South Sydney Rabbitohs Harvey Norman NSW Women’s Premiership capped off another successful weekend for our Pathways by getting their maiden win of the season.
Our male pathways teams split the games against the Dragons in Wollongong, with the NSW Cup side gaining their second straight victory as the Jersey Flegg side fell just short.
NSW Cup
The NSW Cup side put on a first half clinic against a quality Dragons outfit to secure another important victory.
With four tries in the opening 25 minutes, the result was never in doubt for the Rabbitohs as they continue to move up the ladder.
In difficult conditions on the South Coast, it was the visitors who got off to a positive start forcing the Dragons into a goal line dropout on the first play of the game.
It was Dean Hawkins who capitalised on the back of this as he setup Shannon Gardiner for the first try of the afternoon.
The Rabbitohs intensity continued to escalate in the early stages of the game, as the Dragons found themselves on the backfoot and under the pump defensively.
Corey Hodge’s try in the 10th minute capped off another successful attacking spell for the Rabbitohs who doubled their lead to 12.
Although the Rabbitohs found themselves in a bit of trouble, an incredible 40/20 kick from Jack Campagnolo put them in prime position to extend the lead.
Moments later it was Trent Peoples that crashed over for Souths to send them ahead by 16.
The scoring didn’t slow down for the visitors as Jacob Gagai went through for the fourth of the day courtesy of a line break from Josh Mansour.
The Dragons opened their account for the afternoon just minutes later through Jack Gosiewski.
The final 15 minutes of the half was plagued by errors for both sides as the Rabbitohs went into the break with a 16 point lead.
Although the second half was a low scoring one for the Rabbitohs, they managed to stunt the attacking chances the Dragons had leaving them with a completion rate of 80% for the game.
After forcing four consecutive errors from the Dragons it was the visitors who capitalised once again with Josh Mansour sending the lead out to 20.
The Dragons answered back minutes later with Ethan Clark-Wood crashing over as he made up for his previous error.
With the result settled and just ten minutes left in the game, the Rabbitohs continued to push in attack and will consider themselves unlucky to have not scored once again.
As the final whistle blew it was Souths who celebrated another dominant victory and put themselves within three points of top spot on the ladder.
Individually, Isaiah Tass backed up from his strong showing last week with another classy performance leading the attack from the edge with two try assists and two line break assists.
Josh Mansour showed his experience yet again, leading the Rabbitohs in run metres whilst securing the game clinching try in the second half.
Souths now prepare for a tough trip away to the Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles in Round 15.
Jersey Flegg Cup
After getting off to an early lead, the Jersey Flegg Cup side was left stranded as the Dragons mounted a six try comeback to walk away with a convincing win.
After struggling in the early stages of the season with starting games off slow, the script was flipped on the Rabbitohs in this game.
It was a tough loss for the Jersey Flegg side to take after weeks of improvement and creasing out some of the problems that plagued their games early on in the season.
Much like the NSW Cup game, it was the visitors that started off in an impressive fashion as they forced the Dragons into four errors in the opening five minutes.
Carsen Kaho seized the momentum to open the scoring for the afternoon as the Rabbitohs looked likely to continue the scoring.
Souths doubled their advantage in the 16th minute through Thomas Giles as the broke through the line for a well-deserved try.
The Dragons began to assert some control of the game in the later stages of the first half as they began to complete their sets at a fast pace.
They were rewarded just five minutes before the break as Jack Bostock opened the scoring for the hosts.
Within a matter of minutes the Dragons had propelled themselves into back into the game with Bostock coming up again to secure a three-minute double.
After dominating the majority of the first half, the Rabbitohs found themselves level as they went into the sheds for halftime.
Tyrone Munro gave Souths a two point advantage shortly after the restart, but it was all one-way traffic after this.
The Dragons seemingly secured the win in a ten minute period with three quick tries putting them out to a 12 point lead with limited time remaining.
Nicholas Tsougranis, Sam Hooper and Cooper Roberts all crossed over in quick succession to send the Dragons into an assertive lead.
A double sin-binning with just six minutes remaining threw a spanner in the works for both sides, but it was yet again the Dragons who capitalised as Roberts went over for his second.
The Dragons wrapped up the game and walked away with a 20 point win and maintained their spot in second place on the ladder.
Although the result didn’t go their way there were still plenty of positive performances to come from the game.
Carsen Kaho continued on his good form with another try and a strong showing from the back of the field.
Thomas Giles put on a captain's knock throughout the game, with an unlikely four pointer and leading the way for his team on both sides of the field.
Yet again it was another consistent showing from Tallis Duncan who has been arguably the side’s best player this season.
Souths look to bounce back as they travel to Manly to face the Sea Eagles next Saturday.
NSW Women’s Premiership
The NSW Women’s Premiership side stole the show, capping off weeks of improved performances to get their first win of the season.
In an unusual setting at the NSWRL centre of excellence on a cold Monday night, the women’s side went back and forth with the Wentworthville Magpies.
It was a result that was building after back to back gruelling matchups that saw the Rabbitohs put on their best performances in recent years.
Souths started the game according to the script of the weekend, getting the first try in the opening minutes through Therese Aiton.
After a strong opening stanza the Rabbitohs doubled the advantage with Brittany Constable crossing over in the 10th minute.
The Magpies showed signs of life and began to swing the momentum in their favour after conceding the second try.
Rima Butler opened the Magpies account in the 15th minute after the Magpies started finding success in their attacks.
It only took them four minutes to level the score, with Katalina Vave finding the line for the hosts.
As the side’s battled for field position in the backend of the half, the scoring came to a close as they entered the break level at 12 points apiece.
The Rabbitohs started off the second half in a carbon copy of the first, catching the Magpies off guard and forcing them into conceding some crucial field positions.
Their persistence paid off in the 41st minute as Monique Donovan deservingly gave the Rabbitohs a much needed four point buffer.
The Magpies pushed hard in the final period of the game and were thrown a lifeline in the final minutes when the Rabbitohs were reduced to 12 players.
However, the strong defensive work of the visitors came out on top as they celebrated their first win of the season.
It’s a massive credit to Shane Sultana and his staff for the work they’ve been doing in recent works to massively improve the quality of play from the girls.
In another promising showing, Monique Donovan capped off weeks of impressive showings in defence and turned it into the game winning try for the Rabbitohs.
Although she was a late call-up, Therese Aiton impressed filling in at hooker in both defence and attack.
The Rabbitohs go into their penultimate game of the season next week against Mounites.
