Here are the key takeaways from South Sydney’s 32-12 loss to St George Illawarra at WIN Stadium, Wollongong.
KEY MISTAKES PROVE COSTLY
As disappointing as the first half was, it was errors that proved South Sydney’s undoing.
Five of the six tries came off the back of a handling error, a penalty conceded or a six again call, highlighting that the Rabbitohs were their own worst enemy as the game slipped out of their grasp.
Penalties late in sets absolutely kill any chance of turning the tide, and with the Dragons in the mood they were, every error was capitalised upon.
SECOND HALF FIGHTBACK
It would’ve been easy to lay down and phone it in for the second 40 after trailing 32-0.
To their credit, the Rabbitohs showed pride in the jersey and the kind of effort fans and members expect in the second half, and they looked the much better team.
The attack started to click when they had the ball, and the defensive line didn’t look like breaking at any stage.
The likes of Blues representatives Damien Cook and Cameron Murray really stood up late and were rewarded with tries.
It was obviously too little too late, but it’s a platform to build upon.
DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH
While it’s hard to look for the positives in a match like that, the efforts of Jai Arrow and Mark Nicholls in the second half gave fans something to cheer about.
As he continues to get back to full fitness, Nicholls was always backing up and led the Rabbitohs in metres gained as he made a number of half breaks.
Arrow charged at the line in a similar vein, and both got through a solid amount of work in defence.
MAJOR MISSED OPPORTUNITY
It will eventually go down as just another fixture in a few weeks, but the Rabbitohs let a golden opportunity to solidify their spot in the top eight slip.
The loss takes their record to 7-7, and with major congestion at the bottom part of the top eight, beating teams outside of the eight is absolutely essential.
It would’ve kept confidence high in the group, but the sun will still rise tomorrow, and Latrell Mitchell will return to the fold for a huge encounter with Parramatta in round 16.
