Raiders Too Good as South Sydney Defeated in Tough Circumstances

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have suffered a defeat at the hands of the Canberra Raiders, going down 36-12 in what was ultimately a tough outing for the Cardinal and Myrtle.

It was truly a tale of two halves as the Rabbitohs looked strong early, leading 12-0 at their peak and 12-6 at half time.

Unfortunately, a 30-0 second half in favour of Canberra proved decisive in this match, with the running game of Ethan Strange and a Josh Papalii double, along with an injury to Cody Walker proving to be too much for the Rabbitohs to contend with.

South Sydney received the first attacking opportunity of the game off the back of a penalty against Zac Hosking for a crusher tackle on Keaon Koloamatangi.

The Rabbitohs capitalised almost straight away with a bit of poetic justice for Koloamatangi, who crashed over adjacent to the uprights after combining with Lachlan Hubner for a 6-0 lead after as many minutes.

The Red and Green marched upfield once again after a six-again call from the referee, before receiving another penalty after a high shot from Hudson Young on Jayden Sullivan. Latrell Mitchell slotted the goal with ease, extending his side’s lead to 8-0.

South Sydney maintained the pressure on Canberra, dominating both field position and possession throughout the early exchanges of the match. As such, it was only a matter of time before more points would come for the Rabbitohs, who managed to find their second try of the game through Alex Johnston.

Johnston was on the receiving end of a beautiful cut-out ball square on the chest from the returning Cody Walker, continuing his try-scoring ways from last week as he crossed the stripe without a hand being laid on him.

The Raiders managed to stem the uneven flow of possession for the remainder of the half, and found their way to the line thanks to a close-range effort from Ethan Strange just two minutes before the break. Strange then converted his own try, leaving the scores at 12-6 in favour of South Sydney at halftime.

The Raiders returned from the sheds the stronger of the two teams after the break, and managed to square the ledger with another try to Strange in the 50th minute.

South Sydney suffered a big setback in the 56th minute as skipper Cody Walker was seen walking up the tunnel with a groin injury. Siliva Havili came on to replace Walker, playing at dummy half while Jamie Humphries shifted into the halves.

With Walker barely in the sheds for a minute, things went from bad to worse for the Rabbitohs as Canberra scored their third try of the afternoon through Zac Hosking to take the lead for the first time in the match.

The Raiders extended their lead to 12 points in the 65th minute when Simi Sasagi crossed in the corner.

A late double to Josh Papalii snuffed out any hope of a late comeback for the Red and Green as the deficit was extended to 24 points with five minutes to go.

This would end up being the final scoring play of the game, cementing South Sydney's 36-12 defeat.

Match Snapshot

• South Sydney struck first through Keaon Koloamatangi after five minutes.
• Latrell Mitchell extended the Rabbitohs’ lead with a penalty goal after nine minutes.
• South Sydney found their second try of the game through Alex Johnston in the left corner in the 15th minute.
• The Raiders finally got on the board through Ethan Strange just two minutes before halftime.
• Strange scored his second try of the game in the 50th minute to even the scores at 12-12.
• Canberra took the lead thanks to a try from Zac Hosking in the 57th minute.
• Simi Sasagi crossed in the 65th minute to extend the Raiders’ lead to 24-12.
• Josh Papalii bagged two late tries to extend the lead to 24 with five minutes remaining.

What’s Next?

South Sydney will be back home at Accor Stadium in round 15. They will do battle with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs at 4:05pm (AEST) next Sunday afternoon in what should be a highly physical encounter against one of their traditional rivals.