It was another weekend of mixed results for our pathways sides with only the NSW Cup and Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership leaving with a win.
The SG Ball side were left heartbroken after victory was snatched from their grip in the final seconds of the game.
Elsewhere there was plenty of positives to take from games where the score line didn’t truly reflect the performance from the Rabbitohs
Jersey Flegg Cup
The Jersey Flegg Cup side travelled to Melbourne on Thursday for a tough matchup against the Victorian Thunderbolts.
After the Thunderbolts ran out to a 16-0 lead early on, the Rabbitohs were up against it but put up a valiant effort to get back in the game.
A solid second half saw South Sydney go try for try with the hosts, getting them within four points of levelling the score.
It wasn’t meant to be for the Rabbitohs as the Thunderbolts held off a late comeback to walk away with a four point win.
Tiraa Ua starred in the opening ten minutes, with two tries to give the hosts a respectable lead.
Michael Vitale crossed over for the Thunderbolts minutes later, as the Rabbitohs struggled to match the intensity of the hosts.
As the game progressed, the Rabbitohs began to find their footing in the game and were rewarded when Penioni Tohi found the line in the 16th minute.
The Thunderbolts couldn’t be denied for much longer as Ammaron Gudgeon bagged a try, restoring the 16 point buffer.
As the side’s began to play through the middle, the scoring slowed down until Ryan Garner got the Rabbitohs back in the game in the 35th minute.
Ron Tooala and Jonah Pezet scored in quick succession for the hosts, seemingly putting the final nail in the coffin for the Rabbitohs.
South Sydney continued to fight hard and managed to get Victoria on the backfoot, only to be denied by some heroic defending.
Josiah Karapani gave the Rabbitohs a lifeline with his try, shortly before Zane Bijorac capped off a notable game with a four-pointer of his own.
The Thunderbolts sealed the result when Ua crashed over for a well-deserved hat trick.
Although Karapani found himself with a double late on, it was too little too late as the resurgent Jersey Flegg side fell just short of a miraculous comeback.
Aside from the final score not going the way of the visitors, there was plenty of positives to take from the match.
Tallis Duncan continued to impress in the forward pack, his work on both ends of the field lifted the side as his determined runs and defensive work kept the boys in the game.
Zane Bijorac had a notable game from centre, highlighted by his try on the hour mark.
Byron Parnell showed plenty of promise coming off the bench in his first outing for the Rabbitohs, he is sure to be a player to watch as the season progresses.
Tarsha Gale Cup
The Tarsha Gale Cup side had a difficult afternoon at BlueBet stadium in Penrith, going against an experienced Panthers outfit.
The Rabbitohs were held scoreless as the hosts walked off with a 28-0 victory.
After last week’s heartbreaking loss to the Raiders, the girls were keen to get some redemption, but were met by an equally motivated Panthers side.
Taytana Ifopo started off her impressive game with a try in the opening minutes, before Yasmine Baker doubled the hosts lead.
May Tareha crossed over in the 20th minute followed by a second of the day for Ifopo.
As the Panthers entered the break up 20, the Rabbitohs were determined to show a fighting spirit and restore their pride in the game.
In a much better showing in the second half, the Rabbitohs were unlucky to not have found the tryline as the Panthers finished the game with two tries from Baker and Brooke Talataina.
Although the score got away from them in the first half, there was plenty of individual improvement and the Rabbitohs would be proud of their comeback in the second period.
Showing plenty of heart defensively in the second half, many of the girls were playing at an NRL stadium for the first time in their career.
Kasey Taaffe and Parker Stanton showed great leadership in the spine and were standout performers on the day.
Lute Mailer showed plenty of promise in the forward pack, lasting the entirety of the game at lock and leading the way going forward.
Tarsha Gale coach, Karen Stuart noted her happiness in seeing improvement in performance from a few individuals.
The girls now move on to a massive match-up with the third-placed Parramatta Eels next weekend.
Harold Matthews Cup
The Harold Matts side was taken down by the table-topping Western Suburbs Magpies on a wet day in Camden.
The Magpies turned around on some early pressure from the Rabbitohs to gain an impressive 30-6 win.
The Rabbitohs looked up for the fight early-on, however the Magpies proved their premiership-credentials as they began to break apart the tough opposing defence.
With an ever-growing list of injuries, the Rabbitohs were set a difficult task of travelling out West to take on the impressive Magpies outfit.
Lachlan Galvin opened the scoring for the hosts, seemingly out of nowhere as the Rabbitohs were left disappointed to have not capitalised on some early momentum.
The Magpies firmly swinged the momentum in their corner, after a forced dropout resulted in a Jordan Miller four-pointer under the posts.
The Rabbitohs desperately tried to get back into the game, however an incredibly tough Magpies defence held out the attacking barrage.
With errors plaguing the opening half, the Rabbitohs went into the break down by 12.
Western Suburbs opened the second half with a blitz of attacks, they were rewarded shortly after the restart with Tajh Colquhoun acrobatically going over in the corner.
With the game hanging in the balance, captain Daniel Wright stepped up with his sides first try, breaking the seemingly rock-solid Magpies defensive line.
A sensational solo run from William Craig restored the hosts commanding lead, as he crashed over to seal the result.
