These are the key takeaways from South Sydney’s 26-0 defeat of Parramatta at CommBank Stadium.
THE NEW DYNAMIC DUO?
We’ve seen some great duos over the years both on the field and in the arts sector, but the Rabbitohs can lay claim to one of the best.
The attacking raids of Cameron Murray linking up with Latrell Mitchell through the middle of the field were a thing of beauty.
Murray’s charges at the line, backed up by Mitchell steaming onto the ball produced two clean line breaks through the first half and ultimately led to tries.
Sign us up for more of that to finish the season.
CODY FLICKS THE SWITCH
We’ve seen glimpses of the form that saw Cody Walker right in Dally M contention last year, and he produced an absolute blinder when needed the most.
The crafty five-eighth was simply superb in controlling the attack and really taking over the game from the outset.
He was rewarded with a try and went within centimeters of a double early on, as well as playing a key hand throughout the night and eventually getting across for his second.
Walker firing is a scary sight for opposition teams.
HOT STARTS CONTINUE
Not many teams do to Parramatta on their home soil what South Sydney was able to do in that first half.
The Eels were starved of possession and had next to no sets attacking the visitor’s line. To be quite frank they didn’t look like scoring at any stage.
It was an outstanding first half from the Rabbitohs to completely shut out one of the strongest teams at home in the competition.
STATEMENT MADE
The form of the Rabbitohs over the last two months has been something to behold, winning six of their last seven with the only loss a one-point defeat to the third-placed Sharks.
Tonight sent a message to other teams in the top eight that South Sydney means business in this competition coming into the finals.
Parramatta have a fantastic record at CommBank Stadium, and the Rabbitohs were able to keep them scoreless at their new home for just the second time in their history, with the last being in 2020 when the two sides met.
The teams in the top four will be looking over their shoulder, and despite a tough run home against some quality sides, Souths have put their hats in the ring for a double chance in the finals.
GO FORWARD UNMATCHED
The books would need to be checked for any other team that has managed to pull off the feat of having 13 players running for more than 100 metres in a game.
It was a complete domination of just how much momentum the Rabbitohs were able to generate at all stages of the contest.
Mitchell, Tatola and Tass all cracked the 200 club for the evening, with Jai Arrow and Cameron Murray not far from joining them.
With games against the top two teams over the next fortnight, maintaining that go forward will be crucial to keep this roll on.
