The South Sydney Rabbitohs have gone down to the Wests Tigers at Campbelltown Sports Stadium in heartbreaking circumstances, failing to complete a late comeback that looked to be on for all money.
The Rabbitohs managed to almost overcome a 16-4 halftime deficit to find themselves trailing by just two points with a minute on the clock.
The Men from Maroubra nearly scored through Davvy Moale in the final minute to seal the comeback. However, they were cruelly denied thanks to a forward pass from Cameron Murray, leaving the final score at 18-16 in favour of the Wests Tigers.
It was a fortuitous start to the game for South Sydney, who found themselves immediately on the attack after regathering the ball off their own kick off thanks to a bat back from Cameron Murray. Despite some enterprising play, they were unable to capitalise on this early opportunity after failing to break through the opposition defence.
The Tigers managed to steady the ship after the frantic start, scoring the first try of the match after nine minutes through Charlie Staines. It only took South Sydney five minutes to hit back, when a lovely offload from Taane Milne close to the line saw Jye Gray steam through a huge gap to score the fifth try of his young career.
South Sydney looked to have drawn first blood in the second half after Jacob Gagai crossed in the right corner. The try was awarded, however closer inspection revealed that Gagai had not gotten the ball down, and had in fact lost it over the line in what was a massive reprieve for the Tigers.
A late hit from Murray on Sezer saw the Tigers extend their lead to 14 after Sezer nailed a penalty goal in the 49th minute of the game. The Rabbitohs managed to claw their way back into the contest through Keaon Koloamatangi, who beat three Tigers defenders on his way to the line to leave his side trailing by just 8 with 22 minutes remaining.
A late try to Damien Cook, with noteworthy contributions from Gagai and Gray set the Rabbitohs up for a grandstand finish, trailing by two points with as many minutes to go.
South Sydney came agonisingly close to completing the comeback, travelling 80m downfield off the ensuing set of six. The comeback was not to be however, with a forward pass from Murray proving to be the nail in the coffin for the Rabbitohs as Wests Tigers sealed their victory 18-16.
The Tigers were next to trouble the scorers, extending their two-point lead to six points when Luke Laulilii dived over in the left corner after combining with Lachlan Galvin. Things then took a sour turn for the Rabbitohs, who found themselves a man down after Richie Kennar hit Laulilii high and was sent to the sin bin in the 31st minute.
Wests Tigers immediately capitalised on the sin-binning of Kennar, with Adam Doueihi scoring on Kennar’s edge to put the lead out to 12. A string of errors, six-again calls and penalties from the Tigers saw South Sydney almost permanently on the attack in the last five minutes of the first half.
The Rabbitohs came close to scoring on several occasions through this period, with Thomas Burgess going the closest after being held up with the ball millimetres away from the ground. The men in Red and Green were unfortunately unable to break through the Tigers’ defence with one less player, leaving them facing a 16-4 deficit at the break.
Match Snapshot
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Wests Tigers opened the scoring in the ninth minute of the match, with a pinpoint kick from Aiden Sezer setting up Charlie Staines in the right corner
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The Rabbitohs returned serve with a try to Jye Gray, who capitalised on a Taane Milne offload in the 14th minute
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The Tigers hit back through Luke Laulilii, who received a beautiful cut-out ball from Lachlan Galvin to dive over close to the left touch line
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Richie Kennar found himself in the sin bin with nine minutes till halftime after a high shot on Laulilii
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The Tigers capitalised on their one-man advantage just a minute later, with Adam Doueihi crossing untouched in the left corner
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The Tigers draw further ahead thanks to a penalty goal to Sezer in the 49th minute
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The Rabbitohs managed to pin the deficit back to just eight when Keaon Koloamatangi scored in the 57th minute
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Damien Cook scored in the 77th minute to get the Rabbitohs back within two points
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Davvy Moale looked to have scored with 30 seconds to go before the play was called back for a forward pass from Cameron Murray, leaving the final score at 18-16 in favour of the Wests Tigers
Play of the Game
This week’s play of the game goes to the Rabbitohs’ final try of the game, which saw Damien Cook score to put his side within two points of the Tigers with just a couple of minutes on the clock. It began with a great run from Jacob Gagai, who managed to get the ball back infield to Jye Gray in support. Surrounded by Tigers’ defenders, Gray somehow managed to keep the ball alive by finding Cook, who got past three would-be tacklers to score and set up a thrilling finish to the game.
What’s Next?
South Sydney will return to their home ground Accor Stadium where they will play host to the Newcastle Knights next Saturday night.
