Magic Round looks like a lot of fun. Eight games, 16 teams, one city, one weekend. The greatest game of all descends upon Suncorp Stadium for round eleven of the NRL competition, and the Rabbitohs will occupy a primetime slot, taking on the Cowboys in the final game of Super Saturday.
It will be a big game for 2024 recruit Jack Wighton, who will run out for his 250th start in the NRL in this game. Wighton has had a fantastic career to date, and has been recognised across the game as a great team man, as evidenced by his extended presence in the New South Wales, Australian and Indigenous All Stars teams for much of his career.
He has also achieved highly on the individual front, collecting a Clive Churchill Medal in 2019 and a Dally M Medal in 2020.With the influence that Wighton has had already in his short time at South Sydney, his teammates will undoubtedly be ready to go that extra mile to get the win for Jack.
In doing so, the Rabbitohs will take plenty of confidence out of their extremely impressive recent record against North QLD. While they did lose their most recent encounter last year, the Rabbitohs had a seven-match winning streak over the Cowboys before that, spanning from 2018 through to 2022.
Perhaps the most impressive win from that streak was round 17 of 2021, when the Rabbitohs scored 46 to North Queensland’s 18. Played at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle in front of a tick over 3000 people due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the Rabbitohs were simply impossible to stop that day.
Cody Walker was an absolute maestro with ball in hand, setting up five out of eight tries, including all three of Taane Milne’s, while Alex Johnston scored a hat-trick of his own.
Speaking of AJ, the game’s third-greatest ever try-scorer has been named on the left wing to make his return from a hamstring injury. Having not played since coming from the field in South Sydney’s Good Friday win over the Bulldogs, Johnston will be looking to make up for lost time by giving his side a boost when coming out of trouble, and maybe even crossing the stripe for a four-pointer or two.
In other changes to the side from last week, Jacob Gagai has also been named to return from injury, and will take his position on the right wing for just the third NRL match of his career.
With Johnston and Gagai taking up positions on either flank, this will see Izaac Tu’itupou Thompson shift one in to partner milestone man Wighton in the centres.
Finally, Taane Milne has been named to make his return from a two-match suspension, and will look to provide impact off the bench in jersey 17.
Stat Attack
- South Sydney has never lost at Magic Round.
- The Rabbitohs have won seven of their last eight against the Cowboys.
- This will be the second time the Rabbitohs and Cowboys have played each other at Magic Round. The previous meeting was at the first ever Magic Round in 2019, with Souths coming out on top 32-16.
- Since 2018, three Rabbitohs vs Cowboys matches have been decided by just one point, with Souths coming out on top each time.
- Taane Milne and Alex Johnston – both named in Ben Hornby’s 17 – have both scored hat-tricks against the Cowboys, and did so in the same game (round 17, 2021).
