Round Rewind: Magic Round Brilliance as Souths Storm Past Melbourne

With a Storm showdown looming this Friday, we turn back to Magic Round 2023, when the Rabbitohs delivered one of their most polished performances of the season, unleashing a left-edge masterclass in Alex Johnston’s 200th game to defeat Melbourne 28-12 at Suncorp Stadium.

It took less than five minutes for the Rabbitohs to open their account. A sweeping left-edge raid saw Alex Johnston tackled just short of the line on the fifth tackle. Latrell Mitchell jumped into dummy half, shaped to pass, and instead rolled in a perfectly weighted grubber behind the line. Cody Walker read it all the way, grounding it cleanly for a brilliant, instinctive try that set the tone early.

Fourteen minutes later, the Rabbitohs were on the attack again. Cameron Murray straightened into the line and threw a crisp ball to Cody Walker, who timed his pass perfectly to hit Jacob Host running a sharp line. Host sliced through and crashed over to make it 12-0.

Despite some defensive resilience and a huge effort on our own line, Melbourne managed to hit back just before the break. A bomb from Cameron Munster was fumbled near the posts and Reimis Smith pounced to bring the score to 12-6 at halftime.

The second half was all red and green. Latrell Mitchell came to life again early in the second half, orchestrating another left-side raid. With a dummy pass, he drew in two defenders and nudged a grubber in behind the line. The bounce sat up perfectly for Johnston to dive over in the corner, his 170th career try on his 200th game.

Just minutes later, we were back down the same edge. Crisp hands from Walker and Isaiah Tass gave 'AJ' enough space to burst down the sideline and bag his second, stretching the lead and putting the game firmly in our control.

Cody Walker wasn’t done yet. With 13 minutes left on the clock, he rolled in a crafty left-footed grubber which Tass followed through and pounced on the ball to extend the lead and put the result beyond doubt, capping off another slick left-edge raid.

Melbourne scrambled for late points, but our defence held firm. Even as Bronson Garlick scored in the 75th minute, the result was already in hand.

Key Performers

Latrell Mitchell – eight points (four conversions, one missed), 86 run metres, two try assists
Alex Johnston – two tries, 87 run metres, three line breaks
Isaiah Tass – one try, 92 run metres, 38 post contact metres, two line breaks, one try assist
Cody Walker – one try, two try assists, one forced dropout
Jacob Host – one try, 116 run metres, 37 post contact metres