South Sydney’s Pathways enjoyed a successful weekend, with three thrilling encounters that went down to the wire.
The NSW Cup and Jersey Flegg returned to the winners circle in back and forth encounters with the Western Suburbs Magpies and Wests Tigers.
The Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership were left heartbroken as they narrowly went down to the Central Coast Roosters, in another promising showing.
NSW Cup
The NSW Cup side have held off a determined Western Suburbs Magpies side in an eleven try thriller.
Coming through a tough period after the bye a couple weeks ago, the team stayed strong throughout this match and came out on top.
With both NRL sides having a bye, there was an added element of quality in the teams for this matchup.
The sides traded blows in the opening half hour, with three tries each in an exciting opening to the match.
The Rabbitohs got on the front foot early with Izaac Thompson securing an early double to give the hosts a 12 point lead.
Thompson capitalised on some errors from the Magpies for his second try, however the Magpies quickly turned the game around.
After forcing two repeat sets, the attacking momentum from the visitors was rewarded in the 10th minute when Junior Tupou crossed over.
The Magpies quickly turned around for another try through Trey Peni, as the Rabbitohs’ mistakes continued to put them under the pump defensively.
Jake Simpkin made it three unanswered tires for the Magpies, as they entered the lead for the first time.
The side’s continued the half with a lack of attack, with errors plaguing the flow of the game.
Josh Mansour managed to level the scores, as Souths begun to find success in gaining field position towards the backend of the half.
With just seconds remaining in the half, the hosts were awarded a penalty which Isaiah Tass neatly slotted to send Souths into the break, up by two points.
The high scoring flow of the game continued in the second half with Ritchie Kennar getting his first of the day in the 51st minute.
However, as per the flow of the day the Magpies responded in quick succession when Jock Madden found the line.
The match was defined by a ten minute period after the 60 minute mark, when Souths withstood a mountain of attacking pressure from their opponents and went the other way to seal the result.
With the influential Davvy Moale on the bench, the Rabbitohs looked lost without him and as he made his return to the field they took their attack to another level.
Ben Lovett and Shaq Mitchell broke through the middle of the Magpies defence to secure two quick tries for the Rabbitohs, extending their lead to ten.
The momentum stayed in the Rabbitohs’ favour for the majority of the match and although Peni found a consolation for the Magpies, it was a successful end to the game for the hosts.
Holding onto the victory was crucial for the Rabbitohs’ ladder position, putting them in sixth place and just four points off top spot.
Davvy Moale’s notable performance in attack and defence gave the Rabbitohs’ a much needed boost and was arguably the best player on the field.
Isaiah Tass stood up with his goalkicking, making a respectable five from six whilst tallying up 120 run metres.
Jed Cartwright impressed in his first game back in restricted minutes, giving the Rabbitohs some much needed experience and versatility going forward.
Souths travel to Wollongong next Saturday to face the eighth placed Dragons.
Jersey Flegg Cup
The Jersey Flegg Cup side withstood a late comeback from the Wests Tigers to gain their third victory of the year.
It was an impeccable showing from the forward pack, with all four tries coming from the big men which led the Rabbitohs to victory.
In another frantically paced start, the Rabbitohs flipped the script on previous weeks and sailed out to an early two-try lead.
Thomas Giles stunned the home crowd as he crashed over just 43 seconds into the game, giving Souths an unlikely lead.
Building on the back of the opening try, it was Tallis Duncan who crossed over in a similar fashion to his hooker as the Tigers were caught off guard in the opening five minutes.
The strong start was tainted by some uncharacteristic errors and penalties, which saw Kade Hill open the scoring for Wests in the 12th minute.
In the blink of an eye, the Tigers were back in the game through Michael Tannous as the rampant 20 minute opening to the game began to slow down in the final portion of the half.
The rest of the half saw both sides hold off some valiant attacking sets, with the Rabbitohs holding a two point lead going into the final half of play.
It was a tale of two halves, with the Tigers giving the Rabbitohs a taste of their own medicine as Logan Muir secured a crucial try just moments after the initial kick off.
However, Souths answered back minutes later as Duncan broke through the defence for a second try of the afternoon.
With the game up for grabs, Louis Grossemy stepped up for Souths as he crashed over to give the Rabbitohs some much needed breathing room.
Jahream Bula capitalised on the back of an error to give the Tigers a glimmer of hope, but it wasn’t meant to be as Souths defensive efforts proved to be to hard to overcome in the last moments of the game.
Individually, it was a stellar showing from Tallis Duncan who was able to have a stint on the bench because of the strong work from the rest of the forward pack, Duncan finished with two tries and an assist in the win.
Isaiah Vailalo showed plenty of promise coming off the bench and filled in seamlessly in the strong pack.
Tyrell Kalo Kalo showed why he’s in contention for an under 19s NSW jersey with another impressive display from fullback.
Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership
After their best showing of the year last week, the Rabbitohs’ Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership side has suffered another tough loss, this time falling to the Central Coast Roosters.
The improvement has been massive from the women’s side as their first win will inevitably come.
The Rabbitohs were chasing the game from the start, but showed flashes of brilliance on both sides of the field.
Keilee Joseph caught the hosts off guard in the opening minute of the game, with a try to send the Rooster into an early lead.
It was a massive blow for Souths, but one that they overcame as they began to match the intensity shown by the Roosters.
In the 17th minute, the Rabbitohs swiftly got their way back into the game with Ellie Johnston continuing her strong form with another try.
With the conversion narrowly missing, Souths were behind by two points and had to hold off a strong Roosters pack in the process.
The strong defensive work of Souths was broken in the 26th minute as the Roosters extended their lead through Olivia Glanville.
It was a promising end to the half for the hosts, as they would consider themselves unlucky to have not been back in the game or potentially in the lead.
The momentum from the first half carried onto the second half, with Therese Aiton rewarding the Rabbitohs’ attacking success with a try.
In another tough break for the Rabbitohs, the visitors answered back minutes later with Jayme Fressard giving the Roosters their six-point lead back.
The final ten minutes were crucial for both sides, with both defences being put under immense pressure leaving the Redfern faithful with a blockbuster finish.
It was the Rooster who would end up on top, with a late penalty goal sending them into an insurmountable lead.
The Rabbitohs were heartbroken to have not gotten their first win of the season, but although the results may not show it, the improvement has been undeniable in recent weeks.
It was another massive game from Patricia Raikadroka, giving her side a massive boost in attack and getting them out of some dangerous positions from the back.
Terese Alton stood out in her second game for the club, coming off the bench and giving her side a great game as the backup hooker.
Monique Donovan continued with her great defensive showings of late, holding off a mountain of pressure on her edge to the keep the Rabbitohs in the game.
Souths now travel to the NSWRL centre of excellence for a Monday night clash with the Magpies.
