Rabbitohs Defeated by Panthers 30-10 at CommBank Stadium

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have suffered a defeat at the hands of the Penrith Panthers, going down 30-6. The Rabbitohs completed well at 90% throughout the game, but were unable to trouble the Penrith defence frequently enough to turn the contest in their favour.

Alex Johnston remained a handful in the fullback position, causing trouble from kick returns and running for 143m (73m post contact). He also scored a try in the final 30 seconds of the game to take his career tally up to 207 tries, five short of Ken Irvine's 212.

But doubles to Dylan Edwards and Casey McLean ultimately proved too much to overcome for South Sydney, who also unfortunately suffered a couple of injuries through the course of the game to make matters worse.

The Panthers looked to have opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Thomas Jenkins, but for a fantastic effort from Tyrone Munro to knock the ball loose as Jenkins attempted to ground it in the corner.

Penrith would not be denied 2 minutes later though, when Paul Alamoti regathered his own kick to slam the ball down for the first points of the game.

Dylan Edwards was next to score for the Panthers, combining with Jenkins and Casey McLean for a 12-0 lead after 16 minutes.

Blaize Talagi kicked out on the full to gift South Sydney a rare attacking opportunity, but the Rabbitohs failed to capitalise as the Penrith defence proved to be too strong to overcome.

Penrith ended the half with a try to McLean, who capitalised on a linebreak from Edwards to finish off the effort of the Panthers’ captain, and set an 18-0 deficit for South Sydney to overcome in the second stanza.

The Rabbitohs came out of the sheds firing for the second half, marching close to the length of the field and almost scoring with their opening set after a bust from Jack Wighton.

A penalty for a strip against Liam Henry presented the Red and Green with another attacking opportunity. This time they capitalised, opening their account through Liam Le Blanc who crashed over off a Peter Mamouzelos pass from close range.

The momentum looked to be with the Rabbitohs, who received yet another opportunity close to the Panthers’ line after McLean lost the ball coming out of trouble.

They came close to scoring on the right through Munro early in the set, but were ultimately repelled by the Penrith defence.

The home side then managed to hit back after South Sydney’s early second half try, with Edwards picking up his second of the game after running off a great offload from Luke Garner.

The Rabbitohs then suffered two major setbacks in as many minutes, with both Keaon Koloamatangi and Peter Mamouzelos coming from the field with injuries.

Koloamatangi suffered an ankle injury in a tackle and was replaced by Lachlan Hubner, while Mamouzelos clashed heads with Isaiah Papali’i and had to receive a mandatory HIA. This saw Jamie Humphreys shift to hooker while Lewis Dodd came from the bench to play halfback. Neither Koloamatangi or Mamouzelos was able to return to the field.

The Panthers put the result beyond any doubt in the 75th minute when Casey McLean crossed the stripe for his second of the match.

However, the Rabbitohs did manage to bag a very late consolation try to Alex Johnston, the 207th of his career, who pounced on a Jack Wighton grubber kick just centimetres shy of the dead ball line in what was the final scoring play of the game.

Match Snapshot

• The Panthers drew first blood through Paul Alamoti in the 12th minute.
• Penrith extended their lead through Dylan Edwards four minutes later.
• The Panthers then closed the first half with a third try, this time to Casey McLean, putting the home side ahead 18-0 at halftime.
• South Sydney troubled the scorers for the first time early in the second half through Liam Le Blanc.
• Dylan Edwards picked up his second try of the game to extend his side’s lead in the 49th minute.
• Casey McLean completed his double in the 75th minute to put the result beyond doubt for his side.
• Alex Johnston crossed for South Sydney’s second of the night in the 79th minute in what was the final scoring play of the game.

Play of the Game

Tonight’s Play of the Game goes to Alex Johnston and Jack Wighton, who combined beautifully to produce a South Sydney try in the dying seconds of the game. Wighton sent the ball deep into the ingoal with a grubber kick on the last. While the ball looked to be going dead for all money, Johnston refused to give up on the play, diving on the ball to score just as it was about to pass the line. With AJ now one try closer to breaking the all time record, South Sydney Members and Fans will be even more eagerly anticipating the next few games to see if he can cross the stripe enough times to pass the great Ken Irvine.

What’s Next?

South Sydney will headline NRL Super Saturday when they host the Sharks at Accor Stadium next Saturday night, with the game set to kick off at 7:35pm (AEST).