Round Rewind: Inglis Goes the Length as Rabbitohs Roll the Cowboys

With another clash against North Queensland approaching, we’re taking it back to a Friday night at Accor Stadium, where the Rabbitohs shook off a slow start to storm home with a commanding 28-10 victory in 2013.

The Match

It was a shaky opening for the home side, with the Rabbitohs struggling to find rhythm and control in the early exchanges. The Cowboys took full advantage, opening the scoring through Antonio Winterstein after just ten minutes.

But after 23 minutes the Rabbitohs were given some momentum with Sam Burgess charging onto a crash ball from dummy half Issac Luke. He met Johnathan Thurston head-on, shoving the halfback aside with a right hand bumper and sending him onto the turf as he powered over the line to open the scoring for the red and green.

Just minutes later, a towering Adam Reynolds bomb was spectacularly plucked from the air by Chris McQueen before flicking it backward as he fell. The play broke down into a scramble, with John Sutton showing presence of mind to offload under pressure. Bryson Goodwin reacted first, scooping the ball off the turf and diving over to score a messy, yet magic, try.

Souths headed into the sheds with a 12-4 lead, but they knew they had been let off the hook. Two disallowed Cowboys tries had kept the scoreboard in the Rabbitohs’ favour, and their defensive line had been pushed to the brink more than once.

Momentum shifted again early in the second half. John Sutton, cool under pressure, rolled a perfect grubber in behind the line. Johnathan Thurston looked content to let it roll dead, but Greg Inglis had other ideas. Lurking in the shadows, Inglis turned on the jets, dived at full stretch, and planted the ball just millimetres inside the line to push Souths’ lead to 18-4. Thurston looked to spark his side back into the contest with a pinpoint cross-field kick that again found Winterstein for his second of the night. But the Rabbitohs answered with flair of their own.

A textbook left-edge shift unfolded with Inglis firing a slick pass to Goodwin, who drew defenders before finding Nathan Merritt. The veteran winger dashed down the sideline and planted the ball in the corner, pushing the margin to 22-10 and deflating any Cowboys momentum. Still, North Queensland threatened. Antonio Winterstein looked certain to claim a hat-trick in the corner, only for Adam Reynolds to slide across in cover and knock the ball loose at the last second.

With five minutes to go, Nathan Peats chopped down his man and jolted the ball loose. Greg Inglis pounced, hit top gear, and left defenders in his dust. 90 metres later, he slid under the posts and fired up Accor Stadium with his trademark goanna celebration. It was a perfect exclamation point on a dominant night.

Key Performers

Greg Inglis – two tries, 229 run metres, 81 kick return metres, 30 post contact metres, four tackle breaks
Sam Burgess – one try, 154 run metres, 27 post contact metres, 20 tackles (zero missed)
John Sutton – one try assist, 101 run metres, 32 post contact metres, 34 tackles (one missed), 211 kick metres
Isaac Luke – one try assist, three tackle breaks, 73 run metres, 98 passes, 38 tackles (one missed)
George Burgess – 177 run metres, 48 post contact metres, 10 tackle breaks, 22 tackles (one missed)