With a number of senior players sidelined, the South Sydney Rabbitohs Canterbury Cup side have come away from Panthers Stadium with a 32-18 defeat to Mounties in their Round 10 clash.
Missing captain and hooker Billy Brittain, chief five-eighth Connor Tracey and cornerstone forward Dean Britt, with winger and goalkicker Mawene Hiroti elevated to the NRL side, Shane Millard's young and inexperienced side were gallant in defeat against the first-placed Mounties side.
In their places were Jersey Flegg duo James Tautaiolefua at fullback as well as livewire hooker Josh Cook, with backrower Jack Johns deputising in the no.6 jersey and new addition to the side, Levi Dodd, playing in the centres.
It was Mounties who would score first, despite losing fullback Brad Abbey to injury, with Tom Starling going over after nine minutes of play.
The Rabbitohs hit back soon after, with Jack Johns going over to score, or so they thought, only for the referee to deny the try due to obstruction.
With the absence of Britt, front rower Tom Amone made his presence felt, scoring his side's first try of the match, doubling up as his first four-pointer in the Cardinal and Myrtle.
But the overall class from Mounties was too much for the youthful Rabbitohs, as they went on to score three more tries, including two in the last five minutes to extend their lead to eighteen at the break.
But the men in Red and Green would provide some spectacular play in the Canterbury Cup's own Magic Round, with Leigh Higgins the first to score in the second half thanks to some smart ball movement from twenty-year-olds James Tautaiolefua and Dean Hawkins giving the side a much-needed breath of life.
That effort wasn't enough though, as their opponents kicked a late penalty goal to seal victory, with Jack Johns scoring a consolation try five minutes from fulltime.
The side will now return to the Metricon High Performance Centre at Redfern Oval next Sunday to take on fellow foundation club, the Western Suburbs Magpies.
Mounties 32 (Tom Starling 2, Reuben Porter, Andre Niko, Reubenn Rennie; Andre Niko 5 goals; Andre Niko penalty goal)
def
South Sydney Rabbitohs 18 (Tom Amone, Leigh Higgins, Jack Johns tries; Dean Hawkins 3 goals)
