Round Rewind: Souths Shock Roosters with Two Tries in Two Minutes

In round 19 of 2012, the Rabbitohs pulled off one of the most famous finishes in club history, snatching a 24-22 victory over arch-rivals the Sydney Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium. Two tries in the final two minutes turned defeat into triumph, capped off by Warren Smith’s iconic call: “You can take me now, I have seen it all.”

South Sydney opened the scoring through Greg Inglis and Nathan Merritt. Inglis stepped into the line, dummied and threw a trademark left-foot step that cut straight through. Beating Mitchell Pearce with a fend and surging downfield, Inglis drew in the cover before sending Merritt racing away to score the opener.

The Roosters levelled with a scrappy try off a kick, but the Rabbitohs responded promptly. With numbers on the right, Adam Reynolds fired a pass to Dave Taylor, who stutter-stepped and attracted two defenders. Taylor flicked an offload out the back to Dylan Farrell, who double-pumped and shifted to Andrew Everingham to finish in the corner. Souths took a 12-6 lead into the sheds.

Errors crept in after the break and the Roosters swung momentum with two tries, before Joseph Leilua finally found the corner to put them ahead 16-12 with 15 minutes to play. When Mitchell Pearce pounced on a loose ball in the 75th minute to extend the margin to 22-12, the result looked sealed.

But the Rabbitohs never gave in. With two minutes left, Sutton, Taylor, and McQueen linked up through the middle. McQueen sliced into open space, stepped the fullback, and offloaded to Merritt, who streaked away under the posts. The quick conversion set up one last chance, trailing 22-18.

From the restart came pure magic. Taylor charged at the line, bumping off a defender before slipping the ball to McQueen. At full pace, McQueen weaved past two defenders and found Merritt again. Hemmed in by a swarm of Roosters, Merritt flicked the ball inside to Issac Luke, who was dragged down short but somehow kept the play alive, flicking it back over his shoulder. Waiting was Adam Reynolds, the rookie halfback, who scooped it up and dived across the line which sent the Souths faithful into raptures.

Reynolds converted his own try to complete a 24-22 victory, as the Rabbitohs celebrated one of the most dramatic finishes in NRL history, the night forever remembered for Warren Smith’s immortal line: “You can take me now, I have seen it all.”

Key Performers

Greg Inglis – 151 run metres, one try assist, 11 tackle breaks
Nathan Merritt – two tries, 171 run metres, four tackle breaks
Adam Reynolds – one try, 12 points, 45 post contact metres, 36 tackles
Chris McQueen - 129 run metres, one try assist, three line breaks, 26 tackles