, hooker Issac Luke was put on report for an alleged dangerous throw on fellow New Zealander Shaun Kenny-Dowall.

From the ensuing set of six, Kenny-Dowall went close to scoring in the right corner, with video referee replays showing he tried to offload the ball before being bundled into touch, knocking the ball on in the process.

Eventually South Sydney paid the price for their errors when Roosters second rower Boyd Cordner scored from a loose Braith Anasta crossfield kick. Anasta failed to convert, bringing the home side within two points.

Three minutes later the Rabbitohs responded in the best way possible when winger Andrew Everingham scored in the right hand corner. An error from Jake Friend gave the Rabbitohs some much needed field position. The ball was swung left, then all the way back right, stretching the Roosters' defence allowing Everingham the opportunity to score in the corner. Reynolds converted from the right hand touchline to extend the Rabbitohs' lead to eight.

Following the try, Anasta and Rabbitohs prop forward Sam Burgess came face-to-face in a confrontation, with Anasta clearly stirred up following the try. The Roosters were denied another try in the 32nd minute when Joseph Leilua stepped into touch on his way to the line. Inglis appeared to injure his knee with three minutes left in the half, battling on by staying on the field for the rest of the half.

Reynolds attempted a 51 metre field goal after the half time siren, leaving the scores at 12-4 in favour of South Sydney at the break. The Roosters enjoyed 55% of possession and the lion's share of the field position in the first half, indicating the Rabbitohs had done well to only concede the one try. The Rabbitohs had made some uncharacteristic mistakes in the first half which Head Coach Michael Maguire would have wanted eradicated in the second half.

The Rabbitohs had the better of the field position to open the half, attacking the Roosters' line when Eddy Pettybourne clashed heads with Mose Masoe, sending Pettybourne to the sidelines. 

The Rabbitohs mounted another attacking raid when Luke busted them up the middle, finding Clark who made a charge of his own. Ten metres from the line he threw a flick pass which went to ground, and from the ensuing set, Tautau Moga charged 65 metres down the left flank to score for the home side. Anasta converted to reduce the deficit to two once again, with 30 minutes left in the match.

South Sydney Members and supporters held their breath when they saw Reynolds go down, clutching his ankle in the 55th minute. He got back to his feet and played on, showing his toughness in an important game for his side.

Sam Burgess gave away a crucial penalty in the 57th minute, putting his side under pressure deep in their own half. Leilua almost scored from the ensuing set of six, losing control of the ball over the line, thwarting another wide attacking raid by the Roosters.

The Rabbitohs continued to throw forward passes, and therefore continued to place themselves under pressure. It was a case of third time lucky for Leilua who eventually found enough space outside of the Rabbitohs' left side defence in the 64th minute of play, after many sets of six in the Rabbitohs half. Anasta converted from the touchline to give the home side a four-point lead, their first lead of the game.

A pin point kick from 40 metres out by Reynolds in the 68th minute, plus a John Sutton try saver in the 69th minute, kept the Rabbitohs in the game, but South Sydney looked out on their feet after having to do so much defence.

The Rabbitohs cracked again in the 75th minute when Pearce toed through a loose ball, winning the chase to the ball to score more vital points. Anasta's conversion took the scores to 22-12 in favour of the home side with less than five minutes left on the clock.

The Rabbitohs had not given up, and long break by second rower Chris McQueen in the 79th minute of play turned into the second try for Merritt who raced away to score under the posts. Reynolds converted quickly to take the scoreline to 22-18 in favour of the Roosters, giving the Rabbitohs just 45 second to mount a final attacking raid to win the game.

The Roosters kicked off finding the arms of five-eighth John Sutton. Sutton dished the ball off to hulking second rower Dave Taylor who chose to take off down the right hand flank. Taylor found McQueen in traffic, sending McQueen sailing off on another huge break down field. McQueen found Merritt who progressed the ball further downfield before handing off to Issac Luke. Luke took on the defence, offloading the ball in traffic five metres out from the line to Adam Reynolds. Reynolds changed direction and dived over adjacent to the posts, thumping the rabbit on his chest, showing his pride in scoring the winning try for his beloved South Sydney Rabbitohs!

With scores locked at 22-all, Reynolds calmly slotted the conversion, giving the brave men in cardinal and myrtle a superb victory over their neighbours, one that no Rabbitohs Member or supporter will ever forget!

Subscribe to Receive The Latest News, Offers & Member Exclusives.

Subscribe

MAJOR PARTNERS

PREMIER PARTNERS

PLATINUM PARTNERS

ASSOCIATE PARTNERS All Partners