Rabbitohs go Down to Sea Eagles 34-24 in Gosford

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have suffered a defeat at the hands of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in their first match of the 2025 NRL Pre Season Challenge.

It was a tough afternoon for the Rabbitohs, who unfortunately conceded seven tries to four in what wound up being a 34-24 loss at Industree Group Stadium on the Central Coast.

The Sea Eagles proved particularly tough to handle out wide for the South Sydney defenders, with both Sea Eagles wingers Navren Willett and Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega crossing for doubles through the game.

The early exchanges saw both sides on the attack for prolonged periods of time, with neither able to make the most of their opportunities. Despite the slow start, it was the Sea Eagles who managed to trouble the scorers first, capitalising on a spate of six-again calls which saw them march down the field and cross in the corner through Willett for his first try in the 21st minute.

The Sea Eagles maintained their onslaught as the first half rolled on, increasing their lead in the 28th minute through Willett again, who completed a double off a deceptive short-side play close to the South Sydney line.

A series of South Sydney errors and penalties saw the Sea Eagles receive more possession in attacking territory. They capitalised with their third try of the afternoon, this time through Aaron Schoupp.

It was not all doom and gloom for the Red and Green, who managed a crucial hit back through Jye Gray, who pounced on an Ashton Ward chip kick to score just minutes before the break.

Captain Isaiah Tass then slotted the two points in his first game since sustaining an ankle injury in May last year, which saw South Sydney trailing by 16-6 at halftime.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, with an extended softening-up period with opportunities for both sides, before the Sea Eagles broke the game open with a double to Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega, who scored tries in both the 51st and 58th minutes.

The Sea Eagles side kept making things tough for South Sydney, with Jake Simpkin pressing the issue with a 61st minute try, followed by Clayton Faulalo opening his account three minutes later to put the game beyond doubt.

Despite being out of the contest, South Sydney were able to draw the scores closer towards the end of the game, scoring three consecutive tries in the last six minutes, with Salesi Ataata, Sean Keppie and Bayleigh Bentley-Hape all crossing the stripe to make the final score 34-24.

Match Snapshot

• The Sea Eagles drew first blood through Navren Willett in the 21st minute.
• Willett crossed a second time just seven minutes later.
• Manly-Warringah’s third try of the game came in the 33rd minute through Aaron Schoupp.
• The Rabbitohs opened their account just before halftime through Jye Gray.
• The Sea Eagles hit back through Raymond Tuaimalo Vaega in the 51st minute.
• Tuaimalo Vaega completed his double with another try in the 58th minute.
• Jake Simpkin crossed to extend the Sea Eagles’ lead in the 61st minute.
• South Sydney finished with a flurry of tries to Salesi Ataat, Sean Keppie and Bayleigh Bentley-Hape for a fulltime score of 34-24 in favour of the Sea Eagles.

Play of the Game

This week’s play of the game goes to Jye Gray’s try in the 37th minute, which saw the diminutive fullback combine with Fletcher Myers and Ashton Ward in what was an extremely classy passage of play from the South Sydney trio. A quick tap penalty from Myers caught the Manly-Warringah side completely off guard, as the winger ran close to 50m unchecked before being stopped by Sea Eagles fullback Lehi Hopoate. Ward was quick to identify Hopoate’s absence at the back on the next play and promptly sent a chip kick over the top which provided Gray with a room-service bounce for his first four-pointer of 2025.

What’s Next?

The Rabbitohs will travel to Mudgee to take on rivals St George Illawarra in the annual Charity Shield clash next Saturday.