It was an up and down day at Ironmark High Performance centre for the Bunnies, with the Harold Matthews side leaving as the sole winner in the triple header against the Newcastle Knights on Saturday Afternoon.
The Tarsha Gale side kicked off the afternoon of footy with a tough 54-6 loss against the Knights.
Newcastle proved their experience was too hard to handle as they asserted their dominance with ten tries to seal the victory.
The Harold Matthews side followed on with an impressive 24-6 win over Newcastle.
Leading from start to finish, on the back of an exceptional performance from Zane Rugless, the result was never in doubt as the Bunnies put in a workmanlike performance for the entirety of the contest.
It was a bitter end to the day as the SG Ball side were decisively beaten by the undefeated Knights 42-6.
The home crowd was left disappointed as Newcastle showcased their brilliance in dominant fashion, with Myles Martin starring with four tries from lock.
Tarsha Gale Cup
The Rabbitohs’ Tarsha Gale side fell to a classy Knights outfit, after an encouraging start to the game the Bunnies failed to make their chances in front of the try line count.
The impressive Knights got the scoring going early with tries from Jesse Southwell and Leah Ollerton in the first eight minutes.
The Rabbitohs answered back in the tenth minute when Parker Santon went over for what would be the lone try of the day for the hosts.
As the sides went blow for blow attacking the other’s try line, the ever-consistent Knights side displayed their chemistry as they began to run away with the game shortly before the break.
The frustration began to set in as the Bunnies struggled to break through the Knights’ tough defence and let their guard down as the opposition went the over way.
Mia Middleton, Shanti Evans and Tori Brazer all crashed over for the Knights in the final 15 minutes as they entered the break with a healthy 26 point lead.
It was much of the same in the second half as the Knights proved why they are considered an elite side in this competition.
Sophie Clancy got herself a quickfire double in the opening period before Mercydes Metcalf put the result beyond doubt with just ten minutes remaining.
The Knights didn’t put their foot off the gas and continued to add to the misery when Southwell went over for her second of the match.
Jules Kitpatrick put the icing on the cake with her try in the 55th minute as the Knights walked away with the comfortable win.
Although the score blew out after the opening period, Page Bush impressed for the Bunnies starting at Lock on very short notice.
Laying the platform for her fellow forwards, Bush impressed with her work-rate on both ends of the field and is sure to push for more regular stars after the notable outing.
Along with Bush, skipper Kasey Taaffe immersed herself into the game in her first outing of the year with a fine display.
The hooker contained the barrage of Knights’ attacks and showcased her defence and fitness, playing the entirety of the game without any signs of fatigue.
The scoreline may have been a true reflection of the game as the Knights were firing on all cylinders to walk away with the 48 point victory.
The girls will have to pick themselves up as they hunt for their maiden win next week as they face the winless Canberra Raiders at Ironmark High Performance Centre.
Harold Matthews Cup
After a difficult start to the season, the Harold Matts side got their first win of the season with an impressive overall team effort to hand the Knights a 24-6 loss.
The Bunnies struggled in the first two games of the season by allowing their opponents to get ahead and run away with the game, ruling out the chance of a comeback.
However, the boys changed the tone today after opening the scoring in the second minute through Daniel Wright, who converted his try to give the hosts a six point buffer.
Mateus Heslin doubled the Bunnies advantage in the 24th minute, sending them into the break with a 12 point buffer.
The first half was an excellent display of Football with the Rabbitohs getting their sets and ramping up their workload in defence to hold out the Knights.
Their persistent work paid off in the 39th minute as Bailey Smith crossed over to give the boys an 18 point lead.
On the back of an impressive kicking performance from Zane Rugless, the hosts continued to put the pressure on and would have considered themselves unlucky to not find the try line more often.
The Knights tallied their first points of the afternoon with eight minutes remaining with a try from Narven Willett, before Rugless capped off his brilliant performance with a try of his own.
Max Laing led the side from the back, getting the Rabbitohs out of tough situations and gaining much needed metres in the process.
Lennox Risati lifted the forward pack, playing the majority of minutes he led by example and setting the platform for his teammates to push forward, leaving the Knights on the back foot on several occasions.
It was a much needed win that will give the side lots of confidence going forward into their next matchup against the North Sydney Bears at Ironmark High Performance Centre in a week’s time.
SG Ball Cup
In the final game of the afternoon, the Rabbitohs went down to the undefeated Knights by 38 points.
The Bunnies were against before the first whistle, with many players missing through injury and suspensions.
The tough start to the season continued in a performance that disappointed the home-crowd fans.
It was a bright start for the hosts as William Abou-Arrage opened the scoring in the second minute, catching the Knights off-guard for the lone try of the match for the hosts.
In a season defined by patches of brilliance thus far, the Rabbitohs struggled to maintain their early momentum and weren’t able to capitalise.
Myles Martin turned the game on its head as it started off a memorable performance.
The lock scored twice in nine minutes as the Knights went into the break up 12-6.
Noah Johanssen continued his side’s momentum in the second half as the Rabbitohs’ struggled to match the intensity of the visitors.
Martin added more pain as the Knights piled on the points, the emerging forward completed his hat-trick in the 49th, before getting his fourth just seven minutes later.
Oryn Keeley and Noah Nailagoliva rounded out the scoring as the Knights ran away with a comprehensive win.
Head of Pathways Joe O’Callaghan apologised for the performance and promised the side will improve ahead of their game next week against the North Sydney Bears.
“As a program we’re going to be better at that age group, being our first game of the season at Ironmark High Performance Centre, on behalf of the program I’d like to apologise to our supporters,” he said.
“That was a really poor game to end the day, our program holds higher standards when we play at our home in front of fans.”
“We’re better than that and our fans deserve better than that”.
