Round Rewind: Inglis, Walker and Johnston Run Riot in Record Rout of the Knights

Ahead of this week’s showdown with Newcastle, we rewind to round 20 of the 2015 season, a night where the Rabbitohs were unstoppable, putting ten tries past the Knights in a 52-6 masterclass at Accor Stadium (formerly known as ANZ Stadium).

The Match

Newcastle opened the scoring through Kade Snowden, but from that point on, it was all South Sydney.

Our first try was pure instinct. Issac Luke darted from dummy half and fired a cutout ball to Alex Johnston, who streaked into space and drew in the fullback before sending Dylan Walker over untouched.

Moments later, Johnston showed his class with one of the tries of the night. Flat-footed against two defenders, he threw a sharp right-foot step to create space, shrugging off Chanel Mata'utia and accelerating past Tyrone Roberts to dive over in the corner.

The left edge came to life soon after. Luke Keary dug into the line and hit John Sutton with a short ball. Sutton stood in traffic and released an offload to Greg Inglis in support, who cruised through untouched for his first try of the night.

Try four came from a set scrum. We swept right with textbook execution, Dylan Walker and Inglis created the overlap, and Bryson Goodwin finished it with a confident dash to the line.

Then came a moment of pure Greg Inglis brilliance. Sweeping out the back, Inglis shaped to pass, sold the dummy, and glided through the line with a sharp left-foot step. Stepping again, he left Kurt Gidley flat-footed. An ankle tap clipped him, but it wasn’t enough. Two more defenders clung on desperately but Inglis, towering and relentless, dragged them into the in-goal and with one final surge, stretched out his right arm to slam the ball down.

Inglis and Johnston combined again to create an overlap on the right, with Johnston handing it off to Walker. Beau Scott managed to wrap him up momentarily, but Walker wrestled his way over the line to grab his second.

Inglis completed his hat-trick before the break. Close to the line, he received a flat pass from Issac Luke, sold a dummy, and crashed over untouched before pulling out his iconic goanna celebration. We went into the sheds up 36-6, seven tries in just over 30 minutes.

The second half started with more of the same. Issac Luke targeted the middle again and found Thomas Burgess on a crash line. The big man powered over under the posts for just his second career try.

Our ninth was a moment of aerial magic. Adam Reynolds launched a towering bomb and Johnston rose above the pack, snatching it cleanly and falling over the line to score.

The final blow came via a perfectly executed short ball from Glenn Stewart to a charging Dylan Walker, who hit the line hard and sliced through to complete his hat-trick.

It was our biggest-ever win over the Knights, and one of the most dominant attacking displays of the modern era. Greg Inglis was at his powerful best with a hat-trick, Walker was electric with three of his own, and Johnston’s speed and footwork proved unstoppable.

Key Performers

Greg Inglis – three tries, one try assist, 205 run metres, 79 post contact metres, seven tackle breaks
Alex Johnston – two tries, two try assists, three line breaks, three tackle breaks
Dylan Walker – three tries, 102 run metres, six tackle breaks
Issac Luke – 129 run metres, 32 post contact metres, two try assists
Thomas Burgess – one try, 215 run metres, 72 post contact metres