The South Sydney Rabbitohs have suffered a defeat at the hands of the Newcastle Knights in their round 25 clash at Accor Stadium.

The Rabbitohs looked strong early, leading the Knights 12-6 for much of the first half after tries to Jack Wighton and Taane Milne.

Unfortunately for South Sydney, a hat-trick to Dane Gagai and a doubles to Fletcher Sharpe and Jack Cogger ultimately proved to be too much for the Red and Green to overcome, as they finished off on the wrong side of a 36-16 scoreboard.

The match began in a scrappy fashion, with both sides squandering several early chances at either end of the field.

Newcastle were first make the most of their opportunities, with Fletcher Sharpe and Dane Gagai combining for Sharpe to score in the right corner after 11 minutes.

The Rabbitohs were swift to hit back, as Milne displayed great strength to beat both Gagai and Sharpe and score just five minutes later.

Wighton crossed next with a similar effort to Milne, running a hard line close to the posts to get past three Newcastle defenders and slam the ball to give South Sydney the lead.

A high shot from Leo Thompson on Cameron Murray saw South Sydney advance easily downfield in the set immediately after the Wighton try.

The Rabbitohs then enjoyed a glut of possession down in Newcastle’s red zone thanks to a string of penalties and set restarts, although they were unfortunately unable come away with points.

Newcastle received an extended run of possession of their own later in the half, coming away with two tries – one each to Dylan Lucas and Dane Gagai – to put themselves ahead 18-12.

A high shot on Tyson Frizell saw Murray earn a trip to the sin-bin. The ensuing penalty was converted by Kalyn Ponga, giving Newcastle a 20-12 lead at half-time.

Both sides went set for set early in the second half, but were starved of opportunities to attack as the game descended into an arm wrestle.

That all changed in the 53rd minute, when Kalyn Ponga broke through the South Sydney line off a kick return to put the Knights on the attack.

They capitalised, with Ponga dealing out the damage again as he combined with Jack Cogger to set him up for his first try of the game.

Cogger then completed his double just six minutes later, finding his own way through a gap in the retreating South Sydney defence line.

A crafty grubber to the in-goal from Jack Wighton saw Tallis Duncan cross with ten minutes remaining.

Sebastian Su’a was then sin-binned in retrospect for a high shot on Davvy Moale in the set leading up to Duncan’s try.

This proved to be of little consequence, with Dane Gagai completing his hat-trick in the 77th minute in what proved to be the final scoring play of the game.

Match Snapshot

• The Knights struck first in the game with a try to Fletcher Sharpe after 11 minutes
• South Sydney returned serve just five minutes later, with Taane Milne pushing through two Newcastle defenders to score
• Jack Wighton was next to score, crossing in the 20th minute to give South Sydney the lead for the first time
• Newcastle got back to level thanks to some nice footwork from Dylan Lucas in the 32nd minute
• Dane Gagai crossed for his second of the game to return the lead to Newcastle in the 35th minute
• A Kalyn Ponga penalty goal saw the Knights take a 20-12 lead into the break
• Newcastle extended their lead in the 53rd minute thanks to Jack Cogger finishing off a Ponga break
• The Knights drew further ahead after Cogger bagged his second try six minutes later
• Tallis Duncan pounced on a Jack Wighton grubber to put the score at 32-16 with ten minutes to go
• Dane Gagai bagged his third in the 77th minute

Play of the Game

Jack Wighton’s try was a timely reminder of the lethal running game that the 2020 Dally M Medallist possesses. Wighton’s strength and footwork saw him beat two noted defenders in Adam Elliot and Tyson Frizell on his way to the line. It was a classy play from the five-eighth, and is a worthy recipient of this week’s Play of the Game.

What’s Next?

Round 26 will see South Sydney travel to the Foot of the Mountains to take on the Panthers at Penrith Stadium on Friday night at 8pm.