These are the key takeaways from the South Sydney Rabbitohs’ 24-12 win over the Melbourne Storm at Accor Stadium.
FORWARDS OWNED THE MIDDLE
Two big forward packs came to play and it was a brutal battle in the middle of the field.
The Rabbitohs engine room took a points win however, allowing the halves to continually end the set in good field position.
Five players made over 60m in the first half to lay the platform, and that was continued on in the second half.
Again the bench stood tall to help continue the momentum of the starting forwards, leading to…..
STORM SUFFOCATED WITH THE BOOT
It seemed like a deliborate ploy from South Sydney all night to bomb the Storm into submission on the back of the forwards winning their battle.
Lachlan Ilias took full control of the kicking game, routinely putting the ball in the air and allowing chasers to get down.
Melbourne started their sets regularly inside their own 20m, forcing them to do the hard yards and take it put of their own end.
That was emphasised with the visitors kick return metres totalling just 32 in the first half.
WILLINGNESS TO BACK DEFENCE
A gameplan like that only works if you back your defence, and South Sydney certainly did that tonight.
They had to hold off a number of charges on their own goal-line in the first half and only conceded the one try through a defensive lapse off a scrum.
It sent a message that they weren’t scared of what the Storm could throw at them, and will go down as one of the best defensive efforts they’ve ever shown against a team they’ve traditionally struggled against.
OPEN TO CHANCING THEIR HAND
While the goal-line defence was outstanding, the Rabbitohs did a good job of picking and choosing the right time to show a bit of flair.
A number of times after errors were made by the Storm deep in their territory, South Sydney were quick to look for the counter play, throwing the ball wide, giving off flick passes and even an instinctive kick from Latrell Mitchell that almost resulted in one of the best tries we’ve seen.
His well-timed short dropout also came in handy to stop another raid on their own line, an art he is quickly perfecting and getting right more often than not.
RACE FOR THE FOUR WIDE OPEN
Just a few short weeks ago the top eight was starting to look in a bit of doubt, let alone the top four.
Now a stretch of four-straight wins, including some big scalps of Parramatta and Melbourne, has put the top four within reach.
A huge clash is coming up this weekend against Cronulla, and a fifth-consecutive victory would go a long way to making that dream a reality.
The whole side is playing with a great deal of confidence and everyone is contributing to the current success, the perfect recipe to hit the road and keep the winning run intact.
