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By The Numbers Round Three

Let's dive into the stats post-game to see where the Rabbitohs fell short to the Roosters, with round three of 'By the Numbers'

Despite having a total of 42 sets to the Roosters' 37, the Roosters managed to slow the ruck right down. Their average play-the-ball speed was 3.3 seconds, while the Rabbitohs' averaged 3.7 seconds.

With the quicker roll-through the middle, the Roosters managed to find speedster, James Tedesco on multiple occasions, doubling South Sydney's linebreaks 6-3 and winning the offloads 7-5.

The Rabbitohs led the tackle breaks 36-32, but the Roosters averaged eight more metres per set (44 metres to 36 metres), a result of this roll-through the middle.

Kicking Was Critical

While the Rabbitohs out-kicked the Roosters 4-1 in line drop-outs, the Roosters found ultimate success with the boot as three of their tries came off kicks. Usually Reynolds is the go-to kicker but debutant Troy Dargan took over a lot of the general play kicks from the Skipper.

Flanagan and Keary shared the load better between them and Friend was decisive on last tackle with his selection - finding playmakers with crisp service. Braidon Burns had three kicks while Jaydn Su'A had one; something I'm sure wasn't in Bennett's play book. Communication on last and composure to come up with the right play was the difference.

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Graham solid at Centre

The last time Campbell Graham wore the number three was in the round 25 victory against the Roosters where he crossed for a try of his own. Despite being involved in a play where the Rabbitohs were out-leapt by Tupou early, the 20-year-old had solid numbers to show tonight, drawing on his experience playing through the Rabbitohs junior system primarily as a centre. Certainly a class NRL winger, having already represented his country in the world nines - Graham showed his versatility tonight with a solid performance at centre.

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Roosters' Back Three making Big Metres

The Roosters back three ran for a total of 596 metres while the Rabbitohs ran for only 337. The majority of these metres came from James Tedesco, who thrived from the 'six-again' rule and found success by sniffing around the ruck to support his middle forwards.

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Lot's to dissect from that game but the Rabbitohs will take plenty from that with full attention now going towards Melbourne next weekend.

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