Rabbitohs Hang on to Defeat Titans at Robina Stadium in Tight Encounter

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have produced a gritty 20-18 victory over the Gold Coast Titans, holding onto a slim two-point lead in the final 12 minutes of the game to come up with the crucial win away from home.

Latrell Mitchell starred in his return to the NRL, lining up at left centre with Jye Gray retaining his place at fullback.

Mitchell produced two crucial try-assists, putting Alex Johnston over the line twice. Bayleigh Bentley-Hape was the other try-scorer on the right wing, and kicked 4/4 goals, including two penalties which proved to be the difference in the end.

Jye Gray was also brilliant from fullback by running for a team high of 174 metres, including 39 metres post contact.

The Rabbitohs started the game strongly, opening the scoring in the third minute through Alex Johnston. A penalty against Chris Randall saw the Rabbitohs march upfield for their first attacking opportunity of the game. From there, it was a big left shift from the Red and Green through the hands, with Latrell Mitchell throwing the last pass to send Johnston over in the corner for career try number 208.

The Titans looked to have squared the ledger through Jayden Campbell, who strolled through a gap in the defence from close range with some fancy footwork.

However, a late effort from Mitchell saw Campbell lose possession as he tried to bring the ball closer to the posts, with South Sydney off the hook and holding their lead for the time being.

Gold Coast did eventually hit back through Jaylan De Groot on the right wing in the 11th minute, running off a questionable flick pass from Jojo Fifita in the centres. The successful conversion from Campbell saw the home side take the lead 6-4 for the first time in the game.

The Titans then extended their lead through Beau Fermor, who hit a hole off a Kieran Foran short ball close to the line.

A penalty against Jai Arrow for dissent saw the Titans go even further ahead in the 19th minute, with Campbell kicking the goal to put the scores at 12-4.

A knock on from Jojo Fifita saw the Rabbitohs back in the attacking zone. This time they attacked the right-hand side, with Bayleigh Bentley-Hape crossing in the corner to get his side back into the contest. The right winger then converted his own try, reducing South Sydney’s deficit to just two points.

The Rabbitohs began to dominate field position and march upfield thanks to some great power running and second-phase play. Liam Le Blanc was taken out without the ball on suspicion, with South Sydney awarded a penalty within range of the posts. Bentley-Hape slotted the goal, levelling things up at 12-all in the 31st minute.

A lengthy bust from Latrell Mitchell saw the Rabbitohs find themselves back in attacking territory, where they were awarded a penalty in front of the posts for an illegal steal by Campbell on Arrow. With a minute remaining in the half, South Sydney opted for the shot at goal, with Bentley-Hape putting his side back in front 14-12 at the break.

The second half began slowly compared to the first, with both sides feeling each other out early and jostling for field position.

The Rabbitohs lost Lachlan Hubner in the 54th minute when he sustained a head knock attempting to go low on Jaylan De Groot. This saw young gun Thomas Fletcher enter the contest in jersey 17.

A line break coming out of trouble from Alofiana Khan-Pereira saw the home side on the attack for the first time in the second half. The Titans threw plenty at South Sydney in attack, but the Rabbitohs defended admirably and ultimately repelled the Titans.

South Sydney then put together some scintillating attack off the back of their great defensive effort in the previous set, with Mitchell setting up Johnston for the second time in the game to put the away side even further ahead.

Jamie Humphreys launched a midfield bomb which was gathered in by Mitchell who beat AJ Brimson to the ball in their air. Mitchell then threw an audacious flick pass to Johnston, who beat three defenders to find his way to the line for the 209th time in his career.

The Titans were quick to hit back when Sam Verrills caught the South Sydney defenders napping with a sneaky dummy-half effort from a meter out from the line. Campbell kicked the goal, putting the scores at 20-18 in favour of the Rabbitohs with 12 minutes remaining.

The home side put up quite the fight in the last few minutes, and came incredibly close to scoring on their left edge through Jojo Fifita on two occasions. However, the South Sydney defence would not break, and came up with a number of crucial try-savers to keep the scores at 20-18 to hold on for the win.

Match Snapshot

• The Rabbitohs opened the scoring in the third minute of the game when Latrell Mitchell put Alex Johnston over in the left corner.
• The Titans scored their first try of the game in the 12th minute through Jaylan De Groot.
• The Titans went further ahead two minutes later when Kirean Foran put Beau Fermor through a gap.
• Jayden Campbell slotted a penalty goal in the 20th minute for the Titans to lead 12-4.
• Bayleigh Bentley-Hape scored in the right corner in the 27th minute, and converted his own try a minute later to put his side within two points of the Gold Coast.
• Bentley-Hape kicked a penalty goal to level the scores at 12-all in the 31st minute.
• Another penalty from Bentley-Hape saw the Rabbitohs go back ahead in the shadows of halftime.
• Alex Johnston bagged his second try of the game in the 60th minute, putting his side ahead 20-12 after the successful conversion from Bentley-Hape.
• The Titans hit back through Sam Verrills in the 66th minute, reducing the deficit to two points after the successful conversion from Campbell.
• This would be the final scoring play of the game as the Titans were unable to cross in the final minutes of the game, with South Sydney successfully defending their way to victory in the end.

Play of the Game

This afternoon’s Play of the Game goes to Alex Johnston’s second try, which saw Jamie Humphreys, Latrell Mitchell and Johnston all combine to produce a beautiful piece of South Sydney rugby league. Humphreys sent the ball high off the boot, setting up a contest for Mitchell in the middle of the field. Mitchell beat Titans’ fullback AJ Brimson to the ball in the air before producing an incredible flick pass to Johnston. AJ still had plenty to do to finish off the play, doing so in style as he beat three Gold Coast defenders on his 30 metres dash to the line for the 209th try of his career.

What’s Next?

The Rabbitohs will be back in Sydney next week, looking to make it two wins in a row when they take on the Parramatta Eels at Accor Stadium on Saturday night at 7:35pm.