It was a disappointing loss in a frustrating match against the Newcastle Knights.
Here are my Five Takeaways.
Jet Flies in Rabbitohs Return
Although it wasn’t the start he would have wanted, James Roberts was one of our best against the Knights, scoring a try and making a break in a solid outing.
Although opposite centre Hymel Hunt went over after a couple of minutes, Roberts redeemed himself soon after by honing in on an Adam Doueihi kick to score his first try back in Red and Green in spectacular fashion.
With four men in the sin bin at the start of the second half, Jimmy shone through with the extra room, making a break in the first set and nearly setting up his winger Mawene Hiroti with a deft kick.
Having spent the last month in the Queensland Instrust Super Premiership, it looks like the Jet is fired up and ready to go.
Just not our night...
It was just one of those nights where we couldn’t hold the ball or convert our chances.
There were too many times the side had an opportunity to score or set up field position but failed to do so, with a number of chances gone begging through lost ball or loose passes, which ultimately gave the Knights the ammunition to get the victory.
One of the most defining moments was the first set of the second half, with James Roberts bursting through and getting a kick away to Mawene Hiroti, only for the youngster to lose control and lose possession.
Just few minutes later, it was Connor Watson who extended the Knights’ lead to twelve.
In the second stanza the side fell into a bad habit of losing the ball, with a dismal 65% completion rate.
Sam Burgess scored late with a trademark try five minutes from fulltime, but it wasn't enough as we slumped to our second defeat in a row.
Cold night brings the heat!
The Knights aren’t our fiercest rivals, but things certainly got heated against them!
A number of scuffles began early in the first half, with Knights enforcer James Gavet looking to ruffle up Dane Gagai. Then, it was Mitch Barnett trying to get under the skin of Junior Tatola in a scrum, which caught the attention of the referees.
But the match absolutely exploded just a minute from halftime, with an all-in brawl setting off after Thomas Burgess was punched square in the face from Daniel Saifiti.
The involvement of brother Sam and Lachlan Fitzgibbon saw all four forwards sin-binned, with Gagai kicking a penalty goal on the stroke of halftime to close the deficit to six.
In the second half things seemed to simmer, with the game turning into a grind with multiple errors and forced drop outs making it look more like a game of chess than Rugby League.
Another chapter in the Book of Feuds? Perhaps…
Origin Players Solid in Backing Up
It was a bit of a slow start understandably for our Origin reps, but they backed up solidly.
Having played less than two days later, Damien Cook, Dane Gagai and Cameron Murray did all they could for the side in their outing on Friday night.
Cook took charge with his regular halves out, putting in a number of kicks and getting the attack on the front-foot with his usual darts from dummy-half.
Gagai was solid with the boot deputising from Adam Reynolds, and was busy both in attack and defence, putting on a mammoth hit early in the half to dislodge the ball and getting the side out of trouble on numerous occasions in the unfamiliar position of left centre.
Cameron Murray seemed to have a bit of fatigue after his gargantuan effort on Wednesday night, but was still solid in his 60-minute stint.
An extended break until Saturday will do the trio good before our Members Appreciation Day clash against the Panthers.
Not the ideal result but a number of players stand tall
It was far from the ideal result, but in a side depleted by the loss of star halves and with Origin stars backing up, there were a number of players who showed a lot of character.
The aforementioned James Roberts had a memorable return with a try and a strong couple of breaks early in the second half, while fullback Corey Allan was safe as a house at the back.
Adam Doueihi was solid in his first outing in the halves this year, setting up Roberts for his try with a brilliantly weighted kick, while his halves partner Connor Tracey was enthusiastic and ready to rip in each time he got the ball.
Milestones man John Sutton in his 350th game for the Club was great, helping steer the ship with his kicking game and getting the left-side attack clicking and making a game-high 157 metres.
Although we came away with a loss, there were still plenty of positive signs from the side, and with Cody Walker returning next week, it won't be long before we're back in the winner's circle.