Luke Laulilii sailed over for his first of the day whilst Galvin ended the match with a try on the buzzer.
It was a tough day for the Rabbitohs, unable to match the elite display showed by the Magpies.
Braethan Bilich had a great showing for South Sydney, getting his side out of trouble as the Magpies dangerous last tackles kicks were calmly defused by the fullback.
Ryan Casey showed plenty of heart in defence, putting his body on the line on several occasions and stopping two tries metres out from the line.
The Rabbitohs return to Ironmark High Performance Centre next Saturday to face off against the Bulldogs in the Harold Matts Cup.
SG Ball Cup
On the back of their best performance of the season last weekend, the SG Ball side was full of confidence heading into this blockbuster clash.
After a back and-forth duel, the Rabbitohs were left heartbroken as the Magpies broke through in the final play of the game to steal the victory.
Tristyn Ball got the ball rolling for the Magpies, after a forceful solo run allowed Christian Jardim an open run to the line for the opening try.
The Magpies dominated the opening ten minutes of play, however the resilient Rabbitohs defence kept them at bay long enough to begin to turn the momentum in their favour.
Archie Donnelly got the Rabbitohs on the board after he crashed over from dummy-half, levelling the scores.
Aaron Macey had the visitors ahead after a notable run through the Magpies defence and sensationally edging out Faaletino Tavana to cross over for the second try of the day.
With a competitive opening half in the books, the Rabbitohs would of felt unlucky to have not have had a bigger lead.
After an error-plagued start to the second half, the Magpies remarkably found themselves back on the board through a Kienan Tempest try.
Terrell Kalokalo regained the lead for the visitors after a long period on the Magpies line finally paid off.
With the game hanging in the balance, the Rabbitohs continually forced errors from the hosts, however they we unable to capitalise due to their own errors.
It was a heartbreaking ending for the Rabbitohs, in the final play of the game Dudley Dotoi broke through the edge defence and sent a ball in the middle for Tempest, as he sailed over for a try on the buzzer.
The boys were visibly upset as the game they had in their hands slipped away by the finest of margins.
Archie Donnelly impressed from hooker with a try-saving tackle and a try to highlight his day.
Louis Grossemy continued on the back of his stellar season, with another damaging day in the forward pack leading his side forward.
Ashton Cini had a monstrous game in defence, saving a try and forcing numerous errors from the Magpies, stopping a flurry of dangerous sets in the process.
The boys will have to put this performance behind them as they look forward to a return home to host the Parramatta Eels.
NSW Cup
The Rabbitohs got its first win of the NSW Cup campaign, after an impressive outing against Mounties on a scorching hot day.
Boasting a team stacked full of NRL experience, South Sydney played well above the expectation.
With limited training time together, the NSW Cup side got their first proper session in as a squad the day before, during the captains run.
As the odds stacked against them, the Rabbitohs stood tall and sent a message to the rest of the competition.
Josh Mansour made his presence felt with a quickfire double, shortly before Josh Daley answered back for the hosts.
Izaac Thompson’s try on the half hour mark ensured the Rabbitohs entered the break up 14-4, as the experience of South Sydney began to make its mark.
Richard Kennar gave the Rabbitohs a 14 point advantage minutes after the restart, with his try that put the result beyond doubt.
Ben Petauuaine Seufale gave Mounties a glimmer of hope with his try, however any chance of a comeback was ruled out when Thompson crossed over for his double with ten minutes remaining.
Jacob Gagai putting the icing on the game after a notable try minutes later.
Mounties surged with a late comeback after Watson Heleta scored and Daley notched a double after an acrobatic finish in the corner.
It was a spirited performance and one that should give the fans plenty of reasons to have hope for a successful season in NSW Cup.
The strength of the experienced backline proved to be a massive x-factor for the Rabbitohs, with Mansour and Thompson shinning along with Gagai.
Shaquai Mitchell stepped up for some massive minutes, the imposing forward asserted his dominance on the game and showed his potential with some dazzling footwork and exceptional offloading game.
In another positive, Liam Knight registered his first game back from injury, as he prepares to push for a return to the NRL side.
Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership
The Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership side got its first run out in a successful trial match against the Wentworthville Magpies.
In what’s been a long awaited return, the girls impressed and showed their potential for the upcoming season.
New coach, Shane Sultana got his first real look at a side full of new faces.
The girls impressed massive with a 20-12 victory over the Magpies.
With over 24 players getting a run in the trial match, it was a good day for Sultana to showcase his sides tremendous depth.
Head of Pathways, Joe O’Callaghan saw the positives from the mixed weekend and is hopeful for a positive return to Ironmark High Performance Centre on Saturday.
“For the Tarsha Gale Cup side, this year was always going to be a learning curve having such a young side,” he said.
“However I’m proud of the character they showed in the second half to match the Panthers.”
He admitted the result for the SG Ball side was disappointing, however is confident the boys took some lessons from the end of the game.
“John Sutton and I were talking to the boys after the game and said ‘You’re not losing you’re learning’, as long as they learnt from it, that was the big message.”
“They were a little bit panicky in the last ten minutes, full credit to the Magpies, they were desperate and they kept trying until the final whistle.”
